2023 has been a great year for cord cutting, but at the same time, we are seeing multiple live TV streaming services lose subscribers. Recently, DISH’s Sling TV and Fubo have both reported losing subscribers. AMC even reported its on-demand services lost subscribers recently. At the same time, we are seeing record numbers of Americans canceling cable TV in 2023. So what is the future of cord cutting? If cord cutting is growing, why are streaming services losing subscribers?
Today we are going to take a look at the future of cord cutting in 2023. As cord cutting matures and it becomes the primary way people watch TV in the United States.
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So what is the future of Cord Cutting?
Increasing a growing number of cord cutters are ditching cable TV but not replacing it with a live TV streaming service. Just a few years ago, many cable executives expected to see most cord cutters to replace cable TV with a similar live TV streaming services. Now though, most cord cutters have opted for cheaper on-demand only options vs more expensive live TV services like Sling TV and Fubo.
From our surveys of Cord Cutters News readers, many cord cutters cancel cable TV with a live TV service like Fubo, Sling TV, or DIRECTV STREAM. Later many cord cutters, especially non-sports fans, find themselves switching to on-demand-only services like Paramount+ or HBO Max. Even sports fans are often only subscribing to live TV streaming services when their favorite sport is on TV.
This willingness by cord cutters to skip live TV service has left many cable TV executives struggling to come up with a way to counter the trend.
So what does this mean for the future of cord cutting? Increasingly companies are focusing on growing their on-demand services like Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, and more.
Live TV streaming services like Fubo, Sling TV, and DIRECTV STREAM are not going away as sports fans alone will likely keep demand for these services.
Right now, cord cutting is as strong as it has ever been. What we are seeing is the fact that there are more services than the market can support, and people are changing how they watch TV. Increasingly the need to see TV live has been fading, leading to the growth of on-demand services.
We are also seeing recent price hikes pushing 56% of cord cutters to cut back on the number of streaming services they are paying for. This is not a sign of cord cutting slowing down but instead of the maturity of cord cutting.
Increasingly cord cutters are learning what they really want and need. This idea you have to have everything for most people is just not accurate. (Also, is it even possible to watch everything on every service?)
Cord cutting is still in its early years. Cutting the cord may now be the most popular way to watch TV in the United States, but we are still learning our way. Over the next five years, how we watch TV will likely dramatically change. This will come as TV providers rush to bring more content to stream, and the number of streaming services will like to drop as cord cutting matures.