Zero TV households becoming more common

Written by |
Advertisement

Have you heard about “zero TV”? It’s a new term for people who are just going streaming only, no digital antennae, no nothing!

In my house, my family watches Netflix almost exclusively, even though we pay for a traditional pay TV subscription so I can get ESPN and the NFL Network. But nobody other than me thinks of going to the pay TV remote at all. They just go immediately to Netflix or Hulu Plus to watch whatever it is they want.

According to the latest numbers I’ve seen, there are now 5 million homes that are zero TV, meaning they only watch streaming products.

But your options are varied. You could drastically cut back on your pay TV package and supplement your viewing with Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Amazon Prime. Or you can get a digital antenna and pick up about 40 broadcast channels in most metro areas.

The opportunities to watch TV have grown larger and larger. Something else that’s problematic for the industry — not to mention of questionable ethics — is people sharing a subscription and using a TV Everywhere kind of app to sign in and watch that subscription at a different location. So you have one subscription being split by two people.

Clearly, the TV industry is at a major inflection point. Those who remain loyal to traditional TV will see higher rates as the incumbents try to make up for a diminishing customer base.

Advertisement

Streaming TV Deals