In keeping with the season, a new study by market research firms FocusVision and Zanthus should strike fear into traditional pay TV service providers, claiming that more than 40% of cable and satellite TV subscribers are planning to cut back on or sever their pay TV subscriptions.

In the study, which surveyed more than 1,000 customers, 41% of respondents said they were planning to cut back or drop their pay TV service, compared to just 16% of over-the-top customers. OTT customers of services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video also were more likely to recommend their service than pay TV customers, and 59% of OTT customers said they were satisfied with their service, compared to just 27% of pay TV customers.

The study found that U.S. consumers are about as likely to use over-the-top providers (75%), as they are pay TV (76%) while 51% use both. Use of OTT providers is higher among millennials with 84% of respondents under 34 years old subscribing to an OTT provider compared to 74% of 35 -44 year olds and 60% of 45-54 year olds. Pay TV subscribers still watch more TV than their OTT counterparts – 18 hours per week vs. 11 hours for OTT – according to the study.

The study found that OTT providers have a stronger brand affinity than pay TV – 62% of OTT subscribers said they were likely to recommend the service vs. 43% of pay TV customers.

Pay TV also scored poorly on customer satisfaction -- 27% of pay TV customers said they were satisfied with value and 41% were satisfied with customer care. That compares to 59% of OTT customers satisfied with value and 62% with customer care.