TV viewers have been snipping the cord and freeing themselves from traditional TV subscriptions offered by satellite and cable companies for years, so it may come as no surprise that the flood of customers fleeing to streaming video shows no signs of easing.
A new report from The Convergence Research Group predicts that by the end of 2017, almost a quarter of Americans won’t have a traditional TV subscription.
Convergence, which has been releasing its “Couch Potato” reports for more than a decade, says 2015 saw a decline of 1.16 million US TV subscribers, followed by an estimated 2.05 million dip last year. This year is forecast to see a 2.11 million decrease in subscribers, analysts wrote, which comes out to 24.6% of U.S. households without a subscription from a cable, satellite, or telecom provide.
It’s not all bad for the traditional TV industry, as the group estimates that those providers had a 3% increase in revenue last year at $107.3 billion, a number predicted to grow to $109.6 billion this year.
Over the top (OTT) streaming services are growing a lot faster than traditional subscriptions, however, shooting up 43% to $8.3 billion last year, with a predicted revenue of $14.7 billion this year.
Again, this isn’t too surprising to anyone paying attention to the industry. To wit: A report last year estimated that at least 800,000 people are going to cancel their pay-TV service, or cut the cord in a 12-month period. That could amount to as much as $1 billion traditional TV companies stand to lose.
In an effort to capture some of that streaming money, some of those telecoms are now offering services specifically aimed at cord-cutters: Most recently, rumors have swirled that Comcast, the biggest cable company in the country, is preparing to launch a $15 streaming service for its internet customers, joining the likes of AT&T (DirecTV Now), Dish (Sling), and Sony (PlayStation Vue).
[h/t Business Insider]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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