A new report on pay cable subscriptions reveals that Showtime and Starz appear to be gaining ground on industry leader HBO, Crain’s New York Business reports.

Year-end estimates from SNL Kagan released Monday show HBO had a 6% drop in subscribers from a year ago, to 28.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to the story. Showtime, meanwhile, saw a 10% increase, to 19.5 million subscribers, while Starz was up 7% to 18.2 million.

The HBO total was its lowest in five years, partly attributable to the channel’s inability to replace hits such as “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City,” the story says.