• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Cord Cutting Slows as ‘Skinny Bundle’ Gains Popularity

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 14, 2016, 10:25 AM ET
Verizon Plans to Let Customers Watch Live TV on IPads
Jack Gallagher, executive director of product development for Verizon Communications Inc., holds a Motorola mobile device while speaking at a news conference in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010. Verizon Communications Inc., the U.S. phone company trying to win television customers from cable providers, is planning to allow subscribers to its FiOS TV service to watch live shows on Apple Inc.'s iPad and other mobile Photographer: JB Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images Photo credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The cable TV industry’s main strategy to combat cord cutting appears to be working.

The rate of households that either cut the cord, dropping their cable package altogether, or have never subscribed to cable in the first place was relatively steady at 23% in 2016, up from 21% last year, according an annual survey by PwC released on Wednesday. But the rate of households opting to keep cable at lower cost and with fewer channels, dubbed cord shaving, jumped to 23% from 18% last year. Traditional pay TV subscribership dropped to 54% from 61% last year.

Perhaps even more positive for the industry, the percentage of people who said they expected to still be subscribing to cable in one year jumped to 84% from 70% in 2015.

“We saw more audiences customizing their pay TV bundles through trimming, even as they consume more content than ever before,” the consulting firm noted in the report. “Their demands got louder in terms of what kind of content they pay for and how and when they access it.”

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Of course, as the results from 2016 appear far stronger than was suggested by the 2015 data, the positive trends for the industry could peter out and cord cutting could rise again. AT&T (T) is offering an Internet-based video service called DirecTV Now with a starting price of just $35 per month for 100 channels, for example. And other companies including Hulu, Google (GOOGL), and Apple (AAPL) may also come out with more Internet competition for traditional cable next year.

All of the major cable providers have introduced some version of so-called skinny bundles to appeal to customers who have grown weary of paying an average of over $100 a month for the most popular TV packages. Comcast (CMCSA) teamed up with Amazon this year to offer Internet and cable TV bundles starting as low as $45. And Comcast, Charter Communications (CHTR), and others have tested even cheaper packages delivered using Internet technology.

Even as they keep the customers, cable revenue is likely under pressure, according to the survey. A majority of households, 58%, said they were spending less in total on video content that they spent a year ago. The biggest features keeping subscribers from leaving were found to be sports programming and other unique content.

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
C-Suite
CEO of $90 billion Waste Management hauled trash and went to 1 a.m. safety briefings—‘It’s not always just dollars and cents’
By Amanda GerutJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Mitt Romney says the U.S. is on a cliff—and taxing the rich is now necessary 'given the magnitude of our national debt'
By Dave SmithDecember 22, 2025
14 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Bosses are fighting a new battle in the RTO wars: It's not about where you work, but when you work
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 4, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Bank of America CEO says he hired 2,000 recent Gen Z grads from 200,000 applications, and many are scared about the future
By Ashley LutzJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
Meet the 'empowered non-complier': A certain kind of valuable worker who flouts return to office whenever they feel like it
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
People in Venezuela didn't celebrate Maduro's capture out of fear of government repression, construction worker says
By Regina Garcia Cano, Megan Janetsky, Juan Arraez and The Associated PressJanuary 4, 2026
14 hours ago

Latest in Tech

Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan at the New York Stock Exchange on Nov. 13, 2025. (Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Prediction markets and the insider trading problem
By Andrew NuscaJanuary 5, 2026
1 hour ago
AItech stocks
Is the AI boom a bubble waiting to pop? Here’s what history says
By Henry Ren, Carmen Reinicke and BloombergJanuary 4, 2026
13 hours ago
AsiaTariffs and trade
Countries must move beyond seeing AI as a race, where one side must beat the other
By Boris Babic and Brian WongJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
Bhargava
CommentaryPasswords
You probably use the same password for 30 different websites. It’s time for a passkey. 
By Rishi BhargavaJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
data center
AIData centers
Angry town halls nationwide find a new villain: the data center driving up your electricity bill while fueling job-killing AI
By Marc Levy and The Associated PressJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago
tesla
Big TechAutos
Elon Musk promised a ‘major rebound’ for Tesla in 2025. Instead it fell behind its biggest rival from China
By Paul Harloff, Bernard Condon and The Associated PressJanuary 3, 2026
2 days ago