What is Cord Cutting?
“Cutting the Cord” or “Cord Cutting” is a reference to cutting the cord that connects your TV to the cable or satellite company. According to Google Trends the terms began showing up on the internet in 2007 and have continued to grow in popularity since.
“Cut the Cord” Search Trend
According to the FCC, cable and satellite rates have risen an average of 6.1% per year since 1995. With the average current rate for “Expanded Basic” service currently at $64.41 per month, it’s no wonder why many people are considering terminating their service.
Cord Cutters have decided to find alternative means of receiving television content. Most Cord Cutters use a combination of Over The Air (OTA) broadcast television and internet video as means to continue to receive their favorite TV content.
Over The Air TV
Over the Air Television also known as Broadcast Television can be traced back to 1928. It’s how people historically have watched TV. It was the forerunner to cable and satellite TV. Just like radio programming flies invisibly through the air and is consumed via a radio receiver (usually equipped with some sort of antenna,) television stations do the same. Historically, OTA stations were known for a “snowy” sub-par picture. In 2009, the introduction of Digital Television (DTV) changed that. As of 2009 all major TV broadcasters are required by the FCC to broadcast digitally; in many cases providing a superior HDTV picture than cable or satellite. These free stations can be received simply by adding an antenna to your TV.
Internet Video
The internet has a way of disrupting things and it’s increasingly changing the Television landscape. Most people have heard of the larger internet video providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. Cord Cutters are increasingly taking advantage of these new internet options by finding ways to watch on the largest screen in their house, their TV. An entire new category of TV connected devices has sprung up. Devices such as the Apple TV, Amazon TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast are all hoping to find a place in your home theatre system.
The combination of OTA TV and Internet Video is proving to be a very formidable force. Cord Cutting is on the rise. In June 2013 the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced the number of Cord Cutters was rising. The report states nearly 60 million viewers in the United States are now relying exclusively on OTA TV. That number represents 19.3% of US households getting content via OTA TV.
It’s hard to say what the future holds, but the trends indicate that cable and satellite will continue to get more expensive and more people will vote with their dollars to cut out the cable/satellite middlemen.