Tell us: Have we reached a streaming tipping point?
The vast majority of households now subscribe to one or more streaming service.
The slow decline of cable and the rise of “cord-cutting” has ushered in a brave new world of television viewership.
With the freedom to choose what to watch and when, streaming has now become the norm, rather than the exception, in the TV ecosystem. In fact, an overwhelming 99% of U.S. households now subscribe to one or more streaming services, with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ topping the charts, according to a study by Forbes.
Streaming even surpassed cable as the country’s most-watched platform in 2023, according to a Nielsen study. Streaming accounted for 37.7% of total TV usage, compared with 31% for traditional cable, the data show.
This is in part thanks to “cord-cutting,” or switching from a paid TV subscription (such as cable, satellite TV, or a bundle with a telephone company) to an Internet-based streaming service such as Netflix. The intent behind cord-cutting is often financial, as it is usually cheaper to stream TV than pay for cable nowadays.
But beyond the “Big Five” streaming giants (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, and Disney+), there are more than 200 streaming services available worldwide with subscriptions at a variety of price points. Which means, if you want to keep up with new releases from different streamers, the costs can add up.
With so many options to choose from — and with multiple subscription costs to juggle — it can be challenging to decide which subscriptions to add and which ones to cancel. Not to mention that the intense competition between providers could mean rate hikes on your monthly subscription, or streaming services consolidating into one.
Given the changes both streaming services and cable have undergone, we want to know: Have we reached a streaming tipping point?
Are you canceling your streaming subscriptions because of mounting costs? Are you paying for cable and streaming services? Is cable TV doomed to die? Share your thoughts by filling out the form or e-mailing us at [email protected] and your response may appear in a future Boston.com article.
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