According to the Leichtman Research Group, about 79% of TV households in the United States subscribe to some form of pay TV service. The percentage of TV households that subscribe to a pay TV service is down from 84% in 2014, 88% in 2010, and 81% in 2004.
Among TV households that do not currently subscribe to a pay TV service, about two-thirds were former pay TV subscribers, while one-third never had pay TV. Overall, of the households that do not take pay TV service, about 7% subscribed to a pay TV service in the past three years, 7% last subscribed to pay TV more than three years ago, and about 7% have never subscribed to a pay TV service.
The findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,201 households throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, "Pay TV in the U.S. 2017," LRG's 15th annual study of the topic.
Other findings indicate:
- 29% of TV households with annual incomes of less than $50,000 do not subscribe to a pay TV service, compared to 16% with household incomes greater than $50,000.
- 30% of those who moved in the past year do not currently subscribe to a pay TV service, a higher level than in previous years.
- 39% using one TV at home are non-subscribers, compared to 24% using two TVs and 12% using three or more TVs.
- 10% of non-subscribers plan to subscribe to a pay TV service in the next six months, including 24% that had a pay TV service in the past year, 7% that subscribed more than a year ago, and 7% that never subscribed.
- 13% of pay TV subscribers surveyed said they are likely to switch in the next six months, compared to 12% in 2016 and 11% in 2012.
- Mean reported monthly spending on pay TV service among subscribers is about $106, an increase of 3% in the past year.
- 92% of TV households have a pay TV service and/or an over-the-air antenna, compared to 94% in 2015.
"About 79% of households that use a TV currently subscribe to a pay TV service. This is down from the peak in pay TV penetration at the start of the decade, and represents the first time since the early 2000s that fewer than four-in-five TV households get a pay TV service," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst at LRG. "The decline in pay TV penetration is not solely a function of recent disconnects. Among those that do not currently get a pay TV service, about one-third subscribed in the past three years, one-third subscribed over three years ago, and one-third never subscribed."
