Although this allows traditional pay-TV providers to show them as TV subscribers, the truth is more and more American households are downgrading their service.
According to the Parks Associates, in 2016 12% of pay-TV subscribers downgraded their service to a smaller, cheaper package but still kept some type of TV subscription. Compare that to just 6% who added a service or increased their package in 2016 and you see a clear trend of cord shaving going on.
This trend of cord shaving often leads to full blown cord cutting down the road. My parents are a perfect example of this. For years they paid $20 for standard non-HD local channels. I hooked them up with an antenna and not only did they get every station they got from Comcast they got them in HD and even received an extra 10 channels that Comcast was not offering in its $20 package.
We also see companies such as CenturyLink moving to offer streaming services that will bring local channels only packages to markets that struggle with over-the-air TV. Clearly cable sees a demand for a service that offers low priced access to local channels.
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