Who Is / Isn’t Likely To Cut Off Cable TV

People who cancel their cable TV subscriptions may not miss their monthly bills, but they’re also not missing out on some of their favorite broadcast shows.

These so-called cord-cutters are more likely than the average internet user to watch ABC programs like “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Modern Family” and Fox’s animated series online, according to a survey conducted by Experian Marketing Services.

All fifteen of the shows with higher-than-average popularity among cord-cutters are broadcast programs that could be watched on traditional TV without a cable or satellite subscription (internet-only shows like “House of Cards” weren’t measured). However the programs’ popularity may have as much to do with their broad distribution strategy as with their over-the-air availability.

People didn’t have to watch a full episode of a show for it to register on the list. Clips also count, which could explain why programs that post a lot of clips online and are socially active — like “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which counts more than 4 million subscribers to its YouTube channel — rank so high. The late-night show’s “Worst Twerk Fail Ever” video has been watched more than 19 million times on YouTube.

“If it’s shareable or consumable in short clips, I think it’s going to appeal to the cord-cutter audience because they’re hungrier for video here and there,” said John Fetto, Experian’s senior analyst on marketing services and consumer insights.

But it also helps if a show is available on Netflix or Hulu. Experian found that 18% of cord-cutting households have Netflix or Hulu accounts. Households with Netflix accounts are 181% more likely to be cord-cutters, and those with Hulu accounts are 138% more likely.

Twelve of the top-fifteen programs can be watched on Hulu, including nine that have full episodes available on the ad-supported streaming service. And eight of the shows have episodes available on Netflix.

But Hulu and Netflix are far from the only places cord-cutters are going for their TV fix. In fact cord-cutters are more likely than the average internet user to visit some TV networks’ websites than they are to check out Netflix or YouTube, Experian found.

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