Nielsen: Cord cutting up 150 percent since 2007

Shawn Knight

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There’s no doubt that cord cutting is on the rise as services like Netflix and Hulu continue to cut into the revenue stream once dominated by cable and satellite television providers. The majority of Americans, a full 95 percent according to Nielsen, still watch television in their living rooms using these traditional sources but it’s what the other five percent are doing that’s of particular interest.

According to Nielsen’s Fourth Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report, more than five million households were classified as Zero-TV homes – those that have tuned out of traditional TV but still view video content. That figure is up from just two million people in 2007, we’re told.

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Of these five million homes, 75 percent still have at least one television set which is used for a number of different activities like playing DVDs, video games or surfing the web.

Furthermore, 67 percent of these Zero-TV homes use alternate methods to obtain content. Of those, 37 percent used a computer, 16 percent used the Internet, eight percent relied on a smartphone and six percent used a tablet.

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In related news, Nielsen found that the average American spends more than 41 hours each week engaging with content across all screens. That’s almost five and a half hours each day. Most of that time (more than 34 hours) is spent watching television although only three hours are spent watching time-shifted content.

When looking at ethnic viewing behaviors, Nielsen found that the average African-American spends almost 55 hours watching television per week, Hispanics clock nearly 35 hours and Asians account for more than 27 hours of viewing each week.

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"According to Nielsen?s Fourth Quarter 2012 Cross-Platform Report, more than five million households were classified as Zero-TV homes ? those that have tuned out of traditional TV but still view video content. That figure is up from just two million people in 2007, we?re told"

Which is it, households or people?
 
Wow, people watch 4+ hours of television per day?!

I think there's a big difference between watching TV and having the TV on. Many people have the TV on while they are making dinner or doing other things, I wouldn't say they're spending that time watching TV.

Or maybe I'm naive and Americans really do have their butt on the couch for 4+ hours a day.
 
They need to go a le carte or else they are going to go the way of the dodo. I have 4 -5 channels I like to watch but Comcast wants me to buy there highest package to get them. Needless to say, they lost my business. We are in a different age now and the telecoms need to adapt or die. If their greed kills them I don't really mind, not like I have cable lol. Netflix Hulu and YouTube take care of almost all my tv needs. There are 5 stations that I'd pay $5-7 each for. At least that way they would get some of my money.
 
No TV in my household. watch movies or documentaries on DVD played on computer onto 24" IPS monitor, use Asus Essence STX audio card plugged into NAD stereo system. also use Netflix. commercial free, start and stop whenever you want. For some things like MotoGp sports I buy a pass and can watch the video any time on my computer. Again, no adds, start and stop as you like, watch archived stuff back to 1992
 
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