There have been many articles floating around the internet about millennial men leading the way in cutting the cord. We’re sure you’ve seen one of these headlines:
“Are Young Males Cutting the Cord for Good?”
“A survey suggests only a third will pay for TV this year.”
“Millennials and males lead in online video viewing.”
This all might be true, but what we found on our website and through our TV antenna sales, is that cord cutting is growing across the board, regardless of age! In the past, our largest age group has been 55-64 years old. They were our bread and butter, our main squeeze, our BFF’s, followed by 45-54 and 35-44 and so on. This past year, the 35-44 age group ROCKETED from #3 to overtake #1, increasing by nearly 90%! But that’s not all. We found that across the board, we had growth in ALL age groups.
18-24: 108% increase
25-34: 86% increase
55-64: 55% increase
In terms of gender, we have found that the traffic among males increased 69%, but the traffic among women have increased 76%. This shows us that women are entering the HDTV antenna and cord cutting market and will continue to grow, it’s not just a male dominated market. Ladies are stepping up the cord cutting game!
According to a MoffettNathanson analyst, the pay-TV industry saw a net loss of 1.7 million subscribers in 2016. This 1.7% drop was “the fastest rate of decline on record.” This is AWESOME news. It might be true that Millennials are leading the way in cutting the cord and streaming, but they’re not alone. It’s not just a young folks game anymore.
What we found is pretty exciting. There has been a massive shift in the age of cord cutters, but the most exciting thing is the immense growth of interest among all the age groups. It doesn’t matter your age, gender, race, occupation, marital status, favorite food, cord cutting is increasing across the board, and this is something we are celebrating at Antennas Direct.
So what is our prediction for 2017, you might be asking? That’s simple. Pay-TV will continue to suffer. American’s will continue to prove their intelligence by axing cable and satellite, saving hundreds of dollars and month. More streaming opportunities will become available. And our TV antenna business and sales will continue to grow. All good things are around the corner. This is our year. The cord cutters year.