Americans are cutting the cord more than ever to avoid another costly expense. A new study by the Pew Research Center found 15 percent of American adults qualify as "cord cutters," meaning they once had a cable or satellite subscription but not anymore.
The Pew Home Broadband 2015 study also showed another 9 percent of Americans who have never subscribed to cable or satellite TV, so nearly a quarter (24 percent) of Americans don't have either service.
Why are people cutting the cord? Number one reason - money.
The study found 71 percent Americans think cable and satellite subscriptions are "too expensive." And why pay all that money when most broadcast and cable networks put their content online? That's how 64 percent of Americans access their favorite TV programming, or via antenna.
About half of Americans polled (46 percent) don't watch enough TV to justify a subscription.
Young adults, ages 18-29, rank highest among cord cutters - 19 percent used to have a cable or satellite subscription and another 16 percent never signed up in the first place. Three-fourths of young adults can access their content via online screening services or an over-the-air antenna.
For those without a cable or satellite TV subscription, 70 percent had smartphones and 54 percent had a home broadband subscription (internet access). Another 25 percent were smartphone only.
The Pew Research Center polled 2,001 participants for the study between June 10 and July 12, 2015.
