"XM and Sirius got to their current subscriber levels fairly easily, but at what point do they reach some level of saturation due to increased competition?"

In turn, Showtime guaranteed Paramount certain subscriber levels.

During the year, XM sharply lowered its expectations for 2006 subscriber levels, from January's predicted end-of-year total of 9 million to a maximum of 7.9 million.

"Over all, we find that advanced telecommunications is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely manner," the report said, adding that subscriber levels had increased "significantly."

In terms of subscribers, Cablevision has been performing brightly as well, with the company growing its subscriber levels faster than any other cable operator in the United States.

On December 7, 2008, SKY TG24 was removed due to low subscriber levels.

The pattern for profitability has historically been about five years from a service's birth and with subscriber levels of 25 million to 40 million, Mr. Gerbrandt said.

The Netflix exodus is expected to occur by the end of the company's fiscal quarter, with the new subscriber level adjusted from expectations in July.

After that, content from various premium channels will be accessible to them online, but only if their subscriber level allows it.

By 2010, analysts estimate, subscriber levels will hover anywhere from 30 million to 45 million.