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More Americans opting to cut cord on traditional TV

A new report by Nielsen shows that 5 million people in the U.S. no longer watch traditional television -- but that doesn't mean they aren't streaming video from other devices.

Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
Dara Kerr
2 min read

While the vast majority of U.S. residents own televisions and watch them regularly, more and more people are opting to toss their cable plans and use other devices for entertainment.

A new report by Nielsen finds that those people who have elected to go "Zero TV" have more than doubled since 2007. Currently, more than 5 million people don't have broadcast television in their home, while in 2007 just 2 million didn't.

Despite these numbers sounding big, cord-cutters are still just 5 percent of the U.S. population. And, as Nielsen wrote in a blog post today, "Zero TV doesn't mean zero video." While some people no longer watch TV on television sets, they are still streaming on computers, tablets, and smartphones. Also, many of these users own TVs but instead of having cable or satellite plans, they just watch DVDs or play games.

"These households don't fit Nielsen's traditional definition of a TV household, but they still view video content," Nielsen wrote. "When it comes to video content, a growing amount of these households are using other devices."

According to Nielsen, 67 percent of these cord-cutters get content on other devices; 37 percent use their computers, 16 percent use the Internet, 8 percent use smartphones, and 6 percent watch on tablets.

Other reports over the last year have shown that many TV owners also use their tablets and smartphones to supplement whatever they are watching. According to a report by Forrester last year, 85 percent of U.S. tablet owners use their device while watching television.