Pay-TV Penetration Slipping, Leichtman Research Says

Roughly 82 percent of U.S. TV households subscribe to some form of pay-TV service -- down from 87 percent in 2011, and in line with 2005's 82 percent, Leichtman Research Group said in a news release Friday. Among the non-subscribing TV households, Leichtman said, 14 percent paid for a service in the past year. The researcher said rates of people leaving or intending to leave the pay-TV category have been steady in recent years, but the penetration decline comes from a lack of people entering the category and the industry not keeping pace with movers and the growth in rental housing. Leichtman said the reported monthly mean spending on pay-TV service is $103.10, up 4 percent over last year, the lowest annual increase in five years. Findings came from a phone survey of 1,206 U.S. households.