Canadians are increasingly opting to watch TV through paid streaming platforms such as Netflix or Disney Plus despite the prices of those services continuing to rise.
An annual report released Monday by Convergence Research suggests the introduction of ad-supported basic plans have helped keep momentum going for streamers in the battle against traditional cable and satellite TV providers.
"The revolution's already happened," said Convergence Research president Brahm Eiley.
"The streaming stuff ain't going away. It's not niche. TV is becoming niche."
The firm's 2025 Couch Potato Report — first launched in 2003 — estimated 46 per cent of Canadian households, or a total of 7.35 million, did not have a television subscription with a cable, satellite, or telecom-based provider at the end of last year.
That was up from 42 per cent in 2023 and is forecast to rise to 54 per cent by 2027.
Meanwhile, there was a four per cent decline last year in the number of Canadians subscribed to traditional TV platforms, whose subscription revenue dropped five per cent to around $6.5 billion on an annual basis.
The report forecasts similar annual declines in subscriptions and revenue through 2027.
Despite more Canadians cutting the cord, consumers are paying higher prices compared with previous years for streaming alternatives.
Canadian households that subscribe to one or more digital platforms paid around eight per cent more in 2024 compared with the year prior, said Eiley.
The report said the 10 leading streaming providers raised their prices by an average of six per cent last year for Canadian consumers. Its wider analysis of more than 50 streaming services available in the country showed Canadian subscription revenue grew around 15 per cent year-over-year to $4.2 billion.
"The truth of the matter is the majority of people who subscribe for TV are going to have a (streaming) subscription, but it's not going to be true the other way," said Eiley, noting streaming customers pay for an average of 2.6 platforms per household.
Although the cost of streaming services continues to rise and restrictions on password sharing have become commonplace, Eiley said Canadian consumers are still drawn to those platforms largely due to the availability of more affordable package tiers that are supported by ads.
In January, Netflix raised the monthly cost of its standard Canadian plan with ads by $2 to $7.99 per month, while the price of its standard ad-free plan increased by $2.50 per month to $18.99.
Monthly streaming on Disney Plus went up $1 last fall to $8.99 with commercials or $12.99 without.
Overall, offers with ads represent "significant cost savings," said Eiley, as subscription prices are 39 per cent lower on average than higher-tier packages that forego commercials.
That's keeping consumers happy, he said, even if some may find it frustrating to sit through commercial breaks after being spoiled for years without them.
"For most people, price is the dictator," said Eiley.
"That lower offer is essentially driving things."
Canada's broadcasting regulator has been working to try to address the shifting balance in the market as streamers gain popularity.
After the Online Streaming Act became law in 2023, requiring the CRTC to modernize the Canadian broadcasting framework, the commission ruled foreign streamers must contribute five per cent of their annual Canadian revenue to a fund devoted to producing Canadian content.
But big global streamers like Netflix and Disney Plus have launched court challenges of that order.
A hearing by the Federal Court of Appeal is scheduled to take place in June before the bulk of the money is due in August.
"TV is not growing and streaming is just putting in these double-digit revenue numbers," said Eiley.
"The problem with that for Canada is the vast majority of that revenue is going to non-Canadian providers ... It's still a non-Canadian dominated market."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2025.
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
