Cord-cutting to enter period of decline


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| 06 November 2015





Once people had seen just how much money they could save from cord-cutting, its rise would be irresistible, so the received wisdom went: well maybe not.


According to a TDG Research study conducted in the first half of 2015, the percentage of adult broadband users moderately to highly likely to cancel their pay-TV service declined 20% between early 2014 and 2015. The percentage of consumers saying they 'definitely will cancel' their pay-TV service in the next six months was found to have been cut in half, down from 2.9% in early 2014 to 1.4% in early 2015, accounting for all of the top-2 regression.

"The fact that the decline occurred among those most likely to cut the cord was key, and ultimately translated into lower losses in Q3, "said Michael Greeson, TDG co-founder and director of research. "Cord-cutting proclivities have held steady for several years, with approximately 7% of ABU pay-TV subscribers moderately or highly likely to cancel their service in the six months following the survey. In early 2015, however, the number declined to 5.7%. This is the first time in five years we've seen significant change in these metrics."