Pay-TV subscriber dissatisfaction grows in Q3


Details

Michelle Clancy

| 03 December 2015




In the third quarter of 2015, 8.1% of pay-TV subscribers have switched providers in the last three months, according to the latest Digitalsmiths Video Trends Report.



The survey found that the news for pay-TV gets worse from there. In the next six months, an aggregate of 46.5% of respondents in its survey plan to either cut pay-TV service altogether (4.8%), change to another pay-TV provider (7.2%), switch to an online app or rental service (2.7%), or are thinking of changing providers (31.8%).

Of the 46.5% of respondents who plan to make a change or are undecided, 48.2% would stay if their provider released new functionality that made it easier to find something to watch.

Costs meanwhile continue to go up. A full 60.7% of respondents spend over $100 a month with their pay-TV provider, an increase of 3.3% over two years. It is important to note that a relatively sizable audience (23.9%) of respondents pay over $151 on a monthly basis. Additionally, 40.6% of respondents are paying more for pay-TV services now than they were 12 months ago.

These expanding costs continue to threaten the incumbent position of pay-TV providers, Digitalsmiths concluded in the report. The report said that while 76% of respondents were satisfied in Q3 2015, it is imperative for pay-TV providers to focus on the 24% who are unsatisfied — which has grown 2.5% over the Q3 2013 survey results. The top three reasons for dissatisfaction are: increasing fees for cable/satellite service; increasing fees for Internet service; and poor customer service.