A new forecast from eMarketer finds the loss of traditional pay TV subscribers in the United States is accelerating as the number of people who have cut the cord and continued without cable, satellite or IPTV service will climb to 33 million this year.
That’s some six million more cord-cutters than eMarketer predicted in July 2017, the company said.
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“Most of the major traditional TV providers [Charter, Comcast, Dish, etc.] now have some way to integrate with Netflix,” said eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Christopher Bendtsen.
“These partnerships are still in the early stages, so we don’t foresee them having a significant impact reducing churn this year. With more pay TV and OTT partnerships expected in the future, combined with other strategies, providers could eventually slow — but not stop — the losses.”
At the same time, the popularity of OTT services like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu continues to grow. An increase in the number of original programs and demand for multiple services is driving the growth, eMarketer said.
“Consumers increasingly choose services on the strength of the programming they offer, and the platforms are stepping up with billions in spending on premium shows,” said Bendtsen.
The availability of live TV packages delivered over the top without the need to install hardware or incur associated fees are also a factors, he added.
More information is available on the eMarketer website.
