So far in 2024, 4 million people have canceled cable TV from all pay TV providers in the first six months of 2024.
This comes as a growing number of Americans are ditching live TV and are instead using on-demand only services like Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix.
Almost 22,000 people are canceling cable TV every single day. If this trend continues, more than 8 million Americans will ditch cable TV in 2024 in favor of streaming. This would mark a noticeable jump in subscriber losses for pay TV who had hoped streaming services like Fubo and YouTube TV would replace cable TV losses.
For years, industry observers hoped that live TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Fubo, and Hulu + Live TV would offset the losses from traditional cable subscriptions. However, these services collectively added a mere 49,000 subscribers in the second quarter, according to a report by MoffettNathanson.
This growing pressure on cable TV providers was seen last year as Spectrum, now the largest provider of cable TV in the United States, dropped Disney channels over a contract fight. Now DIRECTV has done the same and is making it clear they want to change how TV is offered as they struggle to find a way to become successful in the world of cord cutting.
For now, the future of live TV does not look promising.