The decline of cable has hurt many stations, which have not only lost viewers, but get less money in carriage fees from the companies that carry their channels.
It’s a universe that has shrunk greatly over the past decade.
“There are a few ways to view the decline of the pay TV bundle. In our pay TV figures, we exclude vMVPDs, which deliver live TV over the internet. When viewed this way, pay TV will decline 7.2% this year to 66.4 million households. That figure will drop to 54.3 million households by the end of 2026,” eMarketer reported.
In 2016, over 90.3 million Americans had traditional cable subscriptions, according to eMarketer.
That drop, which is expected to continue, has been devastating for QVC Inc., the owner of QVC and HSN, the two leading home shopping channels.
QVC misses key filing date
Home shopping has always benefited from the size of the cable audience. QVC and HSN have dedicated fans that seek out the channels, while they also sell to casual viewers who, when flipping channels, happen upon a product they want to buy.
A smaller cable universe means fewer customers to capture, and that has created financial challenges for the company, some of which it addressed in 10-K filed with the SEC on April 1.
The filing, although it was submitted on April 1, 2026, is legitimate and should not be mistaken for an April Fools’ joke.
“QVC, Inc. is unable to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (the “Form 10-K”) within the prescribed time period without unreasonable effort or expense,” the company shared.
That’s not entirely unexpected, since the company shared that it was negotiating with its lenders back in February, which was covered by TheStreet.
Also read:Iconic 39-year-old cable network faces Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Those negotiations have continued.
“In light of ongoing discussions and negotiations with the company’s lenders and the associated uncertainty related to such discussions, additional time is required for the company to compile and analyze certain information and documentation and finalize certain disclosures required to be included in the Form 10-K, as well as to allow for the review by its independent registered public accounting firm,” it shared in the SEC filing.
Based on currently available information, management anticipates it will disclose, in the Form 10-K, that there remains substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company currently expects to file the Form 10-K as soon as practicable and no later than the fifteenth calendar day following the prescribed due date, in accordance with Rule 12b-25.
QVC files doubts it can survive
QVC also issued what’s knows as a “going concern” notice.
“A going concern opinion is one of the most serious signals an independent auditor can issue regarding a publicly traded or privately held company’s financial health. This formal communication warns investors and creditors that the company faces a high risk of failure within the near future. It does not mean the company will immediately liquidate, but rather that its ability to continue operations as a viable entity is in substantial doubt,” according to LegalClarity.org.
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That’s the situation QVC finds itself in.
“Based on currently available information, management anticipates it will disclose, in the Form 10-K, that there remains substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” QVC shared in its SEC filing.
The company has also seen its credit get downgraded.
S&P Global Ratings has downgraded QVC Group Inc. to ‘CCC’ from a previous rating, citing increased refinancing risk, and assigned a negative outlook to the company, Investing.com reported.
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Blame streaming for cable’s decline
“Most Americans (83%) say they watch streaming services, with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video being especially common. Far fewer — 36% — say they currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV at home, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
That has damaged QVC and HSN.
“QVC and HSN channels lost almost half of their viewership from 2018 and 2024, a change attributed to less cable and broadcasting use as households transitioned to streaming services and more social media,” Bucksco.Today, a local news outlet serving the Philadelphia area where the company is headquartered, reported.
The company has ongoing discussions with its lenders, according to Bloomberg.
“Television shopping network QVC Group Inc. is huddling with advisers from Evercore Inc. and Kirkland & Ellis to evaluate options to manage some of its more-than-$5 billion of debt, according to people with knowledge of the matter,” Bloomberg reported.
A Chapter 11 filing has been discussed, according to a separate Bloomberg story.
“QVC Group Inc. is negotiating a voluntary debt restructuring agreement with its creditors that could be implemented as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, as the television shopping network grapples with viewer declines and a heavy debt burden,” the news organization reported.
TheStreet advisor and RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino sees a bankruptcy as inevitable.
“QVC’s likely move toward Chapter 11 isn’t a surprise; it’s a reckoning. They’re buried under $6.6 billion in debt with a market cap that’s basically vanished to $25 million. The HSN merger was supposed to create a home-shopping superpower, but instead, it just doubled down on a dying medium,” he shared directly with TheStreet.
The consumer exodus from cable, better known as “cord cutting,” is not likely to end anytime soon, if ever, according to industry expert and Cord Cutters News owner and reporter Luke Bouma.
“For consumers, Cord Cutting 2.0 in 2026 represents liberation. Households can mix and match services — streaming for TV, 5G for internet — tailoring setups to budgets and needs. This diversity fosters innovation, driving down costs and improving quality,” he wrote.
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