Last week the Miami Herald ran a really interesting story on the impact that the shift of viewing habits from the TV to the web is having on both the broadcast and cable TV ecosystems. This new trend is being fueled by Millennials
The article sites a report from TDG Research, 'A Primary Profile of Cord Cutters and Cord Nevers', that found today, 87% of broadband households currently subscribe to a pay-TV service, a decline of almost five percentage points since 2010 but nonetheless a very strong indicator of the grip that pay-TV has an US households.
That being said, a growing number of broadband subscribers are now doing without pay-TV services altogether, having either “cut the cord” or never signed up to begin with in the first place.
Who are these 'Cord Nevers?" According to Jim Flynn, president of Massachusetts-based Overlook TV:
'They’re in their early 20s, just out of college, and for them, paying $100 or $200 a month for cable TV is just not an option. And they don’t feel bad about it. They’re part of this millennial generation who are perfectly happy getting all their video over the Internet.'
But then, other experts say this 'Millennial 'Cord Nevers' are destroying the TV and Cable TV business' conversation is a bunch of nonsense. What do you think?
Speaking of the Internet, Millennials and TV, here are some stats:
Internet & TV
- In the US, the rise of the internet as a frequent source of entertainment is most dramatic in the 18-34 group, rising from 27 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2010.
- In the US, 32 percent of 18-54 year olds look most frequently to the web for entertainment (compared with 58 percent watching TV).
- The internet also ranked second in the UK, with 30 percent turning to the web most frequently, compared with 57 percent watching TV.
- Internet is second only to TV as a frequent “source of entertainment.”
Freedom of Content
- In the 2008 study, free content was the dominant issue. This year’s study shows it is the ability to access content across devices, not cost, that is of significance to consumers.
- 65 percent of US respondents think it is important that they are able to access their entertainment on a number of different devices.
- 59 percent of UK respondents think it is important that they are able to access their entertainment on a number of different devices.
- 58 percent (US) and 53 percent (UK) of consumers state they would be willing to pay for content if they were able to move it across devices.
