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Michigan cord-cutting accelerates, as cable TV subscriptions fall 15%

More TV watchers are firing up Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services as cable TV subscribers continue to dwindle in Michigan and elsewhere. Stock photo courtesy of simpson33.

by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan)

The number of cable-TV subscribers in Michigan fell for the third consecutive year in 2024 as viewers continued to look elsewhere for their news, sports and entertainment.

The loss of nearly 190,000 subscribers represented a 15% decline, the largest percentage drop since a one-year uptick in subscribers in 2021 broke a steady drop that began in 2015.

According to the latest statistics released last week by the Michigan Public Service Commission, there are now 1.1 million cable subscribers in the state, fewer than half the 2.35 million in 2015, when cable subscription peaked in the state.

The big winners are the streaming services that require high-speed internet and provide specific content, from sports and movies to other entertainment.

“As technology has changed, people have evolved with it,” said Ryan McAnany, director of the MPSC telecommunications division.

So has the industry.

Streaming services dominate Emmy Award nominations and increasingly air big sports events. Netflix hosted two NFL games on Christmas, and they were the biggest “streamed” sporting events ever.

Last month, 43% of nationwide consumers were getting their TV from streaming, compared to just 24% from cable, almost the same as over-the-air broadcaster (think antenna).

A year earlier, the gap was far narrower: cable TV had an audience share of 28.2% compared to 35.9% for streaming.

“The traditional cable viewership is just going down,” McAnany said. “It kind of like the land line (telephone).”

Younger viewers who have grown up watching YouTube and TikTok are less likely to buy a cable TV package, he said.

McAnany said there a chance of a slight rebound: cable providers are now bidding to become providers of broadband services through a federal program to bring high-speed internet to underserved areas of the state.

He said those companies may find new customers if they install those lines.

The losers are those who relied on local-access TV — think Wayne World or channels that host government meetings — funded with fees from cable companies. Municipalities all across the US used those fees to broadcast local meetings, highlight community festivals and produce local news shows.

The drop in cable customers has led to a similarly steep drop in cable fees used for those stations.

In Meridian Township east of Lansing, the fees generated nearly $1.1 million in 2015, adjusted for inflation, according to Samantha Diehl, communications manager for HOMTV there.

In 2023, those fees had fallen to $619,000 and likely fell even further last year, she said; final numbers were not available this week.

“We’re not able to provide as much programming,” Diehl said.

The station now has a staff of three, down from seven. It no longer has a 30-minute “Meridian News Now” show running daily, Monday through Friday. It still broadcasts seven municipal meetings each month.

In Kalamazoo, a consortium of five municipalities shares the Public Media Network that covers meetings and some community events.

But an annual 10% drop in fees from the cable companies has crimped its budget, said Matthew Schuster, executive director. It turned to fundraising pitches and grant applications to make up the money.

“We can’t make up new revenue as fast as it is disappearing,” he said.

So, it no longer covering a local tennis tournament, it covering just two parades a year and there are fewer educational classes, he said.

The network still broadcasts local meetings, “but (the revenue drop) has impacted a lot of other services,” Schuster said.

At HOMTV in mid-Michigan, Diehl said the station had to make another change. Fewer cable subscribers also meant fewer people were able to watch HOMTV on the local access channel.

The solution? Free streaming on its YouTube channel.

This article is being republished through a syndication agreement with Bridge Michigan. Bridge Michigan is Michigan largest nonprofit news service and one of the nation leading and largest nonprofit civic news providers. Their coverage is nonpartisan, fact-based, and data-driven. Find them online at .

by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and a founder of the Manchester Mirror.