Almost half of all pay-TV subs ready to churn


Details

Michelle Clancy

| 24 September 2015





About 7.7% of respondents in a cord-cutting survey from Digitalsmiths have switched pay-TV providers in the last three months.


According to the research, that's a 1.7% increase year-over-year. Additionally, in the next six months, a total of 14.9% of respondents are at risk and plan to either cut their service (4.5%), change providers (8.1%) or switch to an online app or rental service (2.3%).

Another 31.7% responded 'maybe' when asked about changing providers.

While the numbers aren't huge for cord-cutting yet, it's clear that there is rumbling among the masses when it comes to pay-TV satisfaction. In total, the report found that 46.6% of respondents need attention and are at risk of cutting the cord or leaving their current pay-TV provider.

The industry can't really afford that: in Q2 2015, US pay-TV providers lost over 600,000 subscribers.

"As the industry continues to evolve, consumers are frequently marketed new services and devices offering the video content they desire, whether through new pay-TV service offerings, skinny packages or cord-cutting OTT services," the report noted. "As a result, it is imperative for pay-TV providers to keep a pulse on how consumers view their pay-TV services and how their sentiments evolve over time."

The silver lining is the fact that of those respondents planning to cut, change or switch, 41.1% would stay if new functionality were released to improve respondents' ability to find something to watch.