A Shocking Number of American Households Won’t Have Cable by 2018

With the cost of cable staying north of $1,100 per year, the cord-cutting trend is gaining serious momentum. It looks like a whole lot of cords are getting cut these days — more and more every year.

Here’s an eye-opening statistic: By the end of this year, nearly a quarter of Americans will no longer have a traditional cable or satellite TV subscription.

Nearly 1 in 4!

That’s the prediction according to consulting firm Convergence Research Group’s new report. This report is flatteringly titled, “The Battle for the American Couch Potato.” (C’mon, strategic consulting guys, don’t try so hard to butter us up.)

The group shows the acceleration of the cord-cutting trend:

• The number of TV subscribers in the U.S. dropped by an estimated 2.05 million in 2016.

• That followed a decline of 1.16 million in 2015.

• This year, the analysts are forecasting a 2.11 million decrease in subscribers.

• That will result in 24.6% of U.S. households being without a TV subscription from a cable, satellite or telecom company.

• For the traditional TV industry, it’s not the end of the world yet. The industry’s revenue grew 3% to $107.3 billion in 2016, and the study predicts revenue will hit nearly $109.6 billion in 2017.

• However, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime — which we compared here — are growing way faster.

• Streaming services’ revenue shot up 32% to $8.3 billion last year. It’s expected to reach $11.2 billion in 2017 and $14.7 billion in 2018.

If you’re thinking about cutting the cord, here are a few places to get more information:

Cord Cutting 101: Here’s how to watch your favorite shows without cable.

How to figure out if cutting the cord is right for your household.

Streaming Service Smackdown: Hulu vs. Netflix vs. Amazon Prime.

Your Turn: Do you still have cable or satellite TV?

Mike Brassfield (mike@thepennyhoarder.com) is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder. He is uncool and still has cable.

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