• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 9, 2024

Parks Associates says just 5% of U.S. internet households have only a pay-TV service. No streaming apps -- nothing.

Sounds crazy. Parks' analysis says this comes as legacy pay-TV companies continue to lose subscribers to streaming video services -- this to a business that has an average annualized industry churn rate for streaming services of 50%.

People paying for internet services -- but not using them to get premium streaming TV services?

So are they just consuming other digital media --  say, Facebook, X/Twitter, or the electronic program guide that is downloaded via the internet for legacy pay tv providers?

Just having a legacy pay TV service would be limiting. The problem is this analysis is just a sliver of what those five-percenters are doing media-wise. Maybe it's all about the price in those homes. Maybe those homes have the cheapest legacy pay TV option. We don't know.

But you wonder, in that regard, where those cost-conscious entertainment consumers see the value in those other streaming platforms: Those library-housing FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) platforms? 

Good news for those households then: There would be no need to repeat the “churn” process sometimes plaguing  costly premium streamers a la Netflix, Disney+, or Prime Video for example. That is repeating the sign up-and-cancel multiple times a year to only pay for programming they like.

Then again, maybe those homes see lots of volatility out there: They will wait until the dust settles a bit.

After all, things have been dramatically changing. 

T-Mobile had been offering ad-free Netflix for free for some time. Now, it is downgrading that deal -- still offering Netflix for free, but only via its advertising option. (It is also adding ad-supported Hulu to its freebie bundle of those that also buy its wireless/broadband services.)

Maybe privacy issues are at work. After all, there are virtually no privacy issues with those FAST channels. You don't need to register with your email or other personal information to get access to that content -- much to the chagrin of advertisers who dip into that pool.

Watered down at-home entertainment experiences may be upon us.  And those five-percenters may be thinking they will just tread water until streamers get their ducks in a row. Go float.