Cord-cutting — the consumer shift away from traditional cable and satellite TV toward streaming platforms — has been underway for over 15 years and continues to accelerate.
A new report from UBS confirms that streaming has officially surpassed traditional TV in terms of consumption. The era of streaming dominance has arrived ahead of the 2030s.
Video streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+, and others offer consumers a massive array of programming choices at competitive subscription rates compared to the large bundles provided by traditional cable providers.
Analysts, led by John Hodulik, told clients Monday that traditional TV viewership continues to decline, actually in their words “worsened” in the second quarter:
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Total TV consumption is falling faster: P2+ PUT (Persons 2 and older, Persons Using Television) is down 12% YoY in Q2, steeper than the 9.2% decline in Q1.
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P18–49 demographic viewership fell 17% YoY, with its share of TV consumption dropping to just 17%.
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Fox News (+30% YoY in P2+) kept the cable news category in positive territory, though gains have slowed from Q1.
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Entertainment cable networks improved slightly but still declined 18% YoY.
“Streaming surpasses traditional TV in May,” Hodulik told clients.
Boomers dominate traditional TV consumption.
What TV consumption used to be like…
Watching TV with the Family in 1988 pic.twitter.com/WofkdmhOmQ
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) June 26, 2025
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Tyler Durden
Tue, 07/01/2025 – 22:10
English 