Cord-Cutters Flocked to Paramount+, Netflix and Peacock’s Ad-Free Plans in Q1

Within a month of canceling their pay TV subscriptions, around 31% of traditional cord-cutters signed up for a new streaming service during the first quarter — five times higher than the normal sign-up rate, according to new data from Antenna. Per the firm’s estimates, six of the top 10 plans subscribed to within the first month were ad-free. Leading the pack was Paramount+ Premium with 13.7%, followed by Netflix Premium (11.5%), Peacock Premium (9.5%), Netflix Standard (9.5%), Netflix Standard With Ads (9.3%), Apple TV Standard (8.5%), Starz Standard (7.1%), Paramount+ Essential (7%), Hulu Standard (6.7%) and the Disney+ Duo Basic bundle (6.6%). Source: Antenna Prior to canceling, 72% of traditional cord-cutters had at least one premium SVOD subscription. When looking at digital cord-cutters who canceled virtual pay TV services such as YouTube TV or Sling TV, the share for those with at least one premium SVOD jumped to 84%. When looking at household income, the share of individuals with incomes of $100,000 or less who canceled a pay TV subscription between January 2024 and March 2026 was 61%, the same as the share of the general population. Of that total, 32% made less than $50,000 in household income, while 29% made between $50,000 and $100,000. Meanwhile, 17% made between $100,000 and $150,000, 9% made between $150,000 and $200,000. Households that made above $200,000 accounted for 13% of cord-cutters and 12% of the general population. Source: Antenna The cord-cutting insights come as the average churn rate for the major streaming services was 4% in July, per Antenna. Netflix and Disney+ remained below average at 2% and 3%, respectively, while Discovery+ and Hulu held steady at 4%. Apple TV and HBO Max’s churn rates came in at 5% each, while Paramount+ climbed to 6%, Starz fell to 7% and Peacock held steady at 7%.