It's not really a surprise that more people are opting for streaming services than traditional cable. (I'm not sure they even counted over-the-air TV.) But a new study indicates streamers continue to win the hearts, minds and wallets of Canadians, despite the ever-increasing price hikes. 

This is not good news for Bell, which is already complaining about the expense of local news and cutting thousands of employees at its conventional TV stations. Although at least Bell has Crave as a business option. Rogers foolishly abandoned Shomi way too early, insisting it wasn't a viable business. Bell stuck with Crave and is now the main Canadian entity in the country. Rogers has a CityTV+ service, but it's much ado about nothing. I can't help but wonder if they regret that decision all these years later. 

In any event, the new study shows that some are taking advantage of the new commercial tiers, to help save costs. And that traditional broadcasters will continue to face challenges in the future. 

"Last year saw 2.6 per cent of Canadian TV subscribers cut the cord, as the revenue brought in by traditional TV providers declined three per cent to $7.2 billion — a pace the report predicts will continue through 2026.

Meanwhile, streamers' Canadian subscription revenue rose 14 per cent in 2023 to $3.73 billion and is forecast to reach $4.25 billion this year.

"It's kind of a no-brainer that the alternative is going to be, and continues to be, the Netflixes and the Amazons and the Apples of the world. This is where your content lives," said Convergence Research president Brahm Eiley.

"This is where the big spending is happening for programming. These guys are obviously kind of winning the battle at the end of the day."

More Canadians ditch traditional TV as streamers are 'winning the battle': report