Nearly half of U.S. TV viewers are already cordless, and 44% of cable subscribers “anticipate pulling back or cutting service in the coming year,” The Trade Desk reported Tuesday. The analytics company hired YouGov to canvass a nationally representative sample of 4,000 U.S. adults April 27-May 5, finding only 19% of TV viewers “are returning to their pre-pandemic sports viewing habits,” it said. Nearly half, 44%, who watch sports “are choosing a primary viewing source outside of linear TV,” it said. That number increases to 65% among adult sports viewers 34 and younger. The study found more U.S. TV viewers report watching streaming content with ads (44%) than without ads (33%). Nearly two-thirds are unwilling to spend more than $30 a month on streaming services, “making free or lower-cost ad-supported services more attractive,” it said.

Netflix’s venture into consumer products, announced several weeks ago, along with reports it may be expanding its game offerings, indicate the company is “looking to build a new profit pool or two a la Disney,” MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson wrote investors Tuesday. But consumer products or gaming won’t be enough “to change the narrative,” said the analyst, suggesting Netflix instead should add a live sports tier or advertising-based VOD offering to reach new customer segments and markets, especially in emerging regions with low average revenue per user. Since the start of 2018, Netflix has underperformed the S&P 500, rising 34% vs. 57% for the broader market, Nathanson said, saying a maturing U.S. subscriber base and an intensifying competitive environment among streaming services contributed to limited stock performance. He questioned how much growth is left in Netflix’s subscription VOD business, while “the success of AVOD businesses has been especially notable this year, and Netflix seemingly would have pole position to capture that market.” He noted Netflix “has a fundamental opposition to advertising,” but he said emerging pressure to find growth “as well as a more developed AVOD ecosystem may make Netflix more amenable to advertising on the service.” Netflix benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic with record subscribership last year, but subscriber growth slowed to below guidance in Q1 at 4 million subscription adds. The analyst expects an acceleration in signups in the second half as more content is available, but “as economies further reopen, we believe people will spend more time engaging through in-person activities rather than streaming content at home.” Netflix didn’t comment Tuesday.

BBC iPlayer is on ScreenHits TV in the U.K., said the streaming platform Friday: Its customers can access the service via desktop PCs, tablets, the iOS app and Amazon Fire TV sticks.

Though the “very near term” outlook is for consumers’ “robust” return to theaters this year from 15 months of pent-up demand, the “narrative” of the “normalized domestic box office” in 2022 and beyond is less certain, MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman wrote investors Friday. “Now that studios essentially have full flexibility on windowing strategies” that favor “self-owned” over-the-top streaming platforms, “the supply of theatrical releases from the major Hollywood studios into theaters should be negatively impacted, which would hurt long term attendance trends,” he said. The “cannibalization” from shifting major theatrical feature films to OTT could cause a 17% decline in U.S. box office next year compared with 2019, he said.

The FCC seeks comment on Microsoft’s petition for reconsideration of an order on ATSC 3.0 distributed transmission systems, said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Wednesday. Filed in May, the petition urges the FCC to adopt an expedited waiver process instead of relaxing interference rules (see 2105240067). Oppositions are due in docket 20-74 at the FCC 15 days after the PN is published in the Federal Register, replies 10 days after that.

Video streamers are “overwhelmed” by over-the-top streaming options, Horowitz Research reported: They feel the “pain” and fatigue of too many streaming services to choose from, as content fragments. Half of TV content viewers in a May survey of 2,183 consumers said there are too many streaming services. About 44% said they often have a hard time finding something to watch. The researcher Wednesday cited launches of Disney+, Apple TV+, BET+, HBO Max, Peacock and discovery+; the rebranding and relaunching of CBS All Access into Paramount+; the launches -- and shuttering -- of Quibi and TVision; and the exit of PlayStation Vue. It noted arrival of AT&T TV as the “latest iteration of DirecTV Now and AT&T TV Now: “Consumer perceptions of chaos and their continued retention of (and perhaps nostalgia for) managed MVPD services is … not surprising.” Of MVPD nonsubscribers, 36% cut the cord within the past two years, up from 23% in 2020; 16% cited COVID-19.

Representatives of AT&T and TPG Capital questioned the FCC International Bureau about when it might approve the planned spinoff of AT&T's U.S. video distribution business (see 2102240046), per an IB ex parte filing last week. AT&T, TPG and the FCC didn't comment Monday. "We discussed the potential timing of the FCC’s order addressing the applications" was the entire summary of what was discussed in Thursday's lobbying conversation.

Univision Communications will launch a streaming service in the U.S. and Latin America next year with ad-supported and premium subscription-based options, it said Monday. Pricing will be announced after the Televisa-Univision transaction is completed later this year (see 2104140067). The service will include “more Spanish-language originals than any other streaming service,” the company said. Univision’s current streaming and on-demand services will “be transitioned and unified into one global service and brand.” The free tier will have more than 100 linear channels and a news service; the subscription tier will include more than 6,000 hours of Spanish-language content and more than 30 original productions, it said. See also the personals section of this issue.

Updated wireless emergency alert/emergency alert service rules approved 4-0 by FCC commissioners Thursday (see 2106170063) explain more fully than the draft order why the commission declined to take up a New York City Emergency Management request, per our comparison of the draft with the approved order. NYCEM asked the FCC to require government entities that originate WEAs to file mandatory false alert reports as part of a pact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The commission said now that while the update sets up a voluntary system for reporting false alerts, doing so seems consistent with requirements in last year's National Defense Authorization Act, so the agency declined to take up NYCEM's request.

Cable TV usage in May with 39% of TV viewing, reported Nielsen. Broadcast had 25% of usage and streaming 26%, led by Netflix (6%), YouTube (6%), Hulu (3%), Amazon Prime Video (2%) and Disney+ (1%). Eight percent of streaming was from other high-bandwidth video sources. The “other” category, with 9% of viewing, includes VOD, gaming, DVDs and streaming through a cable set-top box. Streaming usage across all TV homes climbed to 26% of all time spent on TV. As people begin to "dive back into their pre-pandemic activities," consumers will continue to sample and explore viewing options, said Brian Fuhrer, senior vice president-product strategy. "As production ramps back up, new content will enter the space, driving additional traction."