Cord cutting worries may be overblown, but consumers are continuing to shave the cord of their pay-TV service at numbers that could have an impact on service providers, a new study from management form Altman Vilandrie found.
The firm said 3.7 percent of the 1,000 subscribers it surveyed said they had cancelled their pay-TV subscriptions. But, a whopping one-in-five says they've cut back on the size of the pay-TV content packages they pay for, and 20 percent of pay-TV subscribers under 44 say they've seriously considered dropping pay-TV altogether.
Cord shaving, or the likelihood of cord cutting, increases with younger users, said Jonathan Hurd, a director at Altman Vilandrie. About 31 percent of respondents between 18 and 24 say they shave the cord.
Surprisingly, or not if you watch economic data closely enough, the amount of cord shaving in the 35- to 44-year-old demographic showed a nine percent increase to 28 percent of households last year. For adults between 25 and 34, the rate was up 4 points to 27 percent, and the 45-54 age group increased 8 points to 16 percent.
Not addressed specifically were the "never weres," consumers who are recent graduates from school, or who have moved out of their parents' homes, a group the industry is watching closely to see if they'll follow in their parents footsteps and add pay-TV to their entertainment menu, or if they'll adopt online and over-the-top as their primary source of video.
For more:
- see this PC Magazine article
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