This document discusses research into the viewing behaviors of "cord-cutters", or people who have cancelled their cable subscriptions. It outlines five research questions focused on understanding cord-cutters' current viewing behaviors, motivations for watching content, and attitudes towards binge-watching. The author conducted in-depth interviews with cord-cutters and identified several themes in their responses, such as only binge-watching when they have time, preferring to discuss shows they watch live with others, and continuing watching some shows they dislike to be part of cultural conversations about the shows.

1. Life After Cable:
Viewing Behaviors of
Cord-Cutters
Stephen Warren

2. Existing literature on individuals that cancel
cable services is almost entirely limited to
dissertations and theses. Typically, these
papers focus to the reasons for becoming such
a consumer. Using in-depth interviews with
cord-cutters, this study focuses on these
individuals to better understand their current
viewing behaviors, as well as their current
motivations for watching particular content.
The purpose of this research to identify if any
differences exist between those with cable and
those that choose to eliminate the service.
Intro

3. RQ1: What are the viewing behaviors of cord-
cutters?
RQ2: How does a cord-cutter’s environment
(devices, content options, etc.) affect
video consumption?
RQ3: What does “a good show” mean to cord-
cutters?
RQ4: How can future content better satisfy the
demands of cord-cutters?
RQ5: What are cord-cutters’ attitudes towards
binge-watching?
Research Questions

4. “A person who cancels or forgoes a cable tele-
vision subscription or landline phone connection in
favor of an alternate Internet-based or wireless
service.” (Oxford, 2015)
Almost a third of survey respondents in 2013
considered cancelling cable ("Video Streaming,"
2013). Although television viewing is declining,
consumption of video is not; it is shifting to digital
platforms (Nielsen, 2014).
As the amount of cord-cutters continues to grow,
television research should focus on more than
whom is likely to transition and why (Banerjee,
Alleman, & Rappoport, 2013). The purpose of this
study is to better understand the underlying
characteristics of cord-cutters that affect how and
what content they choose to watch.
What is a Cord-Cutter?

5. One logical research direction may be to explore the uses and
gratifications sought by cord-cutters, as studies focusing on
similar technologies have done.
Television
Television is used for entertainment, consuming time, and
getting information (Ayyad, 2011), with information being least
important (Green, 2014).
VCR
Users were found to value content and be more active viewers
than those of traditional television (Levy, 1987).
Internet
Offering very similar gratifications as television, the Internet
adds social gratification (Stafford, Stafford, & Schkade, 2004).
Cord-Cutters
Applying this to cord-cutting, users may seek the same
gratifications as television users, but focusing more on being
active and the particular content viewed. Additionally, because
viewing alternatives to cable are often online streaming services
like Netflix, Internet’s social gratification may be involved.
Uses & Gratifications

6. “With any new social phenomenon, scientists
are scrambling to catch up with human
behavior” (Rutsch, 2015).
Binge-watching research is even more scarce
than cord-cutting research. As such, studies
have not consistently defined term, despite its
addictive properties (Devasagayam, 2014) .
Video streaming is often associated with both
binge-watching and cord-cutters. Therefore,
greater understanding of these individuals’
bingeing behaviors and attitudes could greatly
facilitate research in these areas.
Binge-Watching

7. Despite disliking the service and cost, many people
did not make the cord-cutting transition until they
moved into a new home.
This motivation to switch could be a result of
status quo preference (Chernev, 2004). Pre-
vention-focused people tend to maintain their
status quo (cable service). Moving may have shift-
ed them to being more promotion-focused and
more likely to choose the status quo alternative
(streaming).
Further, those that could now easily afford cable
claim that only specific factors would make them
get cable again (living with others, better service,
etc.). Thus, they have developed a new status
quo.
Themes
Pro Quo, Not Cost

8. “I sold my house and moved to a condo, and I decided I always
hated my cable. So, I decided I wouldn't get it over here, and if it
bothered me, that I know they’d sell it to me… and I love not
having, love not having it. It is fabulous.” –Tina
“moving from a group of people who regularly use TV as a group
to a one person studio… TV costs a lot of money (laughs).” –
Jennifer
“the customer service experience was extremely poor (laughs),
and, ‘it angered me so,’ she says – kindest words I can choose.
With that, I did step back in the midst of the chaos of moving and
go, ‘whoa, just a minute. What are my other options?’” –Bridget
When asked about what would make her get cable again:
“it’d have to be a company that you want to work with…You feel
like you’re getting a value for it. I never felt like I got a value for
it, and you just have to fight with them, and they're a horrible
horrible company. Um… I can't think of anything that’d make me
get it back. World War 3? (laughs)” –Tina
Examples
Pro Quo, Not Cost

9. Another theme was how the interviewees
found and watched new shows. Without
cable, people stated that they had difficulty
keeping up to date with what shows were on
and when. Social media became a primary
source for new show information.
There seemed to be a desire to at least “check
out” as many shows as possible. This could
support the idea that these newer tech-
nologies encourage more active viewing,
previously termed the “TV lifecycle” (Brown,
2006). Almost everyone enjoyed having con-
versations about shows with others and
deliberately watched new shows to do so.
Themes
“Whatever the kids are talking about.”

10. “I mean I should know, by all rights, I should be
watching my House – the ‘House of the Cards,’ ‘The
Orange is the New the Black,’ the ‘Unbearable
Kimmy Johnson,’ or whatever the, whatever the
heck it is that the kids are talkingabout.” – Dylan
“I did try to watch Glee the other day. It popped
up on Netflix… and I remember, you know,
everybody talkingabout it” –Tina
“groundbreaking, iconic, more-than-pop-culture
television that someone should experience would
kind of be my filter. Um, stuff that I might re-
commend to my parents like, ‘you need to watch
this. You need to experience this.’” –Bridget
Examples
“Whatever the kids are talking about.”

11. Live, weekly shows were given more leeway by
the interviewees. People were more willing to
“see where the show was going.” Something that
was non-existent for the more condensed viewing
of streamed shows.
Interviewees said that watching weekly allowed
for richer conversations about the shows,
whether it was “water cooler talk” or app-
ointment viewing with social media. Conversely,
the conversation about streamed shows focused
on simply if a person had seen it or not.
Applied to uses and gratifications theory, this
would suggest that cord-cutters may seek social
gratification, as well as actively choosing what
content to watch. However, the traditional TV
gratification of consuming time may not be as
important, since most did not want to waste time
with bad shows.
Themes
The Cultural Conversation

12. “They’re not shows that I really love that much…
just sort of ones that I find mildly entertaining like,
or they grew on me. Mindy Project grew on me.
New Girl grew on me. Big Bang Theory… when I
had a little more time, I started to follow it.” –
Dylan
“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was one of the few shows I
was really, really glad that… I watched it in real
time… just like, being immersed at the time and
with other people who are watching it made a real
difference for me.” –Jennifer
When asked why he dislikes condensed watching:
“we're not talking about it from episode-to-
episode. We're saying… it's just almost like
people are just consuming it the way a whale
devours plankton.” –Dylan
Examples
The Cultural Conversation

13. Everyone had binge-watched at one time or
another, but the theme that emerged was that
they only did so when time allowed. They were
very aware of the activity and usually chose not to
binge when other activities took priority. Binge-
watching was frequently used as a coping
mechanism for boredom (stretches of poor
weather) or procrastination.
This would suggest that binge-watching may be
less of an addiction and more of an alternative
activity. However, many interviewees confessed
that they needed to force themselves to stop at
times to complete other tasks or errands. So while
binge-watching may not be an addiction, it may
possess some addictive properties.
Themes
Bingeing? It Depends…

14. “on a normal day, I wouldn’t necessarily do that
(binge). But just you know, with this terrible weather
we've had, it's like I said, just a great excuse to say,
‘okay, I'm not going out.’ And I won't even go check
my mail (laughs) I would just hang out in my little house
and just be a happy little girl!” –Tina
“like, think of all the things I could have done all day
today while I was sitting watching 30 Rock for ten
hours (laughs). I don’t know, like I should’ve done
laundry, I should’ve done this, I should’ve done that…
Especially during the winter, when there’s like, no
reason to leave the house except to forage for food.” –
Kaley
“binge watching would mean watching multiple shows
in succession without any stop. But I don't know if I
have like, some sort of number... And I only really binge
like, if I have the time” –Jennifer
Examples
Bingeing? It Depends…

15. These interviews suggest that there is more
than simply cost associated with the decision
to make the transition away from cable.
These people clearly know what they want,
and that is evident in their viewing behaviors.
The quicker abandonment when watching
streamed shows may indicate that weekly
programming was still the preferred method
of consumption. This is further supported
when considering that these people preferred
to talk about shows that they watched at the
same time as other people. This reinforces
the idea that cord-cutters may consider social
gratification part of their TV experience.
Implications 1

16. Binge-watching, while often employed, was
viewed as being simply an alternative to other
activities. Additionally, these people chose to par-
take in binge-watching only when they had the
time. This would suggest that binge-watching may
have some addictive properties, but that it is not
equal to these other behaviors. Although the in-
terviewees admitted that binge-watching was
sometimes a way to procrastinate and avoid
other errands, traditional TV viewing has been
found to be used similarly (Ayyad, 2011). Dylan felt
the same, calling TV, “a giant, you know, fifty
dollars a month procrastination tool.”
Implications 2

17. In-depth interviews performed over two months.
Recruiting was done through email and word of
mouth following the university’s IRB approval.
Participants were incentivized with a drawing for
an iTunes gift card.
Participants were required to currently not have
cable and to have paid for cable at one time.
Those that have never paid may have different
attitudes on cord-cutting, since cutting the cord
may have been someone else’s choice.
Interviewees were between 24 and 45 years old.
These recorded interviews were transcribed and
coded for similar themes. Using the research
software Nvivo, four themes emerged.
Method: Interview

18. This author, one month prior to data collection,
cancelled cable and became a cord-cutter, citing
cost as the most important reason. One detriment
of this could have been the need to be aware of
any personal bias against cable services. However,
one advantage was a greater understanding that
other factors influence this transition greatly,
allowing for better rapport with the interviewees.
Another limitation was the amount of people
interviewed. Finding individuals that had paid for
cable in the past proved difficult in a university
setting, as many have been provided the service
on someone else’s dime. Nevertheless, the
emerging themes appeared to reach some level of
saturation, despite this difficulty.
Researcher Role

19. Title: Life After Cable: Viewing Behaviors
of Cord-Cutters
Author: Stephen Warren
Program: Media Studies
Email: smwarren@syr.edu
Contact Information

20. Although cost was a major factor in cutting the cord,
those that could afford cable stated that the quality of
the costumer service was a main reason for not getting
the service again.
“I'm convinced… they train their people to lie… they
are just aghast that you are having a problem, and that
somebody hasn't been able to fix it, and they will
absolutely get it done. And then, you hang up after an
hour on the phone with them, you hang up, and
nothing gets done.” –Tina
Poor Service

21. Nearly all interviewees mentioned House of Cards as a show that
was “binge-worthy.” However, when the show’s third season did
not impress as much as previous seasons, some stopped their
intended binge. Those that did not stop seemed to treat
watching the season as a chore rather than entertainment.
“I did it one weekend when it launched, but that's an anomaly…
I was still recovering from a pretty nasty flu, so it kind of lent itself
to just relaxing and you know, that was my rationalization for it…
and I didn't really need to. Actually, that particular season wasn’t
as strong as the first two. So, I think if I hadn't been, if I'd been
feeling better, I probably would have been able to walk away
from it a bit more then I did.” –Bridget
Binge-Worthy?

22. While people would stop streaming shows online that they did not like,
they continued to watch weekly network shows they did not favor. Some
would keep watching in the hopes the show would improve. Others
would “hate-watch” a show to make fun of it within the cultural con-
versation.
“It's just pure – Gotham – pure, pure hate-watch… Honestly, by the time,
by mid-September, by probably the third week I realized, “okay, this show
probably isn't going to get any better.” But, I felt like the cement had
hardened, and I felt like I’ll watch this any way… that was, I sort of, want
to see where they were going... I think that, I mean that's part of it. Now
because they're getting rid of one of the weakest characters on the show,
now there's hope that it might get a little better.” –Dylan
“Hate-Watching”