Grabyo: 74% of Global Pay-TV Customers to Cut Cord Within Five Years

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LONDON—Traditional pay-TV services did not have the best 2019, and according to a new report from Grabyo, the next five years may not be that much better.

Grabyo’s “Value of Video Report 2020: The Consumer Strikes Back” report details that 74% of global video customers plans to stop paying for pay-TV services within the next five years. The report gathered data from 13,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Japan and Australia.

Streaming in 2020 has already surpassed pay-TV adoption in terms of global penetration, per Grabyo (55% to 50%, respectively). And the biggest reason for the 26% of consumers who plan to, or already have, cut the cord is the price of services, with them finding streaming more affordable. Popular services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and others have some options that can range from $5-$15 per month.

As a result, many consumers are subscribing to multiple online streaming services, specifically 35% in the U.S. Up to 47% of U.S. consumers say they are willing to pay as much as $35 monthly for online video services.

While younger consumers have long been the main hub of the streaming base, Grabyo’s study found that older demographics are starting to take advantage of the multitude of streaming options as well. Since 2019, Grabyo reports, online video subscriptions have grown 63% among the 65+ age group.

“Broadcasters, rights holders and publishers need to cater to an audience that is moving away from traditional TV,” said Gareth Capon, Grabyo’s CEO. “Flexibility, access and price are important to consumers, which means delivering a multiplatform video strategy that reflects these needs. The transition to cloud services will support this shift, but these changes need to accelerate.”

Grabyo’s full report is available online.