Large numbers of US homes have dropped pay-TV services, with big losses for satellite provider DirecTV, and cable companies Time Warner and Comcast. Rounding up the latest quarterly earnings results issued by major TV providers, Reuters reported today that Comcast lost 176,000 subscribers, Time Warner lost 169,000 customers, and DirecTV lost 52,000.

While Reuters said these losses total about 400,000 American homes dropping pay-TV service since the beginning of the year, it's still a small minority. Time Warner Cable has more than 12 million customers, for example, and many customers simply switched services, as Verizon's FiOS TV and AT&T's U-verse added 275,000 subscribers in the second quarter. The second quarter is traditionally weak because of people moving before summer and college students leaving campus.

But this quarter's losses were stark for DirecTV, which lost customers for the first time ever, and for Time Warner, who lost customers for the tenth straight quarter and lost more than analysts expected. Comcast's loss of 169,000 customers was actually an improvement over previous quarters. The losses were chalked up more to the economy rather than "cord-cutters" dropping TV service entirely.

However, signs of a shift from traditional TV services to Internet-based ones are there. Time Warner's cable losses were balanced somewhat by the addition of 59,000 Internet subscribers. And across the pond, UK officials are looking toward a future in which the use of TV airwaves can be eliminated altogether. In a House of Lords communications committee report titled "Broadband for all—an alternative vision," officials argued this week that Internet access should be seen as a "key utility" available to all, even in remote areas.

"It is likely that IPTV services will become ever more widespread, and eventually the case for transferring the carriage of broadcast content, including public service broadcasting, from spectrum to the Internet altogether will become overwhelming," the report said.

A shift from airwaves to Internet-based programming doesn't eliminate the role of pay-TV providers, particularly as Internet TV streaming often requires proof of a cable subscription (cough, Olympics, cough). But with the Department of Justice investigating whether Comcast and Time Warner improperly set limits on streaming video providers, perhaps the government will help make cord-cutting a more viable option.