One in 10 US broadband homes have ‘cut the cord’

Brett Sappington

Some 10% of US broadband households are ‘cord cutters’, with 25% of them cancelling their pay TV service in the past year and turning to online video alternatives, according to new research.

The Parks Associates report claims that an additional 7% of US broadband households are recent ‘cord shavers’ – downgrading their pay TV service in the past 12 months and using online video sources.

‘Cord nevers’, consumers who have never subscribed to a pay TV service but do use online video sources, represent 3% of broadband households, according to the research.

“Although pay TV adoption rates have held fairly steady over the past four years, the video industry is highly sensitive to these groups of consumers,” said Brett Sappington, director of research, Parks Associates.

“Cord cutters, shavers, and nevers represent both the risk and opportunity facing the industry today. As viewing evolves, companies want to be sure that they are in a position to react to trends and adequately capture revenues. The massive influx of new OTT video services in 2015 is one example of video market players making moves to prepare for the new future of video entertainment.”