cord-cutting

noun

cord-cut·​ting ˈkȯrd-ˌkə-tiŋ 

variants or less commonly cord cutting

: the act or process of canceling a subscription to cable television or to a landline telephone service

As cable news begins to feel the squeeze from cord-cutting, arch-rivals Fox News and CNN are stepping up efforts to adapt to the trend that poses a long-term threat to their businesses.

—Stephen Battaglio

Although broadband rates don't appear to be rising substantially as a whole, there's a chance that cord cutting could someday lead providers to increase monthly Internet bills to mitigate the loss of cable customers, according to a MoffettNathanson report.

—Makeda Easter

The majority of Americans … now rely solely on wireless telephones. That watershed cord-cutting moment was reached in the last half of 2016, according to the federal government.

—Jan Cottingham

Examples of cord-cutting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The separate streaming and studios includes a collection of linear cable TV brands like TNT, TBS and HLN that face headwinds from cord-cutting and an industrywide march toward streaming. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2024

Regardless, however, the cable channels remain challenged by cord-cutting that’s slowly diminishing audiences and therefore carriage fees and ad revenues. —David Bloom, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

During the streaming era, as cord-cutting has starved ratings and many network owners have shifted programming to streaming, stations have expressed new levels of frustration. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024

As cord-cutting has continued to erode ESPN subscriber numbers, execs made the call to bring the full ESPN offering into direct-to-consumer streaming. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1999, in the meaning defined above