Traditional pay-TV penetration in the United States is forecast to drop below 50% of households by 2026, according to a new study by Digital TV Research.

For comparison, subscriptions for pay-TV services (cable, direct-to-home satellite, etc.) peaked in 2010 at 91% of U.S. homes and stood at 60% in 2021, according to the data.

Digital TV Research forecasts 60 million pay-TV households will be left by 2027, down from 105 million at the peak in 2010.

“The U.S. lost 6 million pay-TV subscribers each year from 2019 to 2021,” stated Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research. “Losses will decrease from now on, but the 2027 total will be 12 million lower than 2021.”

See What Your 4K UHD TV Can Really Do With The Spears & Munsil 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc, $39.95.

Portrait Displays Calman Display Calibration Software

Amazon’s Best Selling 4K Ultra HDTVs

Amazon’s Camera, Photo & Video Deals

Amazon Fire TV Cube Media Adapter with Alexa

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max with Alexa Voice Remote

Amazon Echo Smart Speaker with Premium Sound, Alexa Voice Control

Amazon Echo Show 15 Alexa Voice Controlled Smart Screen

Amazon Echo Dot with Clock Voice Controlled Speaker

Amazon Echo Studio 3D Audio Alexia Smart Speaker

Best Selling Soundbars and 5.1 Surround Systems

Best Selling Blu-ray Players

The number of households without a pay-TV subscription will rocket from 11.34 million in 2010 to 72.86 million in 2027. Digital TV Research attributed the decline mainly to cord-cutting.

Pay-TV revenues peaked in 2014, at $101 billion, the firm said. A $48 billion decline is forecast between 2014 and 2027; reducing the total to $53 billion.

Online purchases made using links provided on this site might generate a small commission for HD Guru.com. We thank you for your support!

By Greg Tarr

Have a question for the HD Guru? HD GURU|Email

Copyright ©2022 HD Guru Inc. All rights reserved. HD GURU is a registered trademark.