Report: 56% of Consumers Have Either Cut the Cord or Plan To

Cable costs are higher than ever, and consumers are choosing the alternate route of going all digital with streaming services. According to Cord Cutters News citing a new report by Mohu, more than half (56%) of consumers have cut the cord, as in canceled cable TV packages, or plan to within the next six months.

People are always looking for ways to save money, and cutting the cord is a no-brainer these days. The survey also shows that 48% of people say their TV subscription costs have forced them to tighten their budget for other personal spending (e.g., going to restaurants, shopping, traveling, etc.). As a result, the same percentage of people admit to using a friend or family member’s login so they don’t have to pay for their own account. More than half have leveraged free trials to access content and many are cutting the cable cord.

While free trials are a great way to test out a streaming service before committing, consumers view TV subscriptions as a long-term commitment for Americans. In fact, 4 in 5 expect to keep their TV subscriptions for more than year while only 1 in 7 admit to experimenting with shorter-term TV subscriptions.

Of those who do plan to cancel a subscription in the near future, most cited lack of content and price as the main reasons for jumping ship.

Consumers are subscribing to more services than ever, with 3 in 5 saying they currently subscribe to more services than they did last year. That makes sense given this next statistic that more than 1 in 3 viewers spending more than seven hours per week in front of their screens. That’s almost like a full working day spent watching TV each week.