Like millions of Americans, we finally terminated our cable TV service and cut our internet/TV bill by 50%.

Here are some interesting facts about the current trends in TV viewership:

In December 2021, CNN and MSNBC, the (sponsored) news networks, are down, respectively, to average 99,000 and 79,000 daytime viewers in adults 25-54 years old. By contrast, independent internet comedian/social commentators like Tim Dillon, Jimmy Dore, Russell Brand (Left side of the picture) and Tim Pool each reach around 100,000-500,000 people per episode, often surpassing cable news in number of daily viewers. Joe Rogan (Middle of the picture) alone reaches an estimated 11 million people per episode, more than all major news networks combined. That is why his recent Spotify podcast with Dr. Peter McCullough (questioning the safety, efficacy, politics and business of the vaccines) drew immediate attention from authorities and even pharmaceutical executives like Pfizer CEO, who immediately arranged for an interview on another podcast by Lex Fridman (who owes part of his popularity to support by Rogan) to defend the company and the vaccine and undermine Rogan and McCollough.
In the news category, independent journalists like Sharyl Attkisson now use a hybrid model of syndicated shows. She broadcasts her Full Measure show both online and on certain TV stations across the United States.
In 2020, Netflix had close to 210 million subscribers. Entertainment seems to trump politics. People seem to be tired of political news!
Fox News continues to do better than CNN and MSNBC in total viewers and in prime-time ratings (Thanks for example to Tucker Carlson Tonight). Even in the comedy category, Fox News' Greg Gutfeld has edged out NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel in late-night ratings wars.
Comcast lost more than 200,000 subscribers in the last quarter of 2020, and AT&T lost a striking 1.16 million customers. in 2021, nearly 30% of US consumers planned to cut the cord in 2021 (including our family).
Nearly all Americans aged 25-34 access TV content through the internet. In contrast, 63% of Americans over the age of 68 pay for cable TV. That is why many Cable TV programs, even news programs, are now sponsored to a large extent by pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers.
Despite their plummeting viewer numbers, CNN and MSNBC expect estimated 2021 ad sales of $815 million and $574 million, respectively, which seem to be down by about 25% from 2020 where COVID, contentious elections and Trump boosted viewership.

Sources:

https://techjury.net/blog/cord-cutting-statistics/

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/week-of-dec-13-basic-cable-ranker-fox-news-is-most-watched-on-cable-in-total-day-and-prime-sees-decline-among-adults-25-54/496355/

https://techjury.net/blog/cable-tv-subscribers-statistics/

https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/cable-news/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymeek/2021/10/12/as-fox-news-turns-25-heres-how-its-business-stacks-up-against-rivals-cnn-and-msnbc/?sh=5d16b9541b08

Homo economicus

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