Pandemic Prolonging Shift Away From Linear TV, Says Raymond James

COVID-19 “reversed a decade” of video consumption trends, the Raymond James media usage survey for December found. Consumers value cable and satellite TV “a little more during a pandemic,” it found. Though “cable-first” homes in December declined to 31% of respondents from 32% in May, “this is still significantly elevated from the 28% of respondents who reported as such pre-COVID” in November 2019, it said. “As consumers were forced to shut in and the TV screen became the primary entertainment vehicle, the value of basic pay-TV packages was reaffirmed.” Cord shaving remains the “norm” over cord cutting, as 21% “expressed intent to trade down" from their current video package, compared with 24% in May and 22% in November 2019. The percentage of respondents intending to cord cut stayed flat at 6%. “In light of the current stay-at-home, recessionary environment, it makes perfect sense why a greater percentage of respondents would look to keep linear TV while simply reducing their monthly spend.” Raymond James projects that the “ultimate transition” to over-the-top streaming and away from linear TV “is likely to be even more protracted as a result of COVID-19.”