Multicultural viewers are more likely to consider cutting the cable cord and getting their TV fix through alternative distribution platforms, according to a new multicultural digital-media report from Horowitz Associates.
The move is being led by Hispanics, who are 18% likely or very likely to cancel TV service altogether and not replace it in the near future, compared to 13% of white urban multichannel households, according to the multicultural edition of Horowitz’s State of Cable and Digital Media report. Asians were 13% likely to drop subscription-cable service, while African- Americans were 12% likely to do so.
In addition, 76% of all urban multicultural homes have access to an over-the-top platform, with Asians reporting a whopping 85% penetration rate. Asians lead all multicultural groups with handheld Internet/video capability (52%) and with home broadband service (64%).
While these numbers don’t yet signal an Armageddon for cable, satellite and telco distributors, it does portend a potentially troubling scenario in which multicultural viewers show almost no trepidation in moving to other platforms to view content they want to see when they want to watch. To slow down or reverse the trend, distributors will have to find ways to offer more multicultural-themed programming to keep the fast-growing urban marketplace from trading in their remotes for a computer mouse or a smart phone when they want to watch entertainment content.
The full report will be unveiled Wednesday (March 21) during Horowitz’s Multicultural Media Forum in New York.
