• by Wayne Friedman , 3 hours ago

Consumer purchases of traditional pay TV bundles -- cable, satellite and virtual -- continue to decline, but now at more modest levels. There was a 4.1% fall in the second quarter of this year versus larger decreases in years past, including almost 7% as of the fourth quarter 2024, according to Madison & Wall.

The media analyst estimates there are now about 64 million U.S pay TV services households -- 47% of the total 136 million. 

But research shows overall consumer spending on all video -- pay TV, streaming, other home entertainment --- continues to climb. It grew 2.5% in the second quarter, now tp just under $40 billion.

“That is broadly consistent with the growth trend we have observed over roughly the past seven years,” says Madison & Wall. The growth largely reflects streaming platforms' ability to raise prices -- even against concerns from analysts.

“Consumers have considerable capacity to shift spending away from traditional pay TV services and toward streaming as the mix of video consumption changes,” the report continues. This trend includes not just less expensive ad-supported streaming platforms, but pricier ad-free ones as well.