Netflix Still Isn't Fueling Cord-Cutting: Survey

There’s still no sign Netflix or online video is leading to any significant amount of “cord-cutting” — i.e., cancellation of pay-TV service in favor of online-delivered video, according to new consumer research from Leichtman Research Group.

On the other hand, about 20% of multichannel video subscribers surveyed said they’re likely to reduce spending in the next six months. However, Netflix users and people who watch lots of online video are just as likely as others to be looking to cut down the cost of their TV service, according to LRG president and principal analyst Bruce Leichtman.

And one of the main ways people lower their cable bill is by switching to satellite (or vice versa), Leichtman noted: “Do people want to reduce spending? Yeah, and a big way to do that is to switch providers.”

Overall, 0.3% of the 1,287 U.S. households surveyed could be classified as “cord cutters,” saying they (a) canceled pay-TV service in the past year; (b) do not plan to subscribe again in the next six months; and (c) do not subscribe because they can watch all that they want on the Internet or in other ways. But most of those respondents said they would have dropped service to save money in any case, according to LRG.

Netflix is the primary driver of over-the-top video viewing on TV, with 30% of Netflix subscribers watching video from the Internet on a television screen every week, compared with 3% weekly use among all non-Netflix subscribers, LRG found. Overall, 12% of all adults use Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature weekly, up from 4% last year.

About 30% of all households have at least one TV set connected to the Internet, versus 24% a year ago, according to LRG. (That includes broadband-connected videogame systems, Blu-ray Disc players, and/or TVs.)

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Programming Note: Join us for Video Everywhere: Who’s Cracking the Code? on March 30, 2-5 PM at New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel. Scheduled speakers include: Turner Broadcasting System’s Andy Heller, MLB Advanced Media’s Bob Bowman, Verizon’s Eric Bruno, Disney & ESPN Media Networks’ Matt Murphy, Avail-TVN’s Doug Sylvester, Charter’s Rich DiGeronimo, Comcast Media Center’s Richard Buchanan and more. For more info, see www.multichannel.com/videoeverywhere.