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More than half of the country’s adults have cut the cord, or never had a cord to cut in the first place, according to a new report from the Video Advertising Bureau.
In the report: In 2022, cordless viewers, defined as people who have either never signed up for a paid, traditional television service or have canceled that service, made up about 49% of all US adults. As of March this year, though, that figure is up to 54%.
Streaming, unsurprisingly, is also growing, accounting for a 38% share of monthly time spent watching television, compared to broadcast and cable’s 51%. That streaming share is up six percentage points from 2022, when it was 32%; broadcast and cable viewership comprised 58% of share that year.
- More than 75% of streaming audiences use at least one ad-supported streaming service. That’s not altogether that surprising, considering the wave of ad-supported platforms that have recently debuted, including Amazon Prime Video’s ad-supported tier.
- Another 73% said they’ve watched free ad-supported streaming TV or FAST channels, including free streamers like Pluto TV, Tubi, and Roku. That figure was 53% in 2022.
The finding jibe with other recent reports that indicate an acceptance of ad-supported streaming, as well as the fact that many ad-free tiers are getting more expensive.
Zoom out: Advertisers probably didn’t need these statistics alone to know which way the wind is blowing. A recent Magna forecast expects streaming ad sales to reach $10 billion this year, about a quarter of total national TV sales. Of course, some of the recipients of those dollars will be traditional players that also operating streaming services, like Paramount and Disney.