Cord-Cutting 2017 News: People Are Abandoning Cable TV Faster Than Ever, New Report Shows

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Monday, September 18, 2017

People are now cord-cutting faster than anticipated, so much that advertisers are starting to shy away from traditional TV ads, according to a recent study. The dwindling number of viewers are also spending less time watching TV.

A report from market research firm eMarketer shows an accelerating trend of cord-cutting in the U.S., as people ditch cable TV subscriptions in growing numbers, which spell bad news for cable companies in the country.

Growth in TV ad spending in 2017 is now expected to grow at a stunted 5 percent, down by more than a billion dollars from the predicted $72.72 billion for the first quarter of this year, according to Business Insider.

The steep decline is just starting, however, as TV in now expected to contribute just 34.9 percent of total media ad spending this year. Five years from now, in 2021, that figure is projected to drop down to just 29.4 percent.

Live streaming and digital players like Netflix and Amazon are considered as the culprits. "Traditional TV advertising is slowing even more than expected, as viewers switch their time and attention to the growing list of live streaming and over-the-top [OTT] platforms," Monica Peart, forecasting director for eMarketer, explained.

U.S. adults are also watching TV less and less. Outside of digital streams, people are expected to spend time in front of their TV for an average of three hours and 58 minutes daily this year.

This is the first time this figure has dropped to less than four hours a day, as the research group noted. The rest is expected to be taken over by digital video, with streaming media viewership climbing to a daily average of one hour and 17 minutes this year — a big increase of 9.3 percent from 2016.

Cable companies are now looking to jump on the streaming service bandwagon themselves to remain relevant. AT&T now has its DirecTV Now, with Verizon expected to set up its own offer this year as well, according to DSL Reports.