QoQ change in pay-TV subscribers:
1) Traditional pay-TV – ↓ 2.2M
2) Streaming pay-TV – ↓ 327K
3) Total pay-TV – ↓ 2.6M
Total pay-TV subscriptions (YoY growth):
1) 2019-Q1 – 91.6M
2) 2020-Q1 – 87.1M (↓ 5%)
3) 2021-Q1 – 83.0M (↓ 5%)
Traditional pay-TV subscriptions (YoY growth):
1) 2019-Q1 – 83.9M
2) 2020-Q1 – 77.5M (↓ 8%)
3) 2021-Q1 – 71.4M (↓ 8%)
Streaming pay-TV subscriptions (YoY growth):
1) 2019-Q1 – 7.8M
2) 2020-Q1 – 9.6M (↑ 23%)
3) 2021-Q1 – 11.7M (↑ 22%)
U.S. homes without traditional pay-TV according to nScreenMedia:
1) 2014 – 15.6M
2) 2015 – 17.8M (↑ 14%)
3) 2016 – 20.8M (↑ 17%)
4) 2017 – 26.5M (↑ 27%)
5) 2018 – 32.7M (↑ 23%)
6) 2019 – 40.7M (↑ 24%)
7) 2020 – 48.6M (↑ 19%)
Interesting: Streaming pay-TV is much easier to sign-up and cancel, leading to larger swings in churn around seasonal content (NFL, etc.).
Big question #1: What are the main reasons people are forgoing pay-TV?
Top reasons for not subscribing to traditional pay-TV according to Pew:
1) Content available online – 71%
2) Too expensive – 69%
3) Do not often watch TV – 45%
Big question #2: Which age groups are forgoing traditional pay-TV at the highest rate?
Share of adults that forgo traditional pay-TV:
1) 18-29 – 66%
2) 30-49 – 54%
3) 18+ – 44%
4) 50-64 – 34%
5) 65+ – 19%
