But Hulu and Netflix are far from the only places cord-cutters
are going for their TV fix. In fact cord-cutters are more likely
than the average internet user to visit some TV networks' websites
than they are to check out Netflix or YouTube, Experian found.
NBC.com topped the list of online video sites cord-cutters are
more inclined than most to visit. Fox News' and ESPN's sites
followed, but those visits may be as much about news as video.
NBC's "Today" site and Bing Video rounded out the top five. All
five sites edged out Netflix and YouTube, but that seems be because
the two video services' are pretty popular among cable subscribers
as well as cord-cutters. Netflix and YouTube combine to account for
half of the country's web traffic.
But aside from NBC and Bing Video, those visits may be as much
about checking out the latest news as they are watching video.
ESPN's ranking is "certainly driven by cord-cutters who still need
to get their sports fix somewhere," Mr. Fetto said.
Sports has long been considered cable and satellite providers'
biggest protection against cord-cutting. But while the NFL is often
cited as the most valuable deterrent, that label should actually go
to the NBA. People who are "very interested" in the NFL are 23%
less likely to cancel their cable subscriptions, but those "very
interested" in the NBA are 40% less likely, according to Experian.
College football indexed at 21%, trailed by Major League Baseball
at 20%.
Experian measured cord-cutters as people who have broadband
internet subscriptions but not cable or satellite TV subscriptions.
That means these could people who canceled their cable/satellite TV
subscriptions or never had one in the first place (a cohort
commonly called "cord-nevers").