Roku Study Claims Cord Cutters Will Give Big Cable Pay TV A Beatdown Within 5 Years

It's no secret that people are cutting the cord with their cable and satellite companies around the country. While cord-cutting may not be as feared by cable companies as it once was, streamers still need internet, after all, there are still millions who are cutting the cord. A new study conducted by Roku has found that 60 million U.S. households are expected to access content on TVs exclusively via streaming in the next five years.

If that happens, Roku says that streamers will surpass traditional Pay TV viewers for the first time. Roku's study says that U.S. market data suggests that so far in 2019, 2 million homes in the U.S. have cut the cord and left traditional cable or satellite providers. That is in addition to the 3.5 million people that Roku says gave up traditional TV in 2018.

The numbers of people who are already streaming TV services include several subsets, according to Roku. The subsets include Cord Cutters who had traditional TV in the past, Cord Shavers who pay for traditional TV but have reduced their package in the last few years, and Cord Nevers, which are those who never had pay TV. Roku says that a new generation of Cord Cutters has emerged with a shift in attitudes, behavior, and viewership among that new generation.

Roku says that essentially their viewership more closely mirrors that of average mainstream TV viewers, but the new generation Cord Cutters seek out better value and choice in TV consumption. Roku adds that there are some major factors driving consumers to streaming. One is the virtual multichannel video programming distributors that allow streamers to cut the cord, but keep the network and live TV.

Another factor is the abundance of high-quality content available via streaming. Viewers are also finding value in ad-supported VOD. Roku says that many Cord Cutters don't mind watching ads in exchange for free TV while pay TV subscribers think there are too many ads.

Roku carries a line of standalone media streamers and has integrated its software into TVs, such as those from TCL. It also recently debuted a new streaming Smart Soundbar.