Last year alone, millions of American households made a quiet but definitive declaration that the era of bloated cable bundles is over, with U.S. pay-TV providers hemorrhaging over 5.9 million subscribers in 2022.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. pay-TV households declined by 5.9 million in 2022
- Cable subscribers dropped by 1.2 million in Q4 2023
- Traditional MVPDs lost 6.5 million subs in 2023
- Netflix added 13.1M subs in 2023
- Disney+ reached 150M global subs by Q4 2023
- Hulu subs grew to 48M in 2023
- 28.8% of U.S. adults cut cord in past year 2023
- 59 million Americans canceled pay-TV in 2023
- Cord cutting rate accelerated to 4.3% in 2023
- U.S. streaming market $50B in 2023
- Pay-TV revenue down to $90B from $110B peak
- Streaming share of TV time 38% in 2023
- Households save $986/year cutting cord
- Average pay-TV bill $217/month 2023
- Streaming average $55/month per service
Traditional pay-TV is rapidly shrinking as streaming services win over viewers.
Cord Cutting Rates
- 28.8% of U.S. adults cut cord in past year 2023
- 59 million Americans canceled pay-TV in 2023
- Cord cutting rate accelerated to 4.3% in 2023
- 50% of Gen Z never had cable
- 77% of cord cutters save $100+/month
- Cord cutters increased 20% YoY in 2023
- 65% of households cord cut by 2025 forecast
- Millennials lead cord cutting at 45% rate
- Rural cord cutting up 15% in 2023
- Sports fans cord cut less, 30% rate
- 40% of cord cutters return within a year
- Cord shaving (downgrade) 25% of cutters
- Pandemic boosted cord cutting 10%
- 33% of U.S. homes pure streaming only 2023
- Cord cutting households grew to 81.7M
- Average cord cutter age 42, down from 50
- Hispanic households cut cord at 35% rate
- 70% cite cost as reason for cutting
- Cord cutting peaks in summer months
- 15% annual cord cutting growth 2020-2023
- vMVPDs attract 20% of new cutters
- 25% of broadband homes cut cord 2023
- Cord cutting slowed to 3% in Q4 2023
Cord Cutting Rates Interpretation
Cable companies are witnessing a mass exodus so brisk that nearly a third of adults have recently fled, with half of Gen Z having never even set up camp in their expensive kingdom, all while former subjects happily report plundering an average of $100 back into their own coffers each month.
Economic Impacts
- Households save $986/year cutting cord
- Average pay-TV bill $217/month 2023
- Streaming average $55/month per service
- Cord cutters save 40% on entertainment
- Pay-TV industry lost $20B revenue 2019-2023
- Streaming revenue $28B US 2023, up 12%
- Job losses in cable 50k since 2019
- Price hikes 5% annual on cable
- 70% cut due to rising costs over $100/mo
- Broadband costs rose 3% with cord cutting
- Sports streaming premiums add $20/mo
- Ad revenue shift $5B from linear to CTV
- Cable capex down 15% post-cord cutting
- Household entertainment budget streaming 25%
- Netflix profitability $5B net income 2023
- Pay-TV EBITDA margins squeezed 20%
- 60% of cutters report satisfaction
- Market consolidation saves $2B costs
- Free ad-supported TV saves $30/mo avg
- Total addressable video market $150B
- Cord cutting boosts broadband subs 10M
Economic Impacts Interpretation
The pay-TV industry is learning the hard way that when you treat customers like captive ATMs, they'll happily take their $986 in annual savings and a side of satisfaction to the streaming buffet, leaving cable's golden goose not just cooked but thoroughly cord-cut.
Market Shifts
- U.S. streaming market $50B in 2023
- Pay-TV revenue down to $90B from $110B peak
- Streaming share of TV time 38% in 2023
- Cable share drops to 30% of viewing
- FAST channels revenue $1.5B in 2023
- vMVPD market share 12% of pay-TV
- Ad-supported streaming up 50% revenue
- Hybrid homes (pay-TV + streaming) 40%
- Broadcast TV share 20%, down 5% YoY
- Sports streaming captures 25% rights
- Global streaming overtakes pay-TV 2023
- U.S. TV ad spend shifts 15% to streaming
- Cable networks viewership down 12%
- Netflix 8% of all TV viewing US
- YouTube 10% TV time share
- Linear TV declining 5% annually
- CTV ad market $30B by 2025
- Pay-TV ARPU down 4% to $110/month
- Streaming bundles rise to 25% adoption
- Regional sports networks collapsing
- 45% of TV consumption streaming only
- Average household streaming spend $60/month
- Cable bundles eroding 10% market
Market Shifts Interpretation
It appears the once mighty cable bundle has been aggressively picked apart by streaming, leaving a fragmented but ruthlessly efficient market where we now pay almost as much to piece it all back together, just with more ads and the existential dread of losing our local sports team.
Pay-TV Losses
- U.S. pay-TV households declined by 5.9 million in 2022
- Cable subscribers dropped by 1.2 million in Q4 2023
- Traditional MVPDs lost 6.5 million subs in 2023
- Pay-TV penetration fell to 68.7 million households by Q3 2023
- Satellite TV subs decreased by 800,000 in 2022
- Comcast lost 2.3 million video subs from 2019-2023
- Charter lost 1.4 million video customers in 2023
- DirecTV subs fell by 3 million since 2019
- U.S. cable penetration dropped to 42% in 2023
- Pay-TV households at 77.6 million in Q2 2023, down 7%
- 2023 saw 5.3 million net pay-TV losses
- Virtual MVPDs still net positive but slowing
- Traditional pay-TV lost 1.5 million in H1 2023
- Dish Network video subs down 1.7 million YOY
- Altice USA lost 300k video subs in 2023
- WOW! lost 100k video customers in 2022
- Pay-TV churn rate hit 2.8% in 2023
- 55% of U.S. homes cord-cut by 2023
- Multichannel video subs at 70 million in 2023
- Cable MSO video revenue down 10% in 2023
- Pay-TV households projected to 65M by 2025
- Q1 2023 pay-TV loss of 1.3M subs
- Verizon Fios video subs down 400k
- AT&T video subs plummeted post-DirecTV spin
- Cox video losses accelerated in 2023
- Pay-TV market contraction 8% annually
- 2022 pay-TV subs at 82M, down from 100M peak
Pay-TV Losses Interpretation
The pay-TV industry is experiencing a mass exodus so dramatic that if cable cords were actual ropes, the entire country would be untethered and floating away by now.
Streaming Growth
- Netflix added 13.1M subs in 2023
- Disney+ reached 150M global subs by Q4 2023
- Hulu subs grew to 48M in 2023
- Amazon Prime Video at 200M global users
- Max (HBO Max) hit 97M subs post-merger
- Peacock added 7M paid subs in 2023
- Paramount+ reached 60M subs globally
- Apple TV+ subs estimated at 25M
- YouTube Premium 100M subs in 2023
- Sling TV grew to 2.2M subs
- FuboTV subs at 1.5M by end 2023
- Philo subs reached 800k
- Vudu (Fandango at Home) 50M users
- Tubi FAST viewers 74M MAUs
- Pluto TV 80M MAUs in 2023
- Roku Channel 80M users
- Amazon Freevee 200M streams/month
- Disney bundle (D+/Hulu/ESPN) 5M signups
- Netflix ad-tier 15M subs in 6 months
- U.S. streaming subs total 1.1B by household
- vMVPD subs reached 14M in 2023
- Global OTT subs to hit 1.8B by 2027
- 85% of U.S. broadband homes have streaming
- Average U.S. home subscribes to 5.1 SVODs
- 38% annual growth in streaming revenue 2019-2023
- Discovery+ merged into Max, boosting subs 20%
- Spotify video podcasts drive subs up 15%
- Tidal music streaming subs steady at 3M
Streaming Growth Interpretation
It seems everyone is so busy cutting the cord from cable that they've ended up tangled in a far more expensive web of subscriptions, proving the real art isn't in escaping the bundle but in reassembling it piece by piece from a dozen different bills.
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