14% of US broadband homes now without traditional pay TV

While residential broadband penetration is expected to soon top 100 million US households, traditional pay TV services have peaked and are in decline, according to new research from The Diffusion Group.

During the next few months – and for the first time in history – the number of home broadband subscriptions will surpass the number of home pay TV subscriptions, according to the company’s latest pay TV report, which reveals that 14% of adult broadband users do not use a legacy pay TV service, up from 9% in 2011.

“Today, residential broadband services are used in 75% of US households, meaning 13 million broadband households are currently doing without a traditional pay-TV service,” said Michael Greeson, TDG president and author of the new report.

Greeson added that while these consumers pose a growing challenge for incumbents, they also provide an “excellent opportunity” for new video purveyors, whether pure-play online ventures like Netflix or the growing list of television networks going direct-to-consumer.