Angus Reid Institute’s latest public opinion poll indicates millennials in this country are increasingly opting out of traditional television and home phone service. Nearly half of those surveyed under the age of 35 have either cancelled their cable or satellite service or never signed up for it in the first place, and nearly 2/3rds are eschewing landline phones. Eschewing is a neat word that means to deliberately avoid using or abstain from. It’s not the same with older adults as nearly 9 in 10 of those aged 55 and up say their household has either cable or satellite TV. The vast majority of those who do not currently have television service at home report using a paid service like Netflix or a free service like YouTube, or both, for their entertainment needs. However, these services are not necessarily the main reason for “cutting the cord”. More than half of those who have cancelled their cable service say they felt they weren’t getting good value for their money. And one in three of these say they cancelled because they felt they can’t afford the monthly bill. Even 7 in 10 current subscribers who haven’t cut the cord say their TV service is too expensive. As for phones, a small majority of Canadians still have landlines. However that shrinks to about 1/3 when you look at those under 35. For those who have cancelled their landlines it isn’t so much cost concerns. 8 in 10 said they simply weren’t using their home phones all that much. As the saying goes, the times they are a changing, and there’s more to come.
That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.
Subscribing to cable TV and home phones
By Syndicated Author
Oct 26, 2018 | 8:00 AM
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