Reports: usa

Cord cutting is now an established component of the US pay-TV landscape, reinforcing the role of the US as the canary in the mine for the global pay-TV business. Cord cutting accelerated in 2018, highlighting the secular nature of the phenomenon. However, this is not simply a story of decline but instead one of transition, with streaming growing ­— in a wider sense — the total base of pay-TV subscribers.

Cord cutting is now a firmly entrenched component of the pay-TV business, especially in the US. Pay-TV providers of all kinds continue to shed subscribers each quarter, all against the backdrop of a continually expanding streaming market. However, the real story behind cord cutting is not how many people are doing it, but who is doing it.

2015 was a year of unparalleled transition for US pay-TV. AT&T’s acquisition of DirecTV catapulted the communications company to the front of the pack with a combined subscriber base of 26 million, reaching nearly a quarter of US households. Meanwhile regulators blocked Comcast’s year long bid for Time Warner, enabling rival Charter Communications to move in on the newly vulnerable target.

The United States is fast approaching the point where online TV viewing becomes a mainstream consumer activity. This has been facilitated by near universal levels of internet connectivity and smartphone adoption. Leading the charge on its home turf is Netflix, experiencing double digit growth since 2010.

Along with TV, radio is one of the most pervasive media platforms on the planet. It is also still one of the key drivers of music discovery. But things are changing. Historically Radio broadcasters had their audiences protected in the safe confines of dedicated devices and direct competition was thin on the ground.