Those likely to downgrade their pay-TV service in the next six months are more dependent than others on over-the-top (OTT) streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.





That’s the word from The Diffusion Group (TDG), which found that among those moderately or highly likely to downgrade their pay-TV service in the next six months, 29% of their TV time is spent watching streaming sources. That’s significantly more than those neutral or unlikely to downgrade.“The variety, reach and personalisation of OTT TV services continues to grow,” said Michael Greeson, TDG director of research. “While not yet a mainstream replacement threat, OTT TV is most certainly a key factor in downgrade considerations.”Overall, among those pay-TV subscribers who also stream OTT content to a home TV, TDG found that 36.1% will definitely downgrade, 26.4% are moderately likely to and 21.4% are slightly likely to. Only a fifth (21.9%) are neutral or unlikely to downgrade.This type of cord-shaving is going to be a boon for other streamers, too. Looking at prospects for the business of TV over the next 12 months, media analyst Seeking Alpha sees 2016 as a catalyst year for YouTube with the trend of cord-cutting/shaving.