The value of traditional pay-TV service like cable, satellite, and IPTV appears to be waning in the US, according to the Diffusion Group.
While close to 90% of broadband subscribers are still on the pay-TV dole, the perceived value of the service relative to prices paid has declined in the last 12 months.
For example, in 2012, 55% of pay-TV subscribers rated their service as a good value, meaning they believe the benefit they received was worth the money spent. In 2013, that percentage had declined by 10%, down to 49% of pay-TV subscribers.
More importantly, the percent of pay-TV subscribers that rate the value of their service as “extremely good” declined from 31% to 25%, down 18% year-over-year. Regardless of what competitive services are available; regardless of which operator is running the best deal at the time; regardless of regional price advantages, it appears that the value of pay-TV subscriptions is declining.
“With prices for traditional pay-TV services on the rise, it makes sense that consumers would second guess the value of these subscriptions,” notes Michael Greeson, founding partner of TDG. “Though value has remained high for decades, in the last year perceptions seems to be waning. Without doubt this is due to continued economic uncertainty, but our research continues to show that the availability of alternative video sources is weighing more heavily on consumer perceptions than many believe.”
The research featured above is from TDG’s Winter 2013 study, Benchmarking the Connected Consumer, a survey of 2,000 US adult broadband users.