PricewaterhouseCoopers has released a new report on the rise of streaming as well as the decline of cable television among consumers and determined that Netflix base of subscribers is now equaling that of cable TV.
According to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the number of Americans who subscribe to cable TV is now on par with the number who subscribe to Netflix, and it’s only a matter of time before Reed Hastings and company pull ahead of the pack. Based on a survey of 2,000 consumers, PwC found that 73% subscribe to a traditional pay-TV service, down from 76% in 2016 and 79% in 2015. Meanwhile, the percentage who said they subscribe to Netflix is also at 73%–putting it dead even with cable.
The results are matched by another recent report which pegs Netflix at having 50.85 million U.S. domestic subscribers, whereas cable across multiple companies has a combined install base of 48.61 million subscribers in the same period.
Don’t think streaming is just for the under 40 set either as 50-somethings saw a 15% jump in streaming usage with 63% of respondents in that age subscribing to a streaming service.
There is however a limit to the number of streaming services users will spend on per month and it seems to be in the three to four range. The study says “just a quarter of consumers say they can handle using more than four services in addition to Pay TV.”
Check out more stats from PwC here.
