According to a study conducted by consulting firm Deloitte, approximately 9 percent of users subscribing to premium television programming such as cable or satellite TV ditched those services in favor of online options during 2011. With more than 2,000 respondents between the ages of 14 to 75 participating in the survey, eleven percent are considering “cutting the cord” during 2012 since they believe their favorite television shows are already available online. Beyond that group, an additional 15 percent want to try out movies and television shows via online digital sources in the upcoming months.
Younger consumers between the ages of 23 to 28 were the most likely to “cut the cord” in 2012 with nearly one-fifth of that age range considering the move. As age increases, Americans are less likely to ditch cable or satellite service. Only seven percent of people between the ages of 46 and 64 are considering the change and just five percent of people beyond 65 years of age are doing the same. However, many respondents value DVR service like TiVo almost as much as premium TV service and 80 percent of respondents have no plans to stop paying for cable or satellite service this year.
The study also found that increased accessibility to online media has driven usage up over the last two years. With set-top boxes, gaming consoles, smart televisions, Blu-ray players and smartphones offering access to digital media such as movies, the amount of people streaming movies has risen from 28 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2011. In addition, the amount of people that prefer watching a movie through a streaming source rose from 4 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2011. Other devices, like eBook readers and smartphones, have increased the amount of people consuming newspapers, books and magazines on a digital device over the paper alternative. The survey also found there are many more homes with smartphones in the U.S. as that number jumped from 25 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2011