Cord-cutting trends and motivations
The number of pay TV households in the U.S. declined from a peak of 100.5 million in 2014 to about 65 million in 2022. While the share of non-pay TV households has steadily increased over the past few years, the cord-cutting movement was fast-tracked by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which put a massive strain on sports events, awards shows, and other live entertainment broadcasts in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, cord-cutting is particularly popular among young audiences as viewers between the ages of 18 and 54 are most accustomed to non-linear entertainment formats and (mobile) streaming alternatives. According to several surveys, the availability of online video content and the rising costs of pay TV are the main reasons for not subscribing to cable or satellite TV.Are online streaming services killing the (pay) TV star?
Between 2017 and 2022, pay TV revenue in the U.S. decreased from 100.1 billion to 86.21 billion U.S. dollars. While the U.S. still held the highest pay TV revenue worldwide, cable companies faced sharp revenue declines due to the mounting number of cord-cutters. According to the latest estimates, U.S. pay TV providers suffered a loss of nearly 5.9 million subscribers in 2022, with Comcast reporting the most extensive subscriber loss that year. Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, on the other hand, have seen rapid growth in subscriber counts and revenues in recent years. In 2022, SVOD revenue in the U.S. reached an unparalleled 30.3 billion U.S. dollars, with SVOD subscribers having overtaken pay TV users several years ago. Today, TV fans are switching from linear broadcasts to more flexible and affordable entertainment options such as virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPD). While many viewers are merely supplementing their cable or satellite bundles with online content, larger numbers than ever are disconnecting from the pay TV experience altogether.
