In the past year, 28.8% of U.S. adults cut the cord, and the cord cutting rate accelerated to 4.3%. In 2023 alone, 59 million Americans canceled pay TV. The changes are showing up in faster churn and bigger savings, including $100 or more per month for many households.
Key Takeaways
- 28.8% of U.S. adults cut cord in past year 2023
- Households save $986/year cutting cord
- U.S. streaming market $50B in 2023
- U.S. pay-TV households declined by 5.9 million in 2022
- Netflix added 13.1M subs in 2023
Most Americans are cutting cable to save money, shifting toward streaming services instead.
Related reading
01 · Category
Cord Cutting Rates23 stats
01
28.8% of U.S. adults cut cord in past year 2023
02
59 million Americans canceled pay-TV in 2023
03
Cord cutting rate accelerated to 4.3% in 2023
04
50% of Gen Z never had cable
05
77% of cord cutters save $100+/month
06
Cord cutters increased 20% YoY in 2023
07
65% of households cord cut by 2025 forecast
08
Millennials lead cord cutting at 45% rate
09
Rural cord cutting up 15% in 2023
10
Sports fans cord cut less, 30% rate
11
40% of cord cutters return within a year
12
Cord shaving (downgrade) 25% of cutters
13
Pandemic boosted cord cutting 10%
14
33% of U.S. homes pure streaming only 2023
15
Cord cutting households grew to 81.7M
16
Average cord cutter age 42, down from 50
17
Hispanic households cut cord at 35% rate
18
70% cite cost as reason for cutting
19
Cord cutting peaks in summer months
20
15% annual cord cutting growth 2020-2023
21
vMVPDs attract 20% of new cutters
22
25% of broadband homes cut cord 2023
23
Cord cutting slowed to 3% in Q4 2023
Interpretation
Cord Cutting Rates Interpretation
In the cord cutting rates category, the share of U.S. adults who cut the cord rose to 28.8% in 2023 as 59 million Americans canceled pay TV and the rate accelerated to 4.3%, showing the trend is gaining real momentum.
02 · Category
Economic Impacts21 stats
01
Households save $986/year cutting cord
02
Average pay-TV bill $217/month 2023
03
Streaming average $55/month per service
04
Cord cutters save 40% on entertainment
05
Pay-TV industry lost $20B revenue 2019-2023
06
Streaming revenue $28B US 2023, up 12%
07
Job losses in cable 50k since 2019
08
Price hikes 5% annual on cable
09
70% cut due to rising costs over $100/mo
10
Broadband costs rose 3% with cord cutting
11
Sports streaming premiums add $20/mo
12
Ad revenue shift $5B from linear to CTV
13
Cable capex down 15% post-cord cutting
14
Household entertainment budget streaming 25%
15
Netflix profitability $5B net income 2023
16
Pay-TV EBITDA margins squeezed 20%
17
60% of cutters report satisfaction
18
Market consolidation saves $2B costs
19
Free ad-supported TV saves $30/mo avg
20
Total addressable video market $150B
21
Cord cutting boosts broadband subs 10M
Interpretation
Economic Impacts Interpretation
From an economic impacts perspective, cutting the cord can save households $986 per year while the pay TV industry lost $20B in revenue from 2019 to 2023 as streaming grew to $28B in the US in 2023, up 12%, reflecting a clear shift of entertainment spending away from traditional subscriptions.
03 · Category
Market Shifts23 stats
01
U.S. streaming market $50B in 2023
02
Pay-TV revenue down to $90B from $110B peak
03
Streaming share of TV time 38% in 2023
04
Cable share drops to 30% of viewing
05
FAST channels revenue $1.5B in 2023
06
vMVPD market share 12% of pay-TV
07
Ad-supported streaming up 50% revenue
08
Hybrid homes (pay-TV + streaming) 40%
09
Broadcast TV share 20%, down 5% YoY
10
Sports streaming captures 25% rights
11
Global streaming overtakes pay-TV 2023
12
U.S. TV ad spend shifts 15% to streaming
13
Cable networks viewership down 12%
14
Netflix 8% of all TV viewing US
15
YouTube 10% TV time share
16
Linear TV declining 5% annually
17
CTV ad market $30B by 2025
18
Pay-TV ARPU down 4% to $110/month
19
Streaming bundles rise to 25% adoption
20
Regional sports networks collapsing
21
45% of TV consumption streaming only
22
Average household streaming spend $60/month
23
Cable bundles eroding 10% market
Interpretation
Market Shifts Interpretation
In the Market Shifts toward cord cutting, streaming is now $50B in the US in 2023 and takes 38% of TV time while pay TV revenue has fallen from a $110B peak to $90B and cable viewing has slid to 30%.
04 · Category
Pay Tv Losses27 stats
01
U.S. pay-TV households declined by 5.9 million in 2022
02
Cable subscribers dropped by 1.2 million in Q4 2023
03
Traditional MVPDs lost 6.5 million subs in 2023
04
Pay-TV penetration fell to 68.7 million households by Q3 2023
05
Satellite TV subs decreased by 800,000 in 2022
06
Comcast lost 2.3 million video subs from 2019-2023
07
Charter lost 1.4 million video customers in 2023
08
DirecTV subs fell by 3 million since 2019
09
U.S. cable penetration dropped to 42% in 2023
10
Pay-TV households at 77.6 million in Q2 2023, down 7%
11
2023 saw 5.3 million net pay-TV losses
12
Virtual MVPDs still net positive but slowing
13
Traditional pay-TV lost 1.5 million in H1 2023
14
Dish Network video subs down 1.7 million YOY
15
Altice USA lost 300k video subs in 2023
16
WOW! lost 100k video customers in 2022
17
Pay-TV churn rate hit 2.8% in 2023
18
55% of U.S. homes cord-cut by 2023
19
Multichannel video subs at 70 million in 2023
20
Cable MSO video revenue down 10% in 2023
21
Pay-TV households projected to 65M by 2025
22
Q1 2023 pay-TV loss of 1.3M subs
23
Verizon Fios video subs down 400k
24
AT&T video subs plummeted post-DirecTV spin
25
Cox video losses accelerated in 2023
26
Pay-TV market contraction 8% annually
27
2022 pay-TV subs at 82M, down from 100M peak
Interpretation
Pay Tv Losses Interpretation
Pay TV losses continued to mount in the US, with traditional MVPDs shedding 6.5 million subscribers in 2023 and pay TV penetration slipping to 68.7 million households by Q3 2023.
05 · Category
Streaming Growth28 stats
01
Netflix added 13.1M subs in 2023
02
Disney+ reached 150M global subs by Q4 2023
03
Hulu subs grew to 48M in 2023
04
Amazon Prime Video at 200M global users
05
Max (HBO Max) hit 97M subs post-merger
06
Peacock added 7M paid subs in 2023
07
Paramount+ reached 60M subs globally
08
Apple TV+ subs estimated at 25M
09
YouTube Premium 100M subs in 2023
10
Sling TV grew to 2.2M subs
11
FuboTV subs at 1.5M by end 2023
12
Philo subs reached 800k
13
Vudu (Fandango at Home) 50M users
14
Tubi FAST viewers 74M MAUs
15
Pluto TV 80M MAUs in 2023
16
Roku Channel 80M users
17
Amazon Freevee 200M streams/month
18
Disney bundle (D+/Hulu/ESPN) 5M signups
19
Netflix ad-tier 15M subs in 6 months
20
U.S. streaming subs total 1.1B by household
21
vMVPD subs reached 14M in 2023
22
Global OTT subs to hit 1.8B by 2027
23
85% of U.S. broadband homes have streaming
24
Average U.S. home subscribes to 5.1 SVODs
25
38% annual growth in streaming revenue 2019-2023
26
Discovery+ merged into Max, boosting subs 20%
27
Spotify video podcasts drive subs up 15%
28
Tidal music streaming subs steady at 3M
Interpretation
Streaming Growth Interpretation
Streaming Growth is accelerating as major platforms racked up massive subscriber gains, including Netflix adding 13.1M new subs in 2023 and Disney+ reaching 150M global subs by Q4 2023 alongside widespread scale such as Amazon Prime Video at 200M users and Max hitting 97M after its merger.
report visual · Comparison
Cord-cutting keeps accelerating (then slows)
More U.S. adults cut the cord in 2023, with a surge in the cut rate—followed by a slowdown in Q4.
28.8% of U.S. adults cut cord in past year 202328.8%
Cord cutters increased 20% YoY in 2023
20%
Cord cutting rate accelerated to 4.3% in 2023
4.3%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Margot Villeneuve. (2026, February 13). Cord Cutting Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cord-cutting-statistics
MLA
Margot Villeneuve. "Cord Cutting Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cord-cutting-statistics.
Chicago
Margot Villeneuve. 2026. "Cord Cutting Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cord-cutting-statistics.
Sources & references
58 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
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