Cord cutters now account for 16 million households, or about 16 percent of the shrinking pay-TV nation, according a Nielsen report.

The new numbers underline the extent to which consumers are forgoing paying for TV and making do with over-the-air TV.

Broadcast-only homes rose by 651,000 versus the year-ago period to 12.674 million, according to Nielsen’s Total Audience Report, which takes a May snapshot of second-quarter usage each year.

Nielsen had more bad news for cable programmers, however, and good news for services such as HBO Now, Netflix and Hulu, which provide Internet-only subscription video services.

The number of Internet-only homes jumped from 2.15 million to 3.28 million over the period. But the report also found that 561,000 of the free TV homes didn’t pony up for Internet service — perhaps a sign more people are relying on their mobile plans to get connected or are getting their Internet service outside of the home.

The National Association of Broadcasters said the new statistics indicate that improved antennas and “the explosion of ethnic and other program choices” offered on digital channels led to cord-cutting, a spokesman said.

The total number of 100.4 million households that do pay a monthly bill for pay-TV service declined 1.2 percent, from 101.6 million in the prior-year period.