Cord shaving – a new phenomenon in the UK

Nearly 70% of people in Britain say that they subscribe to some form of live or on-demand video streaming. Most are cutting down on their TV packages, that is, ‘cord shaving’. According to Nielsen’s Global Video-on-Demand report, the most popular TV packages in the UK is satellite, followed by cable. At the 3^rd comes VOD services like Netflix and Amazon.

“The increasing popularity of online-only TV services will continue to put pressure on the likes of Sky and Virgin, but a wholesale replacement of these traditional subscription players is unlikely,” says Nielsen executive vice president of digital for Europe, Terrie Brennan. “For most UK viewers, online VOD and traditional subscription services are complementary, so we’re more likely to see “cord shaving” – consumers choosing slimmer subscription packages from the traditional players, rather than cancelling them outright.”

Source: Net Imperative