As the trend of cord cutting continues, an increasing number of U.S. households are turning to digital antennas to access live TV, according to new consumer research from Parks Associates.
The firm found that by the end of 2017, 20 percent of U.S. broadband households used digital antennas, climbing steadily from 16 percent in early 2015. This increase corresponds to a continued decline in pay TV subscribers, coupled with the rise of OTT video subscriptions.
“Increasingly, consumers are cobbling together their own bundles of content sources,” said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates. “Digital antennas are experiencing a resurgence as consumers consider over-the-air TV and OTT video services as alternatives to pay TV.”
Sappington noted that antennas represent an affordable source for local channels to households that have never subscribed to pay TV services, or those that have cut the cord.
The report, 360 View: Access and Entertainment Services in U.S. Broadband Households, also found that prominent reasons for customers ditching their cable service and bundle shaving are the high cost and a perception of low value. According to Parks Associates more than half of households that have switched, shaved, or cut the cord said the service is “not worth the cost.”
“Pay-TV providers need to address this value perception gap and re-establish their role as the consumers’ source for interesting content,” Sappington said.
He pointed out that opportunities are available, as only 46 percent of pay TV subscribers know that they can access on-demand content from their service provider, including free programming. Many households also indicated that they are willing to buy online video services through their pay TV provider and want to be able to access the service via their channel guide.
