Cutting the cord intensifies ... Bye, bye cable TV

[NightHawkeye]

Cable companies given walking papers at intensifying pace | CNBC

The data show that the so-called "cord-cutting" phenomenon—where consumers jettison traditional cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services—is about to get a lot worse. A new report by Magid Advisors surveyed 2,400 consumers and found that cord cutting is not only on the rise, but it's happening much quicker than industry watchers anticipated.

According to Magid, 3.7 percent of pay TV subscribers age 18 to 64 said they were "extremely likely" to cancel their pay TV service in the next 12 months. That number is up from 2.9 percent in 2014, and represents a 95 percent increase over results from 2011.
...
Greenfield said companies such as Netflix, Amazon and even a new Kardashian app stand to benefit "as more consumers 'cut' or 'shave' the cord," and free up dollars to spend elsewhere.
​

Who saw that coming? Consumers unwilling to spend upwards of $100 per month on programming for hundreds of channels they never watch? What a surprise.

 

[Nithavela]

Personally, I have gone one step further and have stopped watching tv altogether. It doesn't save me any money, but certainly it saves a lot of time.

 

[pgp_protector]

I've got 2-3 shows I watch at most.
Wife on the other hand would cut me if I cut the cord

 

[Peppermint Orange]

I'm not far away with cutting the cord myself. I still watch some TV, but overall watch less today.

I stopped watching the news channels a couple years ago in particular. I've come to believe they are mainly about entertainment. Instead I now read more and feel better informed.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I've got basic cable + HBO, but only because, for the first 2 years, it's the same price as getting internet alone. And even then, I only watch stuff on Amazon Prime.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

The internet is far more entertaining than television.

 

[AceHero]

Let's see...Netflix, HBO GO, and plenty of things to watch on antenna. Why exactly should I pay $100 a month for a ton of channels, the majority of which I have no use for?

 

[NightHawkeye]

Let's see...Netflix, HBO GO, and plenty of things to watch on antenna. Why exactly should I pay $100 a month for a ton of channels, the majority of which I have no use for?

Exactly!

Noting that most broadcast stations broadcast more than one stream of programming. An area with ten broadcast stations likely gets 25 to 30 programming channels. Major markets get even more.

 

[Shard]

We don't have cable. Anything we want to watch we can find online. We also have netflix and amazon prime for less than a nice meal a month

 

[AtWhatCost]

Cable companies given walking papers at intensifying pace | CNBC

The data show that the so-called "cord-cutting" phenomenon—where consumers jettison traditional cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services—is about to get a lot worse. A new report by Magid Advisors surveyed 2,400 consumers and found that cord cutting is not only on the rise, but it's happening much quicker than industry watchers anticipated.

According to Magid, 3.7 percent of pay TV subscribers age 18 to 64 said they were "extremely likely" to cancel their pay TV service in the next 12 months. That number is up from 2.9 percent in 2014, and represents a 95 percent increase over results from 2011.
...
Greenfield said companies such as Netflix, Amazon and even a new Kardashian app stand to benefit "as more consumers 'cut' or 'shave' the cord," and free up dollars to spend elsewhere.
​

Who saw that coming? Consumers unwilling to spend upwards of $100 per month on programming for hundreds of channels they never watch? What a surprise.

Who knew? We're trend setters. We quit cable when it went ll the way up to $35 a month (including HBO and Cinemax. lol) We have this thingy on our house... it's called an antenna and it works!

 

[topcare]

We tried cutting the cord and did for a few weeks when finances got bad but all the stuff we used on roku the bill was the same, so we went to Directv and got a 200 dollar gift card which was a godsend. I learned I will not be cutting the cord anytime soon again.

 

[AceHero]

Let's see...Netflix, HBO GO, and plenty of things to watch on antenna. Why exactly should I pay $100 a month for a ton of channels, the majority of which I have no use for?

Exactly!

Noting that most broadcast stations broadcast more than one stream of programming. An area with ten broadcast stations likely gets 25 to 30 programming channels. Major markets get even more.

I get around that many, and even then I only watch a few. The main ones are in HD, and of course you have to pay extra for that with cable.

And the digital subchannel thing is cool. I have a number of those. They're essentially cable-like channels over the air. If I watch an old Chuck Norris movie, I prefer not to pay for it.

We tried cutting the cord and did for a few weeks when finances got bad but all the stuff we used on roku the bill was the same, so we went to Directv and got a 200 dollar gift card which was a godsend. I learned I will not be cutting the cord anytime soon again.

I can see how that could make things expensive. Netflix plus a rival service plus maybe an on-demand version of a premium TV package could certainly add up, but I much prefer to pay the same amount for stuff I can watch at any time instead of hundreds of channels I might never watch...and that I have to wait for.

 

[CGL1023]

Cable companies given walking papers at intensifying pace | CNBC

The data show that the so-called "cord-cutting" phenomenon—where consumers jettison traditional cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services—is about to get a lot worse. A new report by Magid Advisors surveyed 2,400 consumers and found that cord cutting is not only on the rise, but it's happening much quicker than industry watchers anticipated.

According to Magid, 3.7 percent of pay TV subscribers age 18 to 64 said they were "extremely likely" to cancel their pay TV service in the next 12 months. That number is up from 2.9 percent in 2014, and represents a 95 percent increase over results from 2011.
...
Greenfield said companies such as Netflix, Amazon and even a new Kardashian app stand to benefit "as more consumers 'cut' or 'shave' the cord," and free up dollars to spend elsewhere.
​

Who saw that coming? Consumers unwilling to spend upwards of $100 per month on programming for hundreds of channels they never watch? What a surprise.

I remember about 5 yrs before Steve Jobs died he was talking about TV coming over the internet -- that was before I ever heard of streaming, etc. At the time I couldn't imagine how that could be, though I was retired from the tech sector. I now see and, like others, have cut the cord.

To show the absurdity of the bundled tv services, ESPN used to make a good fraction of each person's monthly payment, whether or not they watched sports even once in the month. ESPN is now howling as they scramble to make up significant and unearned lost revenue.

 

[AceHero]

Cable companies given walking papers at intensifying pace | CNBC

The data show that the so-called "cord-cutting" phenomenon—where consumers jettison traditional cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services—is about to get a lot worse. A new report by Magid Advisors surveyed 2,400 consumers and found that cord cutting is not only on the rise, but it's happening much quicker than industry watchers anticipated.

According to Magid, 3.7 percent of pay TV subscribers age 18 to 64 said they were "extremely likely" to cancel their pay TV service in the next 12 months. That number is up from 2.9 percent in 2014, and represents a 95 percent increase over results from 2011.
...
Greenfield said companies such as Netflix, Amazon and even a new Kardashian app stand to benefit "as more consumers 'cut' or 'shave' the cord," and free up dollars to spend elsewhere.
​

Who saw that coming? Consumers unwilling to spend upwards of $100 per month on programming for hundreds of channels they never watch? What a surprise.

I remember about 5 yrs before Steve Jobs died he was talking about TV coming over the internet -- that was before I ever heard of streaming, etc. At the time I couldn't imagine how that could be, though I was retired from the tech sector. I now see and, like others, have cut the cord.

To show the absurdity of the bundled tv services, ESPN used to make a good fraction of each person's monthly payment, whether or not they watched sports even once in the month. ESPN is now howling as they scramble to make up significant and unearned lost revenue.

I think the phenomenon of media streaming is just part of what we're seeing in general with how the internet is changing how we manage work and play. I initially didn't understand the whole appeal of cloud computing, and yet even Microsoft Office is now based on the subscription model. In that way I think the software industry has caught up—I don't remember the last time I bought a physical piece of software.

It'll be interesting to see how painful adaptation for the entertainment industry will be. Streaming over the internet has allowed us do things we couldn't previously imagine, such as "binge watching" a season of a TV show over a weekend. Without the structure of a schedule, there's less need for shows to adhere to a 30- or 60-minute time slot. That could have huge ramifications for how entertainment is produced in the future. It's already noticeable on some premium channels like HBO where a program could have an extra-long episode since commercials aren't present.

 

[bill5]

Let's see...Netflix, HBO GO, and plenty of things to watch on antenna. Why exactly should I pay $100 a month for a ton of channels, the majority of which I have no use for?

About sums it up for me.

 

[Vylo]

Personally, I have gone one step further and have stopped watching tv altogether. It doesn't save me any money, but certainly it saves a lot of time.

Just do like me and have multiple screens so you can watch TV, read a book, surf the web at the time, and realize that the ADD you were told you had as a kid is very real

 

[Nithavela]

Just do like me and have multiple screens so you can watch TV, read a book, surf the web at the time, and realize that the ADD you were told you had as a kid is very real

I would just use the multiple screens to surf multiples sites at the same time.

 

[Vylo]

I would just use the multiple screens to surf multiples sites at the same time.

One coworker let me know that it bothered him that I used multiple screens, so one night I put all 3 on the same website. His OCD nearly killed him.

 

[AceHero]

Just do like me and have multiple screens so you can watch TV, read a book, surf the web at the time, and realize that the ADD you were told you had as a kid is very real

I would just use the multiple screens to surf multiples sites at the same time.

I'm doing that right now...

 

[Crowns&Laurels]

Cutting the cord intensifies ... Bye, bye cable TV

The end of the world, respectively. Us simple creatures cannot do without cable!