[opendtv] Re: Cord cutters and cord nevers
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:55:19 -0500
At 8:33 PM -0600 1/17/13, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
I couldn't find that specific number, but there are many recent
articles online about the demographic shift. For the percentages,
mostly they seem to quote the same TDG report mentioned in the one
below.
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/25184/forget-cord-cutters-cord-nevers-are-pay-tv-s-real-problem.html
Thanks. Not sure this adds up to the numbers you stated, but it does
provide a more useful bit of information. Economics are the biggest
reason for cord cutting or not subscribing, especially for the 18-34
crowd.
The trend the TDG report shows is (these are households overall, not
just the 18-34 year olds):
In 2010, 92 percent of broadband households also had MVPD service
In 2012, 87 percent of broadband households had MVPD service
By 2017, 82.8 percent of broadband households are projected to have
MVPD service
So yes there is a decline, but it has been much smaller overall they
you indicated. THese numbers really do not tell us what the 18-34
demographic is doing, other than one paragraph in the article you
quoted:
"When it comes to cord-cutters, the rationale for dropping a
subscription, which can easily top $100 per month even in a
triple-play, is fairly standard: it's too expensive. That was the
number one response, according to VideoNuze, followed by a full 61%
of respondents aged 18-24 who said they were turning to over-the-top
(OTT) options like Amazon Prime and Netflix. 'Poor value' rounded out
the responses."
And any number of articles you can find online explains the
demographics of those likely to be cable cutters and cable nevers.
Often just in words, but there seems to be unanimous consensus. The
"likely to" cut the cord and "likely to" be cable nevers are much
more represented in the young demographic, educated, employed.
Agreed. I would add that this group also leads in "likely to be unemployed."
So, point being, the percentage of broadband households is growing,
so the number of viewers represented by each percentage point is
also growing. How likely is it for the TV execs to shut out this
growing demographic? Not very. And how will they reach them? Online
primarily, via OTT sites, but also mentioned are DVDs and OTA. All
the articles I came across articles agree on this.
The answer is simple. They allow enough content to flow to Netflix,
Hulu Plus, etc. to satisfy those who are on a budget. But these are
still subscription services - just cheaper than the MVPDs. The same
stories you cite suggest that the cord cutters/nevers do subscribe to
these new alternatives...
You get what you pay for.
Hence, it makes sense for Disney to make deals with Netflix. Hardly
a head-scratcher, right? And it makes sense for the TV networks to
provide FOTA material also FOTI. You don't win by bucking trends.
They provide SOME content FOTI, not the most valuable stuff and
almost never live when broadcast. For that there is FOTA TV.
Regards
Craig
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