Aereo Could Make 41% of Subscribers Drop Pay TV, Says Survey
This is one of the more dubious studies we've seen in a while, so take it for what it's worth. Marketing analytics firm Centris Marketing Science has released the results of a survey showing that 41 percent of all U.S. pay TV households would be either very likely or somewhat likely to cancel their pay TV subscriptions and subscribe to Aereo instead, if Aereo were available in their area.
While those surveyed may have expressed that opinion, it's hard to believe they knew what Aereo offers or that so high a number would actually make the switch, if possible. Aereo doesn't offer any pay TV content, only over-the-air broadcast content with the addition of cloud DVR service. Would 41 percent of pay TV customers really trade their favorite channels for more access to broadcast TV?
The Centris survey has a small sample size: Centris questioned 325 U.S. households in its Evolution of Video (EOV) community between March 27 and March 31, 2014. The EOV community is made up of household paid for their opinion on video usage.
The survey arrives weeks before the Supreme Court is due to rule on whether or not Aereo must pay retransmission fees to broadcasters. If Aereo prevails, it will certainly have a great impact on the pay TV marketplace, and could lead to some free, ad-supported channels becoming pay TV channels.
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