No Surprise: Traditional Cable Market Will Shrink

The percentage of households that subscribe to a linear pay-TV service, such as cable TV or satellite, has been slowly but steadily dropping over the past few years as more and more OTT options become available to consumers. The question for many operators has been how fast that market will continue to erode and when would it make sense to exit the business.

Market research firm The Diffusion Group has quantified the expected shift in a new report. 

​Consequently, legacy pay-TV penetration will fall from 81% of US households in 2017 to 60% in 2030, down 26%. At the same time, virtual pay-TV penetration will grow from roughly 4% of US households to 14%, up 350% but from a very small base. 

The decline is not unexpected, but perhaps less than some might think. Indeed, operators who have anticipated dropping a video product from their broadband portfolio may want to reconsider whether doing so is prudent when 60% of consumers will still subscribe in 13 years.

The actual report from The Diffusion Group is available for purchase online, or you can read a summary of the findings on the PR Newswire.