More People Abandoning Cable TV For The Internet
By Anna Johnson on May 29th, 2009Perhaps accelerated by the recession, more people in the U.S. are cutting their cable subscriptions (typically costing $60 per month or more) in favor of free-to-air high definition television channels, Internet-connected video game consoles and television sets, and set-top boxes.
Research from several sources underscores the trend. According to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, while the number of households paying for cable increased by 2 percent last year, in the final quarter pay-TV penetration grew by only 0.7 percent, or 220,000 homes – the lowest growth rate on record.
Consulting firm Parks Associates projects that the number of U.S. homes not paying for TV will grow beyond the 900,000 homes it found in 2008. And research by the Leichtman Research Group forecasts that the percentage of adults viewing television shows online will rise from 6 percent in 2008 to 8 percent in 2009.
While the Wall Street Journal says the number of people leaving cable is currently too small to be particularly detrimental to cable companies… it’s likely that we are seeing the start of an irreversible trend.
Source: Christopher Lawton, “More Households Cut the Cord on Cable,” The Wall Street Journal, May 28, 2009
