NEARLY HALF OF US TV HOUSEHOLDS HAVE CUT THE CORD

A recent report released by The Trade Desk indicates that nearly half of US media consumers have already suspended their cable services. While 47% are already cordless, 44% are considering canceling the service within the next year. “We are entering a new TV normal, where new streaming viewing models sit side by side with traditional TV formats,”  said Tim Sims, Chief Revenue Officer of The Trade Desk. 

The shift towards OTT consumption is mainly credited to younger audiences, with the analysis suggesting that 60% of adults aged 18-34 do not have a cable service, dropping to 53% of those aged 35-54. “From an advertiser’s perspective, this shift presents a tremendous opportunity," Sims added.

Streaming options are also becoming increasingly popular among sports fans, with only 19% of TV viewers maintaining pre-pandemic viewing habits, while 44% now prefer streaming options to view their favorite games and matches, increasing to 65% for people between the ages of 18 and 24. “They can reach those streaming TV viewers with more precision and accuracy than ever because they can apply data to those TV campaigns in a way that’s not possible with linear. So, it provides incremental reach that’s an important element of a comprehensive TV ad campaign,”  Sims indicated.

The report also touched on the increasing preference for CTV ads. About 92% of advertisers believe that CTV is as good as, or outperforms, linear TV advertising, compared to the 8% who say it is not as effective. Approximately 44% of customers prefer watching content with ads, and 33% without ads. At the same time, 64% of TV viewers reported a refusal to pay over $30 on streaming services per month.