Netflix has doubled its US subscriber base in the past five years and reached this milestone in the first quarter of 2017. For the first time, the video streaming platform has more subscribers than the largest cable pay-TV providers in the US.
According to Leichtman Research Group, the largest cable TV providers in the US, represent around 95% of the cable market and had 48.6 million subscribers at the end of March. Netflix, on the other hand had 50.9 million customers.
While cable only represents around 50% of the US pay-TV market, it is by far the most popular way of getting pay-TV in the country. For Netflix to surpass cable is a big step in becoming the number one source of home entertainment. Interestingly, Netflix reached that goal mainly by growing its own subscriber base rather than by having people cut the cord. Since the first quarter of 2012, the major cable providers lost 4 million subscribers and at the same time Netflix gained 27 million subscribers.
