Streaming services have continued to surge in popularity as cable TV is being displaced, along with broadcast TV, with streaming capturing 34.8% of viewers in July 2022, as per Nielsen. This is compared to 34.4% for cable and 21.6% for broadcast TV.
According to TV tech company Samba TV, in the latter half of 2022, cord-cutters became the majority as cable and satellite TV subscribers dropped to 48%. This resulted in the largest drop ever, with 5.9 million customers lost by the largest pay-TV providers, according to the Leichtman Research Group, as reported by The Hill.
Dallas Lawrence, VP of Samba TV, says “We’ve absolutely reached the tipping point. Streaming is TV today, period. It is now the primary way that the majority of Americans consume television content.”
The growing appeal of video streaming services is being attributed to faster internet download speeds, which allow streaming platforms to offer high-quality video content to consumers. In addition, dissatisfaction with cable providers is also cited as a contributing factor to the increased adoption of streaming services.
Nielsen’s data indicates that only a little over a third of Americans currently subscribe to cable TV for their entertainment needs. If satellite and other broadcast customers are included, traditional TV reaches slightly more than half of the nation.
Deloitte’s Jana Arbanas identified two primary reasons why cable TV continues to be relevant to consumers. According to Arbanas, local news and sports are the main reasons why people still subscribe to cable.
The Hill reports that older Americans are more likely to have cable TV, while younger consumers tend to opt for video streaming services instead. A third of viewers who don’t have cable TV have never had it and don’t plan to get it.
Many video streamers are known to sign up for 30-day trial subscriptions to watch a show and then cancel their subscription afterward. Dallas Lawrence, VP of Samba TV, says that this trend represents the ultimate expression of consumer choice, as people are deliberately choosing to subscribe to services for a limited period based on their preferences.
