For years, the death of traditional television has felt inevitable. People cut the cord, streaming services multiplied, and paying a cable or satellite company every month started to seem increasingly outdated. A new J.D. Power study suggests traditional TV providers may have a little more fight left in them than expected.
According to the 2026 U.S. Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study, overall satisfaction with cable and satellite TV increased 18 points year over year on J.D. Power’s 1,000-point scale. Improvements showed up across every dimension and key performance indicator measured by the study.
Meanwhile, live TV streaming isn’t enjoying the same momentum. Satisfaction with services such as YouTube TV declined three points to 627. J.D. Power says satisfaction with live TV streaming has stayed relatively flat since 2024, while perceptions of its value have started to decline.
That’s particularly interesting because streaming still has a considerable price advantage. J.D. Power found that live TV streaming costs $41 less per month than cable and satellite TV on average. Even after a $5 year-over-year increase in streaming prices, that’s a lot of money to potentially save over the course of a year.
Consumers recognize that difference too. Live TV streaming holds a 99-point advantage over cable and satellite when customers are specifically asked about value for the price paid.
So why is traditional TV satisfaction improving? J.D. Power points to providers improving affordability perceptions and their overall value proposition. Cable and satellite companies have apparently been getting better at keeping their customers happy, even if they haven’t managed to eliminate the substantial price gap.
There is also something to be said for how complicated streaming has become. Cutting the cord once promised a simpler and cheaper alternative to cable. Today, consumers face rising subscription prices and an increasingly fragmented collection of services. Live TV streaming itself can now feel a lot like the cable bundle it was supposed to replace.
That doesn’t mean streaming has lost its advantage. YouTube TV ranked highest among live TV streaming providers for the fourth consecutive year with a score of 643, above the segment average of 627.
On the traditional side, Verizon Fios took the top spot among cable and satellite providers for the second consecutive year with a score of 586. Spectrum followed with 564, while the segment average came in at 549. Streaming therefore continues to lead traditional TV in overall satisfaction despite its small year-over-year decline.
J.D. Power based the study on responses from 33,137 television customers collected between August 2025 and July 2026. It measured areas including value, service quality, trust, ease of doing business, digital tools, employees, and the handling of problems and complaints.
Cable and satellite companies certainly shouldn’t start planning a victory parade. Streaming remains cheaper and earns higher overall satisfaction scores. But an 18-point improvement for traditional TV while streaming moves backward is difficult to ignore.
Cord cutting isn’t going away, but perhaps the funeral for traditional television was scheduled a little too early.
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