Reasons for Video Cord Cutting May Be Different Than for “Cord-Nevers”

Millennials are significantly more likely than their older counterparts to not subscribe to cable or other pay TV services. In fact, 18-34 year olds are 77 percent more likely than average to be a “cord never” household and 67 percent more likely to be a “cord cutter” household.

But it actually is not clear whether the causation or correlation is with household size, parental status or income more so than with age. Some 60 percent of single-person households and 52 percent of households without children are “cord never” households. So single-person homes, and homes without children, are highly correlated with refusal to buy linear video service. But those types of households also correlate with lots of households other than “millennial” homes. Former parents whose children have moved out, retirees and those who have significant incomes but are not married can be found in the “single-person” category. So is it age -- younger consumers with different preferences–or parental status or household size that account for the differences in buying behavior? At the moment it is hard to separate the potential drivers of behavior.