Cord Cutting

What Does Cord Cutting Mean?

Cord cutting refers to the process of cutting expensive cable connections in order to change to a low-cost TV channel subscription through over-the-air (OT) free broadcast through antenna, or over-the-top (OTT) broadcast over the Internet. Cord cutting is a growing trend that is adversely affecting the cable industry.

Netflix, Apple TV and Hulu are some of the popular broadcasting services that encourage cord cutting. The cord cutting concept received a considerable amount of recognition beginning in 2010 as more Internet solutions became available. These broadcasters have convinced millions of cable and satellite subscribers to cut their cords and change to video streaming.

Techopedia Explains Cord Cutting

Some of the advantages of cord cutting include:

• Saves money
• Avoids subscription to undesired channels
• Advertising is minimal
  

Some of the disadvantages of cord cutting include:

• Lack of/limited live video streaming, such as live streaming of sports matches
• Bandwidth issues
• Unavailability of certain channels/programs

According to a survey conducted by Convergence Consulting Group, approximately 2.65 million U.S. citizens canceled their cable TV subscriptions between 2008 and 2011 to opt for low-cost Internet video streaming subscription services or other free video platforms. As of 2012, the cable industry is also seeing a reduction in subscriptions.