{"id":72288,"date":"2026-02-03T17:58:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/?p=72288"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:57:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:57:57","slug":"michigan-cutting-the-cord-at-record-rates-as-cable-subscribers-fall-below-1m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/michigan-cutting-the-cord-at-record-rates-as-cable-subscribers-fall-below-1m\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan cutting the cord at record rates, as cable subscribers fall below 1M"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Michigan cable subscriptions declined again in 2025, dropping below 1 million<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The decrease is part of a longtime pattern and comes as many are sounding alarms about increases in costs of streaming services<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Researchers warn cable loss could limit information access for vulnerable communities<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Streaming services continue to erode the popularity of cable television in Michigan, where subscribers fell below 1 million in 2025 for the first time since state officials began keeping records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/mpsc\/-\/media\/Project\/Websites\/mpsc\/regulatory\/reports\/video-comp\/2025_Status_of_Video_Competition.pdf\">report<\/a> released this week by the Michigan Public Service Commission found that 980,543 video and cable customers remain, down about 120,000 from the previous year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ten years ago, there were more than 2 million subscribers in Michigan. In the past five years, the number has plunged 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The steady decline in cable subscriptions is raising concerns among researchers who say traditional television remains a critical source of information for local news, emergency alerts and public information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignright is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9649a0d9 wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\">\n<div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; height: 0px; padding: 157.05% 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; will-change: transform;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/e.infogram.com\/7dfbc8bf-3001-4e61-9c5d-27cfd0c2e3ff?src=embed&amp;embed_type=responsive_iframe\" title=\"Cable TV continues decline 2024\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"fullscreen\" style=\"position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0px; left: 0px; border: none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNot everybody has access to programming through broadband or access through the internet,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/iog.wayne.edu\/profile\/bw4730\">Carrie Leach<\/a>, assistant research professor at Wayne State University.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOld-fashioned television is still an important source of information for people who can\u2019t access information through very common outlets like the internet.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Streaming is a far more popular option for younger people, especially among people aged 30-49, 92% of whom use streaming services compared to 65% of adults older than 65, according to data from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/07\/01\/83-of-us-adults-use-streaming-services-far-fewer-subscribe-to-cable-or-satellite-tv\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Pew Research Center<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/michigan-cord-cutting-accelerates-cable-tv-subscriptions-fall-15\/\"><strong>Michigan cord-cutting accelerates, as cable TV subscriptions fall 15%<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/michigan-cord-cutting-accelerates-cable-customers-fall-13-2023\">Michigan cord cutting accelerates; cable customers fall 13% in 2023<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/business-watch\/michigan-viewers-cancel-cable-tv-record-numbers-2022-report-shows\/\"><strong>Michigan viewers cancel cable TV in record numbers in 2022, report shows<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 80% of Americans now use streaming platforms compared to 36% of Americans who don\u2019t, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/07\/01\/83-of-us-adults-use-streaming-services-far-fewer-subscribe-to-cable-or-satellite-tv\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Pew Research Center.<\/a>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leach said gaps are often tied to income, age and geography, leaving some residents with few alternatives if cable access disappears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI have never imagined cable ceasing to exist. I can\u2019t even fathom what that means.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exodus from cable comes as providers raise prices to offset shrinking customer bases. Last year, the average monthly cable or satellite bundle nationwide was $188, up nearly $10 from 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jdpower.com\/business\/resources\/average-tv-and-wired-internet-bills-rise-q1-unbundled-wireless-internet-costs\">according to JD Power<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, streaming costs are also rising \u2014&nbsp;up 29% from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/cpi.t07.htm#cpipress7.f.4\">December 2024 to December 2025<\/a>, far outpacing inflation, according to federal data.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As of last fall, the average family spent $70 per month on streaming services, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/business\/story\/2025-11-21\/why-do-streaming-prices-keep-rising-disney-netflix-paramount-what-to-know\">according to consulting firm Deloitte<\/a>. Add in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jdpower.com\/business\/resources\/average-tv-and-wired-internet-bills-rise-q1-unbundled-wireless-internet-costs\">average of $83 a month <\/a>for internet to stream shows and the gap between cable and streaming costs narrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the state report does not identify a definitive reason for the decline in cable subscriptions, streaming services no doubt are a factor, said Matt Helms, a spokesperson for the Michigan Public Service Commission.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cable television subscribers fell below 1 million in Michigan in 2025, as concerns about the cost of streaming services are increasing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":72292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-03T22:58:33Z","apple_news_api_id":"2022220d-128d-4e26-894f-61572bfa2c57","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-04T17:58:03Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AICIiDRKNTiaJT2FXK_osVw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[2451],"tags":[4328],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2471],"class_list":["post-72288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-quality-life","tag-top-of-homepage","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Michigan cutting the cord at record rates, as cable subscribers fall below 1M - Bridge Michigan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/michigan-cutting-the-cord-at-record-rates-as-cable-subscribers-fall-below-1m\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michigan cutting the cord at record rates, as cable subscribers fall below 1M - Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cable television subscribers fell below 1 million in Michigan in 2025, as concerns about the cost of streaming services are increasing.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/quality-life\/michigan-cutting-the-cord-at-record-rates-as-cable-subscribers-fall-below-1m\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bridge Michigan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BridgeMichigan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T22:58:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-04T17:57:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bridgemi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coax-cable-shutterstock.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Janelle D. 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