A majority of “cord-cutters” are clearly happier -- largely due to less expensive TV alternatives versus traditional pay TV providers.A new study from
nScreenMedia says 47% of those interviewed are “pretty happy with the decision” and 37% are “extremely happy.” Just 8% say they are “pretty unhappy” and 9% say
“hate it and wish I had service again.”
The study quotes media researcher Craig Moffett, a principal of MoffettNathanson Research: "We have always argued that cord-cutting is an
economic phenomenon, not a technological one. ... Pay-TV revenue growth reflects rapid pay-TV pricing growth and that is precisely the problem. Rapidly rising prices are squeezing lower-income
consumers out of the ecosystem.”
Pay-TV subscription costs continue to climb well ahead of inflation.
For example, the study cites that DirecTV’s average price per
home grew 3.8% in 2013, while the median U.S. household income increased just 2.1%. Since 2002, DirecTV has increased its average TV price package 2.4% a year while median household income has fallen
0.4% a year.
What do cord-cutters miss the most? The study says it’s “TV shows I can’t find anywhere else,” like AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men”
and HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” But almost the same level of respondents -- 29% -- say they miss “absolutely nothing.”
This second-quarter 2014 research came from
an nScreenMedia partnership with Troubadour Research and Consulting which surveyed 1000 consumers with access to high-speed Internet, either through at-home broadband internet or mobile smartphone
connectivity.
"Scissors cutting cable" photo from Shutterstock.advertisement
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