A follow-up study of Netflix Streaming subscribers by The Diffusion Group shows that 32% of streaming consumers would be willing to downgrade their Pay TV services and just use their Netflix Watch Instantly option as a way to watch TV programming.   The original study that was undertaken in 2010 showed a mere 16% of Netflix “streamers” were willing to make a move.  That’s a 50% increase in just a year.  There is that word again… “Cord-cutting.”

It’s interesting to note that TDG only interviewed Netflix subscribers.  There are other services out there (like Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, etc), so this number may not be indicative of the overall sentiment towards Pay TV services.  Not to mention, many Netflix subscribers do not even use the streaming services for any number of different reasons; whether it be their internet connection itself, poor video display capabilities or just overall lack of tech-savvy consumers.

The study also showed that the current economic situation also played into the willingness to cord-cut.  The $7.99/mo. subscriber fees are night-and-day when compared to the cost of subscribing to Premium channel TV services like HBO, Starz and Showtime.  As a result, expect to see these Premium channels dramatically increase their license fee demands to Netflix and other SVOD platforms.  Some of the cable providers have already made a move toward starting their own SVOD platform (see HBO GO), and maybe soon they’ll take a step back and not sell their content to SVOD platforms like Netflix or Hulu at all.

Regardless of who they surveyed, one glaring fact remains – consumers are starting to realize the benefits of online SVOD for the amount of readily available content.  As more and more TVs and set-top boxes are becoming internet-ready, and the younger tech-savvy generation gets even savvier, expect to see the trend in cord-cutting continue – but don’t expect to see the Cable Providers and Premium Channels standby and watch.

Read the FULL PRESS RELEASE BY TDG