Live sports keep people from cutting cable cord

Cord-cutters are no threat to the subscription TV industry as long as sports fans are around.

BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield conducted a survey of 1,200 multichannel TV subscribers and found that only a tiny percentage were likely to ditch their cable or satellite TV subscriptions in favor of online video, even though many more said they had considered it. The draw of live sports and premium shows is just too much for couch potatoes, and is likely to stay that way for years to come. According to Greenfield's survey, 37 percent said they had at least thought about canceling their subscriptions and going online-only in order to save money. If it meant losing out on live sports or other favorite shows (particularly those that show live results), however, that number dropped to just eight percent. And, upon further examination of the data, Greenfield estimated that only five percent or less were actually willing to follow through on that claim, despite it apparently being "cool" to cut the cord.

It turns out that 93.5 percent of the households surveyed by Greenfield said that they regularly watch football, and 68.4 percent watch baseball. Other favorites include Mad Men (which, by the way, is available next-day on iTunes), American Idol (broadcast TV, no cable required), House (broadcast), Glee (broadcast), True Blood (OK, you got us there with an HBO show, though it does show up on iTunes after the season is over), and Dancing with the Stars (broadcast). Judging by that list, it definitely seems as if the sports are indeed the major draw for keeping cable TV around, since almost all of the other shows can be watched within a reasonable time frame without cable.