Connected TV users more likely to cord-cut

Adult broadband users with an Internet-connected TV are twice as likely as those without one to be ‘highly inclined’ to cancel their current pay-TV service, according to The Diffusion Group.

The report – Net-Connected TV User Dimensions – says that while it is undeniable that the majority of adult broadband users that currently subscribe to a traditional pay-TV service have little or no interest in cancelling their traditional TV service, the fact that on average 7% of this segment are would-be cord cutters should be of concern to operators.

Moreover, the proclivity is strongly correlated with the use of net-connected TVs. The research shows that 8.8% of connected TV users are highly inclined to cancel their current pay-TV service in the next six months, compared with only 3.5% of non-net-connected TV users.

“For years, the casual relationship between the two behaviors has been questioned, and rightly so,” notes Michael Greeson, co-founder and president of TDG.

“Yet TDG has argued for several years that this relationship would develop over time and hit an important landmark moment of sorts in 2013.

“That is indeed what has transpired, and now the pay-TV industry and prominent analysts are coming to terms with the fact those with access to online video sources on their TV are more likely than their counterparts to be reconsidering the value proposition of incumbent pay-TV services.”

Connected TV users are more than twice as likely as their counterparts to ‘cut the cord’ in the next six months, which Greeson expects will ‘grow more strongly’ in the next few years.