Growth in the pay-television market was anemic in the third quarter, fueling the debate about whether subscribers are starting to cut the cord.

Charter Communications , Cablevision Systems Corp. and Dish Network Corp. collectively lost 102,000 video customers in the latest quarter, based on information contained in their quarterly reports on Tuesday. That is better than their combined loss of 193,000 a year earlier, but it isn't a reversal.

DirecTV , the second-largest pay-TV provider, with 20 million subscribers, said it added 67,000 new video customers, 80% fewer than in the same quarter last year.

The results followed Time Warner Cable 's report on Monday that it had lost more video subscribers than expected. Including the numbers from previously reporting publicly held pay-TV providers, the industry grew by 25,000 video subscribers, down from 148,000 a year earlier. Sanford C. Bernstein estimated in a report on Tuesday that, including the results of closely held providers, the industry as a whole lost 127,000 subscribers in the quarter.

At least 90% of U.S. homes pay for some form of subscription TV, from cable, satellite or phone companies, according to Nielsen.