In case you were wondering, this cord-cutting thing isn’t going anywhere.
Per SNL Kagan, a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence, 13 percent of occupied American homes — or one out of every six — now have broadband but no cable. That means in 2016 alone, households equipped with broadband that do not subscribe to a traditional multichannel video package grew by more than 2 million. Yeah, that’s a lot.
“While financial considerations likely are at play, the segment’s trend, combined with the erosion of legacy multichannel, primarily underscores the evolution of video consumption preferences,” the research company said.
That cable-shirking segment of the U.S. population — totaling 15.4 million homes — grew by 400,000 dwellings in the fourth-quarter alone. And by 2021, Kagan expects that number will reach 28 million — almost double in just a few more years. To make matters more daunting for traditional cable providers, the Wednesday study warned that its potentially shocking estimate may even prove conservative.
It won’t be a total loss to the Time Warners and Charters of the space, however — so long as they adapt. Comcast, for example, is making a heavy push into the streaming game with recent Netflix integration and a similar Sling deal. That NBC parent company is the biggest one we’ve got, so look out for some follow-the-leader action.
Below are a few diagrams from the Kagan study to help illustrate all the hubbub.
