1 in 4 Americans Shun Traditional Pay TV

One in seven American adults (15 percent) are “cord cutters” who have abandoned cable or satellite TV service, while another 9 percent have never subscribed to traditional pay TV, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center.

Add these two groups together and you find that nearly one in four Americans (24 percent) currently do not subscribe to traditional TV services, according to Pew.

There are generational aspects to this phenomenon, as young adults are the least likely age group to have a cable or satellite subscription: 19 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 have discontinued cable or satellite service, while another 16 percent say they have never had a pay TV subscription in the first place, meaning only two thirds (65 percent) of those aged 18 to 29 have cable or satellite service at home. This compares with 73 percent of adults aged 30 to 49 and 83 percent of those 50 or older.

Affordability is a main driver for those without cable or satellite, as is the ability to view the content they want to watch somewhere else. Some 71 percent of those without cable or satellite say they lack these services in part because the cost is too high, while 64 percent say they can access content they want using an over-air antenna, on the Internet, or through streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

Income also comes into play for those without pay TV. Some 63 percent of homes with annual incomes under $20,000 have either cable or satellite service, compared with 86 percent of households with an annual income that exceeds $75,000. Cord cutters are more likely to live in lower income households as well. In homes with annual incomes of $20,000 or less, 21 percent have cut the cord, while 14 percent of households above that income threshold have cut the cord.

In the context of their other digital access tools, cord cutters—as well as those without cable or satellite services more broadly—exhibit slightly different adoption patterns from the population as a whole. For those without cable or satellite service at home 70 percent have smartphones; 54 percent have a home broadband subscription, and 25 percent are “smartphone-only” households.

For “cord cutters,” (the 15 percent of all adults who once had a cable or satellite subscription but no longer do) the access patterns look like this: 75 percent have smartphones, 58 percent have a home broadband subscription, and 27 percent are “smartphone-only.”

Those without pay TV—and cord cutters especially—rely on a different mix of access tools for digital content—one that emphasizes smartphones over a home broadband subscription. These preferences are driven in many cases by affordability. Some 71 percent of those without cable or satellite (and 74 percent of cord cutters) say these services are too expensive.

The findings are based on a national telephone survey of 2,001 Americans ages 18 and older Pew conducted between June 10 and July 12, 2015.

COMMENTS
dnoonie's picture

I found that when I switched from a regular desk job to contract work my schedule didn't allow for traditional viewing. I was mostly watching TV via Blu-Ray from Netflix, and purchased shows on BD. I would research new shows after they had aired via Hulu, the networks streaming, free offers from Vudu or Netflix.

Now that I've unplugged I've found that I'm enjoying much better quality AND saving money. I'm very happy being unplugged and the list of positives just keeps getting longer.

Cheers,

mtymous1's picture

...watching live, mainstream, U.S. sports?

dnoonie's picture

I don't watch sports much.

When the Sea-hawks did something special a while back I tried streaming it but it didn't work (paused, stuttered, crowd noise WAY louder than the announcer...a mess), so I hooked up some rabbit ears to my TV and watched it that way.

If I watched sports a lot I'm not sure what I'd do. Most sports nuts I know manage to find a way to stream it with good results, I know because I work with sports nuts and they usually have the game, match or whatever streaming on their phone or laptop.

That question seems to come up a lot for folks wanting to unplug, I'll try to ask around and see what folks are doing.

Cheers,

yellowc4s's picture

I can watch commercials for free...

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