Cord-Cutters Flocked to Paramount+, Netflix and Peacock’s Ad-Free Plans in Q1

A recent study by Antenna reveals that cord-cutters who canceled their traditional pay TV subscriptions in Q1 were five times more likely to subscribe to a new streaming service within a month, with 31% of them signing up. Among these new subscribers, six of the top 10 plans were ad-free, led by Paramount+ Premium at 13.7%, followed by Netflix Premium at 11.5%, and Peacock Premium at 9.5%.

Prior to canceling their subscriptions, 72% of traditional cord-cutters already had at least one premium streaming video on demand (SVOD) service. When analyzing digital cord-cutters, the percentage of those with at least one premium SVOD increased to 84%. The study also found that households with incomes of $100,000 or less were equally likely to cancel pay TV subscriptions as the general population, with 61% of them doing so.

Of this group, 32% earned less than $50,000, while 29% made between $50,000 and $100,000. Households earning above $200,000 accounted for 13% of cord-cutters, matching their representation in the general population. The average churn rate for major streaming services was 4% in July, with Netflix and Disney+ having lower rates of 2% and 3%, respectively.

However, Paramount+ saw a higher churn rate of 6%, while Starz dropped to 7% and Peacock remained steady at 7%.