7 Ways to Please a “Cord Cutter”

More than 15% of Americans are “cord cutters” — they previously paid for a cable or satellite TV subscription, but no longer do. An additional 10% are “cord nevers”, mostly young adults who grew up with the internet and never subscribed to cable or satellite TV. By 2025, Forrester research predicts that 50% of all viewers under 32 will not pay for TV.
Cord cutting is increasingly driven by the ability to access content online, with 47% of “cord cutters” subscribing to streaming video on demand service (SVOD) such as Netflix, Hulu, go HBO Go.  Overall, 4 in 10 households have an internet connected TV they US to watch TV and movies, up from 15% five years ago. Users can access content on their TV through digital media players such as Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku; video game consoles such as XBox and Playstation; streaming-enabled Blu-ray players; or by using Smart TVs that offer direct access to popular SVOD services. Much of this is OTT TV.
Content consumed by “cord cutters” is not limited to online exclusives such as Narcos or Mr. Robot. A few weeks ago, millions of Americans live-streamed the first 2016 presidential debate on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Bloomberg TV, and CBSN. Compared with the online broadcast of the 2012 Obama – Romney debates, YouTube’s 2-million concurrent live viewers represent 14 times the live-viewing audience, five times higher watch time, and four times more peak concurrent viewers. After the debate, parts of the broadcast were accessed online by tens of millions of additional viewers.
Cord cutters is no longer a segment, it’s a trend. TVE is the new way of watching TV. Younger millennials  are 23% less likely to explore TV alternatives or to switch providers if they know their video provider offers TVE.

7 Ways to Please a Cord Cutter

1. Make the content on demand. Let your viewers make their own decisions. Let them choose what they want to watch, when they want to watch it, and where they want to watch it.
2. Don’t make them pay for stuff they don’t watch. Being a cord cutter does not mean they want to get everything for free, it just mean they want more control over what they pay for. You may offer them to watch ads, in order to get the content for free, but let them make the decision. Give them the control.
3. Make them feel like they belong, don’t leave them out of the conversation: let them share suggestions for content to watch with their friends on Facebook and Twitter, let them “share”, “like”, “post” – make the content their own.
4. Give them the ability to watch wherever they want: on their iPad, their mobile, their gaming console, their PC, their TV… This is their choice to make. Let them switch devices whenever they please: start watching the new Ray Donovan episode on their iPad, but then switch to the TV. Let them watch everywhere, on any device, all the time.
5. Know their viewing habits. Know what they like to watch, when and where –and offer only what’s relevant for them. Don’t blast them with irrelevant recommendations.
6. It’s not all about on demand. In some cases, they do prefer to get a live view, especially around major sports events or big new items. Make sure this is available too.
7. And finally, help foster their addiction to the series they love. If a new episode is available – let them know about it. If their favorite show is airing now – notify them. Keep them in the know.