Cable -- and live streaming -- subscriptions drop

According to a new report, cable TV is losing subscribers. That's not a surprise.

However, streaming cable replacements -- you know, Sling TV, Fubo, Vidgo, Hulu+Live TV (though not regular Hulu), DirecTV streaming -- are losing subscribers as well. Only, YouTube TV is actually gaining subscribers.

Cord Cutters News reports that data from Leichtman Research Group indicates that nearly four million in the USA have canceled pay TV services, both cable and live streaming, in the first two quarters of 2023.

Now in the first half 3.9 million Americans have canceled their live TV services, including cable TV and streaming services like Hulu, Fubo, and Sling TV.

The only live TV service to add customers os far in 2023 was YouTube TV. YouTube TV reportedly added over 300,000 new subscribers in the first half of 2023. This comes as all live TV services, including streaming, cable TV, and satellite, lost over 3.9 million customers in the first half of 2023 according to the Leichtman Research Group.

Increasingly cord cutters are going for cheaper on-demand services like Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, Max, and more. For anyone who is not a fan of sports, increasingly on-demand is all you need and can save you a lot of money.

The report goes on to say that most households have 3-4 streaming services, with on-demand services being more popular.

I totally get it. My Streaming Life is mainly on-demand streaming, such as standard Hulu, and I only subscribe to live streaming for sports during college football season. And, yes, it's been YouTube TV this year, rather than the usual Sling TV. Losing an antenna, and not replacing it yet, has been the reason for that. I really need to put an antenna back up.

I do watch live streaming other than sports, but I use ad-supported services for that. Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Google TV Live TV, Plex Live TV, and other such services. I just like paying for cable, even if it's streaming cable.