Cord Cutting Accelerating or Not?

Though perhaps just 1.4 percent of consumers have "cut the cord" in the last two years, abandoning multichannel TV services, about 7 percent of current subscribers are considering canceling their service, according to a survey to be published in the May issue of Consumer Reports.

But L.E.K. surveys recently found little actual evidence of increased cord cutting, though. To date, only two percent of L.E.K. survey respondents are cord cutting.

A more serious issue facing cable and satellite providers is “cord trimming,” the term for consumers who keep – but reduce – their monthly cable or satellite TV services. L.E.K. found that 16 percent of consumers reported reducing their monthly pay TV bills during the past year. Those cord trimmers reduced their pay TV bills by an average of 25 percent.

Cord Cutting Accelerating or Not?