Half of US pay TV users now watch Netflix

Netflix streaming among pay TV users in the US has climbed from 36% in 2012 to 49% in 2015, according to new research by The Diffusion Group (TDG).

The study claims that at the same time, the use of legacy pay-TV services among Netflix users has declined by just three percentage points in the last three years, from 87% to 84% – indicating that Netflix use does not directly lead to pay TV service cancellations.

“Though Netflix isn’t driving cord cutting, it is nonetheless an incremental threat to premium TV services in particular. Today’s Netflix Streamer is significantly less likely to use value-added pay-TV services such PVR, premium sports, and pay-per-view than they were in 2012,” said TDG analyst, Nick Beyer.