In 2017, plenty of people grew sick and tired of paying through the nose for basic cable subscriptions. Once the simplicity and affordability of OTT services presented itself, consumers were more than ready to cut ties with their cable or satellite TV company and jump on the OTT bandwagon. How could you blame them?
The thought of high-quality streaming services at a low and affordable price is an alluring option for almost everyone. Not to mention, consumers would be given the opportunity to stream ANY TV show, movie, or media form that wanted from the comfort of their home or while they were on the go.
The versatility and flexibility of OTT streaming services truly knows no bounds. With the cord-cutting trend skyrocketing in 2017, researchers believe that this trend with only continue to expand as we pass through 2018.
How The Ball Got Rolling
In 2016, the traditional cable and satellite TV companies lost approximately 1.7 million subscribers, and in September of 2017, that number swelled to 2.6 million. All of whom switched to an OTT streaming alternative shortly after (source). Though these numbers are still fluctuating (decreasing in the case of traditional TV), there are currently 94 million US consumers that pay for traditional TV services and 3.5 million consumers that use OTT services. Researchers believe that the number of OTT service users is only going to increase in the next few years.
2017 left many notorious cable companies in the lurch when a significant amount of their customers canceled their subscription to explore the more affordable option of OTT streaming networks. The VOD (video on demand) services that these OTT services provide set the overall tone of the cord-cutting trend. From there, many other OTT provides have come out of the woodwork and sold their own unique forms of video streaming services for an affordable monthly subscription. However, with this sudden drop in profit, cable companies scrambled to come up with their own OTT services in order to keep up with the competition.
However, cable companies are backing down yet. Though there have been many attempts to create their own versions of OTT networks, cable companies are determined to be the number one service for US media consumers. Now, many cable and satellite TV companies are pouring all their efforts into creating faster high-speed internet networks to compel their customers into staying with their subscription. Only time will tell if that tactic will prove to be successful.
Cord Cutting Is Here To Stay
Although cord-cutting started off as a popular trend within the Millennial community, more and more generations are starting to join in. OTT services have even broadened their reach to baby boomer generation. Nonetheless, cord cutting is still mainly popular within younger generations due to the dependency it has on advanced technology. With this in mind, the pay-TV market is only estimated to decrease while cord-cutting continues to surge.
