This report explores subscription to pay TV, home phone, and home internet service, with a particular focus on the pay TV industry. Discussions include the emergence of competing internet-based pay TV service, attitudes and interest in higher-speed internet, the role of age and household income in subscription, subscription to bundled services, average spend, and interest in changing carriers, among other topics. These subjects are covered utilizing results from both qualitative and quantitative studies conducted specifically for this report.

This report covers subscriptions for television, home internet, and home phone service, including when these services are sold as bundles from the same provider and when sold individually.

Cellular phone service is not covered in this report, being covered in separate Mintel titles (most recently Mobile Network Providers – US, March 2015). Internet-based entertainment services are included in this report if they provide live television streaming services identical to channels broadcast as part of traditional television services. Internet-based entertainment services that do not offer live streaming are discussed only in so far as they represent competition for pay TV service broadcast of channels within the competitive context in this report (covered in greater detail in Mintel’s Movie Sales and Rentals – US, August 2014). This report builds upon research conducted for Mintel’s Pay TV and Home Communication Services – US, October 2014 as well as Mintel’s Pay TV – US, October 2013 and Mintel’s Bundled Communication Services –US, November 2013.

Market Size: Created by Mintel using data from the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Pew Internet and American Life Project, and Experian Marketing Services.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer attitudes and behavior toward bundled communication services. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in December 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in the survey results. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Experian Marketing Services National Consumer Study and the Experian Marketing Services National Hispanic Consumer Study, with results weighted to represent the US adult population. Studies used in this report include:

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2009, February-September 2009: results based on 11,600 adults aged 18+

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2010, February-September 2010: results based on 11,681 adults aged 18+

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2011, January-September 2011: results based on 12,118 adults aged 18+

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2012, January-August 2012: results based on 12,333 adults aged 18+

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2013, January-September 2013: results based on 11,700 adults aged 18+

• Experian Marketing Services Summer 2014, January 2013-March 2014: results based on 13,748 adults aged 18+

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of adults aged 18+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie, not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively, at their leisure, or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.

The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:

The following terms are used in this report: