Cord-cutting, or the move away from traditional cable TV providers, is an undeniable phenomenon. It reflects the digital revolution that’s happening everywhere from digital marketing companies to grocery stores. This move toward apps and internet streaming begs the question: Why?
Digital marketing companies believe the psychology behind the cord-cutting movement is more than the standard “fewer people are willing to pay huge amounts of money for channels they never watch” answer. The reasoning behind the shift is different for each group of cord-cutting consumers — cord-cutters, cord-reducers and cord-nevers.
Cord-Cutters
Cord-cutters are individuals that completely stop subscribing to cable and satellite TV, instead turning to internet streaming. These people fall closest to the standard answer above; they are sick of paying an average $123 a month for cable TV and have decided to do without. They tend to be people in their 30s and early 40s, young enough to catch the Netflix craze but old enough to have already been paying for their own cable subscriptions.
Cord-Reducers
Cord-reducers, on the other hand, tend to encompass an older demographic — people in their late 40s and upward are less likely to cut the cord completely. Instead, they reduce their cable consumption by purchasing smaller packages or select channels. This demographic is more hesitant to move completely to internet streaming, simply because their viewing habits were built solely upon the standard airwaves and cable subscriptions.
Cord-Nevers
Cord-nevers make up the largest group of cord-cutters. Technically, cord-nevers are a class of their own because they never had cords to begin with. Cable companies should fear them more than any other group; recent research shows that 2015 marked the first time the number of cord-nevers exceeded the number of other cord-cutters. The study further predicts that by 2025, 50 percent of adults under the age of 32 won’t pay for cable.
Instead of consciously rejecting cable and satellite TV subscriptions, college students and young professionals are simply bypassing them altogether. Digital marketing companies believe that growing up in the millennial-friendly world of “on demand” means that cord-nevers built their viewing habits upon internet streaming — and don’t intend to change anytime soon.
