87% of U.S. Households Subscribe to a Multi-Channel Video Service

Higher Income Households are Most Likely to Subscribe

DURHAM, NH — New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 87% of households nationwide subscribe to some form of multi-channel video service. The percentage of households that subscribe to a multi-channel video service is similar to last year, and up from 80% in 2004.

Non-subscribers to multi-channel services tend to have lower household incomes. Nationwide (including households that do not have a TV set), 8% with annual household incomes over $75,000 do not subscribe to a multi-channel video service — compared to 14% with incomes of $30,000-$75,000, and 20% with incomes under $30,000.

These findings are based on a survey of 1,500 randomly selected households from throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, Cable, DBS, & Telcos: Competing for Customers 2011. This is LRG’s ninth annual study of this topic.

LRG’s research also found that:

• 12% of non-subscribers paid to subscribe to a service in the past year (the percentage of non-subscribers who dropped service in the past year has been fairly consistent over the years of these studies)
• Mean reported monthly spending on multi-channel video service is $73.35 — an increase of 3.0% from last year
• Multi-channel video subscribers with annual household incomes over $75,000 report spending 17% more per month than those with incomes under $30,000 — when non-subscribers are included, mean spending per household of all with incomes >$75,000 is 34% higher than those with incomes < $30,000
• 9% of cable TV subscribers, 8% of satellite TV subscribers, and 6% of Telco TV subscribers are likely to switch from their current provider in the next six months
• 13% of multi-channel video subscribers with annual household incomes under $50,000 are likely to switch from their current provider in the next six months — compared to 6% with incomes over $50,000
• 9% of multi-channel video subscribers with household incomes under $30,000 are likely to disconnect and not subscribe to any TV service in the next six months — compared to 2% with incomes over $50,000

“The overall percentage of US households subscribing to a multi-channel video service is as high as it has ever been, but it is leveling off,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Higher income households remain most likely to subscribe to a multi-channel video service. This group also spends more money per month on video services, while being less likely to switch or disconnect services than others.”