Survey: many US homes may drop pay TV

Within the next three years, more than 16 million US TV households may be using their broadband service more than they now use their TV sets, reports high-tech market research firm In-Stat. This is one of the key findings of an In-Stat survey of US consumers about TV viewing, media, and online habits, called US TV Viewer Survey: Online Bids to Usurp Pay-TV. Respondents had a broadband connection, a TV set, and were 18 years of age or older.

“Today’s stable and profitable subscription TV services are facing new competition from online and mobile entertainment services, and from new, high-quality packaged goods, such as HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs,” said Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst in a prepared statement. “The very nature of what consumers call ‘entertainment’ is undergoing a profound change in which the ability to instantly share content with friends, family members, and those connected on social networks or buddy lists is creating micro user communities that replace traditional entertainment sources such as TV programmes. As more high-quality content becomes available online, savvy consumers are considering ways to reduce their monthly bills by getting everything from the Internet.”

In-Stat’s survey also revealed the following:

- Up to 30% of respondents would drop subscription TV and use the Internet for TV.
- 42% of respondents said that they are not getting enough international news and information from their current TV delivery services, even though there are hundreds of channels available.
- Nearly 40% of all respondents said “This is the first I’ve heard of” the US analogue TV cut off mandate in February 2009.