Connected-TV Users Twice as Likely to Cut the Cord

DALLAS: Broadband users with an Internet-connected TV are twice as likely to be "highly inclined" to cancel their current pay-TV service than those with non-net-connected TVs, finds The Diffusion Group.

On average, 7 percent of adults with broadband say they are would-be cord-cutters, noting that they are highly likely to cancel their pay-TV subscription in the next six months. This has a strong correlation with the use of smart TVs; 8.8 percent of connected-TV users are highly likely to cancel in the next six months, compared to only 3.5 percent of non-net-connected TV users.

“For years, the casual relationship between the two behaviors has been questioned, and rightly so,” said Michael Greeson, co-founder and president of TDG. “Yet TDG has argued for several years that this relationship would develop over time and hit an important landmark moment of sorts in 2013. That is indeed what has transpired, and now the pay-TV industry and prominent analysts are coming to terms with the fact those with access to online video sources on their TV are more likely than their counterparts to be reconsidering the value proposition of incumbent pay-TV services.”

“The data does demonstrate a notable correlation between the two phenomena,” said Greeson, “one we expect to grow more strongly in the next few years.”