It’s National Cord Cutting Day!  Join the celebration!

Remember “Must See TV” on NBC?  “TGIF night on ABC”?  Ahh, the programming blocks of the ‘90’s.  Thursday nights on NBC included FRIENDS/Seinfeld/Frasier, then ER.  Friday’s TGIF block was Full House/Family Matters/Boy Meets World leading into 20/20.   Thinking about it, this meant gathering around a bulky set to watch what the TV networks had to offer.  It feels like ancient history now, and it should, it was 30 years ago!  The way we watch TV has undergone a seismic shift. And no Urkel, you didn’t do that.

In 30 years, we’ve gone from Cable Boxes to Binge Watching. This is truly the golden age of television!  There are more choices than ever and subscribing to outdated and bloated cable packages is becoming a thing of the past.  Yes, the guy who works at the company that provides the cable TV you watch just said cable is becoming a thing of the past.

In 2025, streaming didn’t just catch up to traditional television — it beat it. For the first time ever, streaming accounted for more of our viewing time than both broadcast and cable combined — roughly 44.8% of total TV viewing compared to cable’s 24.1% and broadcast’s 20.1%. Streaming isn’t ramping up; it’s a rocket ride. 

And the shift isn’t new or subtle. Tens of millions of households have already “cut the cord” — meaning no more cable subscription. By 2025, over 75 million U.S. households dropped traditional pay-TV.  That number is projected to climb to 80.7 million by the end of 2026. Let’s put that in perspective: less than half of American homes are expected to have traditional TV by next year — a stark contrast to the heyday of cable when well over 80% did.

Go ahead and read that last paragraph again.  I’ll wait. 

The question is, what are YOU waiting for?

So why are people cutting the cord and ditching cable?  It’s what I like to call the ‘4 C’s’

1. Cost: Paying more for cable vs. streaming? No thank you.
2. Control: Choose what you watch and when you watch it. Yes, WHEN YOU WANT IT. No need to wait for a certain day of the week to watch your favorite shows.
3. Convenience: You can subscribe and cancel platforms whenever you want! Subscribe, watch all the programs you want, then cancel and go to the next platform. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
4. Content: There is more programming available than we could possibly have time to watch. Find more of what you like to watch.

83% of U.S. adults now using streaming to get their fix of shows and movies — while only about 36% subscribe to cable or satellite.  

Yet some folks still cling to traditional TV. Why? Why would anyone still subscribe to traditional TV?

HTC understands this trend, and we do our best to keep members informed.  Learn more about video subscription options that may better suit the way YOU consume video content.