Complete “quitting” of any program viewing on
legacy TV platforms continues to lag what has been called “quiet quitting” -- cutting back on viewing on cable, satellite or over-the-air platforms, according to a new Inscape report.
"Sticky" sports and news content may have something to do with this, according to the survey.
Among those surveyed in the last three months of 2023, 61% of respondents spent all their TV viewing time with streaming, with 39% spending all their time on cable/satellite/over-the-air platforms and stations.
Drilling down, in the fourth quarter, the Inscape panel reported 72% of respondents' sports viewing time was on cable/satellite systems (28% for streaming).
Regular TV news content continues to be the strongest on legacy TV platforms -- at 79% versus 21% for streaming. News-related GOP presidential debates posted an 81% number in favor of cable/satellite/OTA platforms.
advertisement
advertisement
At the same time, the report says the percentage of viewers “no longer viewing cable/satellite” programming rose 6.5% in the period versus 4.0% a year earlier. This data is based on U.S. homes with at least six minutes of cable/satellite viewership in each of the last four quarters.
Looking at the fourth quarter of 2023 versus the previous year, 15% of viewers decreased their cable and satellite viewing time by more than 75% -- but did not fully “quit.”
Around 12% of viewers who lowered their viewing by 50% to 75% also did not “quit.”
Wayne, if their finding is that 61% of their respondents do all of their TV viewing via streaming, this means either that these are extremely light viewers so their weight in the total population re viewing is very small---unlikely---or that Nielsen's meters are totally wrong in putting streaming's share at 35-40% when it should be more like 70-75%---- also, unlikely.
If I were a linear broadcaster, I might take very little solace in knowing that my slow terminal illness was killing me at a slower pace than the cablecaster in the next hospital bed.