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‘Cord Nevers’ Are the New Cord Cutters

New research shows that by 2025, half of viewers younger than 32 will not pay for cable.

Media and TV companies have been scrambling to appeal to younger customers ditching them in favor of online streaming, but a new study shows many millennials will never even start paying for cable.

Forrester Research found 50 percent of viewers under the age of 32 will not ever open a subscription with a traditional TV service before 2025, dubbing the group "digital cord-nevers." According to the study, reported by Multichannel News, these young people have "grown up believing that they can have all of the TV they want without paying a traditional TV distributor for it."

Cord-nevers currently represent 18 percent of the population, the study shows, while cord-cutters represent about 6 percent. In the study, analyst James McQuivey suggested ways for media companies to reach this new group.

"Today's 20-somethings are already hard to reach via TV, and the next generation will be tougher," he said. "We recommend experimenting with mobile video advertising, embedded marketing, and virtual- or mixed-reality ad experiences to reach this crucial audience."

Some companies are doing just that, with the launch of Verizon's mobile streaming site Go90 and the growth of other standalone live streaming services from Netflix and HBO.