In what probably amounts to little or no surprise at all to many, cable TV subscriptions are on the decline. It started with tech-savvy individuals cutting the cord and moving to streaming video services but now it appears the trend is catching on with the masses.
As Business Insider points out, ratings have been on the decline since September 2011 with the one exception being the Olympics. Roughly five million people have canceled their cable and broadband subscriptions since the beginning of 2010 and for the first time ever, the number of TV subscribers is about to dip below 40 million.
Broken down further, we see that Time Warner lost 306,000 TV subscribers in the third quarter alone in addition to 24,000 homes ditching broadband. Companies that offer broadband and TV subscriptions report that less than half of their subscribers have a cable package.
It may come as little surprise then that fewer households actually have TVs than before. The number of households is still growing but TV growth in those households is on the decline. That's of course because people are choosing to watch TV on their mobile devices instead. That isn't to say that TVs are dying as there are still many uses for them but a quick look at some of the upcoming Black Friday deals will show you that manufacturers are eager to let go of some nice sets at rock bottom prices this year.