The “cord cutting” trend cable execs spent a decade claiming was a fad just broke another round of new records. According to Leichtman Research, major cable TV providers lost another 1.7 million subscribers last quarter, as users flock to streaming, over the air TV, TikTok, or, you know, books. Roughly 17,700 customers cut the cord every single day during the second quarter of 2023.
Over the last year (Q2 ’22 to Q2 ’23) the traditional cable TV sector lost a whopping 5,360,000 customers, compared to 4,235,000 customer defections the year earlier. The current number of U.S. households that has a cable connection sits somewhere around 46 percent, down from 73% at the end of 2017.
…
Historically, a big cable company like Comcast or Charter wasn’t too hurt by “cord cutting” because it could just jack up the cost of monopolized broadband access. And while that’s still generally true; here too cable giants are seeing increased competition from community broadband (co-ops, utilities, municipalities), 5G home wireless, and phone companies belatedly upgrading to fiber.
Interestingly though, streaming TV providers also wound up losing subscribers, albeit at a much slower rate:
…
same here. i can pay 120 for cable tv and internet at 250mbps, or 100 for internet that is 50mbps.
but my town is a monopoly. i have zero other internet/cable choices.
Holy crap, that almost double what I pay for a gigabit connection 🫠
I pay just short of $200/mo, same situation, okay internet bundled with cable I never use, alternative is awful internet for not much less. No other options. And I live in a big city. Effective monopolies are hell.
At leat you can sleep sound knowing that you are paying them twice ;)
Once when feds give them money and a monthly fee directly.
Ain’t it grand?!
LOL, just commented that you’re free to enjoy satellite’s speed-of-light delays.