For Potential ‘Cord Cutters,’ Content is Still King

Wired and satellite television providers trying to counter the burgeoning cord-cutting phenomenon should offer the same original programming, choice, and value that viewers receive from streaming video content sources, a new Invoke® LIVE Big Qual research study has revealed.

“Cable, fiber, and satellite providers who are thinking about simply cutting channels and costs to respond to cord-cutting should think again,” noted Peter Mackey, Invoke Solutions’ chief research officer.  “Our research shows that viewers who are seriously considering abandoning their pay TV service want more value from that service: quality original content on a par with Netflix® or Amazon Prime®, flexibility from à la carte channel menus, and innovative offerings that improve the TV viewing experience.”

These findings were identified in a summer 2018 Invoke LIVE online research event that engaged with 90 television viewers. Participants all watch one or more hours of TV per week and represented a cross-section of demographics: millennials and post-millennials, Gen Xers, and baby boomers, and women (54%) and men (46%).

Twenty percent of the participants had already cut the cord and dropped their pay service. Tellingly, 100% of them said they were completely satisfied with their decision because they get more value for less money from streaming services. And a third or more of each age demographic, led by Gen Xers (42%), is mulling cutting the cord.

“However, wired and satellite providers who want to stem the tide have a range of options beyond slashing channel offerings,” Mackey said.  “Sixty-six percent of participants said that ‘quality, original programming’ is crucial in considering a cable/fiber/satellite service—roughly the same number who expect that level of quality from a streaming on-demand service.”