all the expensive sports channels should be extra and not included in the base packages.
As much as I would love to pick the channels I pay for.....I don’t want government anywhere it
“...at what point will viewers decide it isn’t worth paying for cable anymore?”
In my case....about 1998.
We won’t be renewing our contract. We did without cable for years, and we can do it again and save $124 every month.
All the more reason for being able to create your own package of channels that you actually watch. When that happens, ESPN and any other sports channels will be the first to go.
People who want Netflix, HuluPlus, Viki and DramaFever can watch what they want.
They’re not even tied to a particular channel.
People will abandon cable for more economical alternatives. Netflix and HuluPlus cost $16.00 a month combined, half the cost of the standard cable package.
Streaming Internet TV is the future of TV and cable risks implosion by being too greedy.
“The rise in cable prices is likely to test the patience of customers”
It will test them alright, for about 2 minutes. Our country is sadly addicted to sports entertainment and could care less what’s going on around them. I used to be too up until about 10 years ago.
maybe they’ll kill each other off!
ping
I’m largely about live sports/news so cable is still a must, particularly during football season. However, my taste for the NBA and MLB has soured in recent years and I can get by without cable in the offseason.
I have some sympathy too. The cable/satellite providers keep bundling and upping their rights fees and the major content providers, not just ESPN/Disney but Fox, Viacom, Comcast/NBC keep spitting out niche channels and tying them to major network channels as hostages in contract negotiations.
Every time you see something like “Your carrier doesn’t want to pay for ESPN and your favorite ABC shows”, what they are really saying is that “your carrier doesn’t want to pay for 17 different ESPN channels, eight different Disney channels and assorted other ABC/ESPN/Disney offerings we’ve bundled together in one huge rights fee.”
I don’t want to just pick the channels that I pay for - I want to pick the sports that I pay for. About the only thing I follow these days is NCAA football.
Then I saw their starter channels--4 local, 3 mexican, 3 shopping, 3 CSPAN, 2 TBS, 1 PBS and the CW.
PHEW, what worthless dreck!
I remember splitting the cable with Ma back about 1970, when we got it for $3 each a month, there were 12 channels, and it was a neat thing...and getting rid of that damn antenna WAS nice.
And, Detroit! Cleveland! Ghoulardi! Now, it's 600 channels, and nothin's on...
SlingTV is coming! That’s dish’s online streaming TV with ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and several others for $20 a month. Start/stop when you want with no contracts (like Netflix). Start it up during college football season (3 months) then stop it until next year. SlingTV is the end of the stranglehold that cable/satellite providers have on sports fans.
Add a TiVo OTA DVR for 15 bucks/month and you have 20+ channels that you can schedule recording, pause, rewind, all the things you love.
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, A TV tuner PC card w/HD antenna and some DVR software and i will cut the cord.
Soon....soon