I also live in a major US city and everyone I know pays for at least a handful of subscriptions. Some people in my friend group share subs with each other, and/or with family. My mother and I split a few newspapers and media subscriptions. I'd say on average, most people I know pay for 5-10 subs and have access to 10-15.

Yet no one can share TruTV with me!

It's especially hard to imagine not having a music subscription these days.