1/3 Of All Cable TV Networks Will Shut Down Soon [8:11]

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00 · Welcome back to Cork Cutting Today
0:02 · weekend edition where we break down some
0:04 · of the biggest things happening in the
0:05 · world of cork cutting including today
0:07 · since the end of cable TV as we know it.
0:11 · War Brush Discovery, Disney and Comcast
0:13 · are all getting rid of their cable
0:15 · networks, shutting down some, but mostly
0:17 · spinning them off into independent
0:19 · companies. We're going to break down
0:20 · what's happening and why suddenly
0:22 · everybody just wants to get rid of their
0:24 · cable TV networks and just doesn't want
0:26 · anything to do with them. First though,
0:28 · if you want to read more about this
0:29 · story, I'll put a link to it in the show
0:30 · notes and in the first pen comment so
0:32 · you can read it there for yourself and
0:33 · come up with your own opinions. I'd love
0:34 · to hear from you. If you like what we do
0:36 · here, please consider hitting that
0:37 · subscribe button, hitting that thumbs
0:39 · up, doing one or both lets YouTube know
0:41 · you enjoy what we do here. All right,
0:43 · with that said, let's dive into it. This
0:45 · year has been a lot of news about the
0:48 · end of cable TV. Let's be honest,
0:50 · justifiably, we've seen several cable TV
0:53 · networks shut down. Most notably that's
0:55 · already happened is Universal Kids is
0:57 · shut down. But in August, several HBO
1:01 · networks will be discontinued and shut
1:04 · down. The smaller like HBO family type
1:06 · channels with this are going away on
1:09 · August 15th. Not sure exactly when on
1:11 · the 15th. Is it like 11:59 p.m. or 6:00
1:14 · a.m.? I don't know. Somewhere on the
1:16 · 15th. They'll be removed from your
1:18 · packages if you pay for HBO.
1:21 · But other things are happening too.
1:23 · Comcast. This was the first one. They
1:25 · announced that all their cable networks
1:26 · except for Bravo will be spun off into
1:28 · an independent company, including MSNBC,
1:31 · CNBC,
1:33 · uh, USA Network, and more. With that,
1:35 · Warren Brothers Discovery has filed
1:36 · suit, announcing they'll spin off all
1:39 · their cable networks, though they will
1:40 · remain in day-to-day control of Turner
1:43 · Classic movies, but all others be
1:45 · completely spun off into independent
1:46 · one, including CNN, Cartoon Network, and
1:50 · more with that. And Disney at first
1:53 · saying, "Oh, we're we don't have any
1:55 · intention of getting rid of any of our
1:56 · networks or making any changes has now
1:59 · reportedly starting to put some of its
2:01 · A&E networks. Disney owns half of A&E
2:04 · and its joint partner and them are
2:06 · putting them up for sale. With that, I
2:10 · think this is just the tip of the
2:11 · iceberg. A couple things are happening.
2:13 · Of course, core cutting is happening. A
2:15 · lot of people have cut the cord and are
2:18 · no longer paying a subscription at all.
2:20 · They're not even paying for something
2:20 · like Fubo or YouTube TV or any of those.
2:23 · And because of that, we're seeing a lot
2:25 · of uh loss in revenue, but advertisers
2:28 · have started to heavily pull out of TV.
2:31 · Few things in general, the advertising
2:32 · market in general is really soft.
2:34 · There's more places than ever to
2:36 · advertise. Not only on traditional cable
2:38 · networks, but look at all these on
2:40 · demand services that now have ad
2:41 · supported. And then you get the ones
2:43 · that are 100% ad supported like Pluto
2:45 · TV, Tuby, the Roku channel, and more are
2:48 · seeing a lot of growth.
2:49 · And because of that, we're seeing a lot
2:51 · of change with it.
2:54 · All this put together is creating the
2:56 · perfect storm and a breaking point for
2:58 · cable TV network parents where companies
3:00 · where they're just saying it's no longer
3:02 · worth it. This is really the end here a
3:05 · little bit. We've seen recently over 5
3:08 · million people a year for several years
3:10 · in a row have canled a subscription to a
3:12 · cable network whether that be through
3:14 · one of these uh streaming services or
3:17 · traditional cable TV type service.
3:20 · People are ditching it and now we're
3:23 · seeing ad revenue fall apart. I expect
3:25 · somewhere between four and five million
3:27 · people this year to cancel TV. Also,
3:29 · it's funny to say, "Hey, that's 15
3:31 · million people in just a few years no
3:33 · longer seeing our ads. Why put our ads
3:35 · on those channels? And that's why we're
3:38 · also seeing a lot of big changes on
3:39 · things like MTV now airing long
3:42 · stretches of friends just to try to get
3:45 · any traffic there. Put this all
3:48 · together. What does it mean for now?
3:52 · We're just seeing a hey, we want them
3:54 · offer books. I anticipate in the next
3:56 · couple years we'll see a mass exes of
3:59 · cable TV networks. expect I I I do mean
4:03 · this over the next few years as many as
4:06 · a third of all cable TV networks to shut
4:09 · down by 2020 2030 to be very generous
4:13 · 2035 in 10 years maybe a third or more
4:17 · of cable TV networks could shut down.
4:20 · I've heard from multiple people in the
4:21 · industry that I'm friends with say
4:23 · similar things that they do believe that
4:25 · we're about to see a mass shutdown of
4:27 · cable TV networks. As few fewer people
4:29 · watch, why have all these channels? Why
4:31 · not consolidate those viewers behind
4:33 · just a handful of popular channels? Why
4:36 · do you need MTV 2, MTV
4:39 · um classic, all these smaller MTV
4:42 · channels? we can just push them on to
4:43 · MTV or more importantly over to things
4:47 · like Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Max,
4:49 · and other similar streaming services.
4:52 · Look for a large number of cable TV
4:56 · channels to shut down in the next few
4:57 · years. You're already seeing it with
4:58 · Universal Kids, some of the HBO
5:00 · channels. We've also seen some
5:02 · international channels that aired here
5:03 · in the United States shut down. Disney
5:06 · has gotten rid of most of the cable
5:07 · channels internationally. The Disney
5:09 · Channel, for example, is completely gone
5:11 · in most of Europe, Australia, New
5:13 · Zealand, and parts of Asia. And instead,
5:15 · they're sending people to Disney Plus. I
5:17 · think that's coming here to the United
5:19 · States. Maybe not immediately for a
5:22 · channel like the Disney Channel. But how
5:24 · long is FXX or FX Movies and other
5:27 · similar smaller channels going to
5:28 · continue to be offered? Because of that,
5:31 · I firmly believe you look for a third of
5:35 · the cable channels. Many of which are
5:37 · channels you probably never heard of.
5:39 · Many of them could be some bigger
5:41 · channels you were once well um fans of.
5:44 · I expect some bet some of the smaller
5:46 · channels there to shut down. But what's
5:48 · the future of Cartoon Network?
5:51 · Several people who work there and the
5:53 · voice have expressed concerns for the
5:55 · future as major cuts have happened.
5:57 · viewership is way down and Adult Swim
5:59 · has continued to expand. You see um
6:02 · Comcast and others moving um Cartoon
6:05 · Network either into more expensive
6:06 · packages or out of their base packages
6:09 · into add-ons only instead focusing more
6:13 · on Adult Swim with that.
6:16 · All this comes together into a perfect
6:17 · storm. What cable TV networks are most
6:20 · likely to shut down? I firmly believe it
6:21 · will be children's networks. some of the
6:23 · most want likely even something as big
6:26 · as Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network could
6:28 · just be folded into their streaming
6:29 · services.
6:31 · After that, look for some of the smaller
6:34 · channels like be the smaller BET
6:37 · channels and the smaller NTV channels
6:39 · for example to be shut down and
6:41 · consolidated. There's just not the
6:43 · viewership to support these channels
6:45 · anymore. And there's not the ad revenue
6:47 · to make it up either.
6:49 · put this all together. Hey, core cutting
6:51 · is one, but now what's next for movie
6:55 · studios? They now have to figure out how
6:56 · to make these streaming services
6:58 · profitable enough to continue to
6:59 · operate. We'll watch and wait. Give me a
7:02 · comment. What do you think is the most
7:03 · likely cable TV network to shut down in
7:06 · 2025? I'd love to hear from you. If you
7:08 · like these videos, you like our
7:10 · breakdowns, everything happening in the
7:11 · world of cork cutting, don't forget to
7:13 · hit that subscribe button or hit that
7:15 · thumbs up. Doing one or both really does
7:18 · help us because it lets YouTube know you
7:19 · enjoy what we do here. Maybe we can help
7:22 · you break free from the high cost of
7:23 · cable TV and still watch the shows you
7:26 · enjoy.
7:27 · But over a third of all cable TV
7:30 · networks in the next 5 to 10 years shut
7:33 · down. That's my prediction. And it comes
7:36 · from over 11 years of covering the world
7:38 · of television every day for a living and
7:41 · from many experts I've talked to in the
7:43 · field who share similar views with me.
7:47 · But from my understanding, that's my
7:49 · prediction. And again, these are going
7:51 · to be mostly lesser known channels.
7:53 · Remember, there's well over 120 rated
7:55 · channels out there and even more than
7:58 · that when you look at some of the very
8:00 · small ones on the market. Well, that's
8:02 · it for today. I hope you have a
8:04 · fantastic day. We'll be back again
8:05 · tomorrow with another video. Until then,
8:07 · take care, be safe. I'll talk to you all
8:10 · again real soon.

This guy's always concise and his content is good, but his speech bugs me. He posted an earlier vid about Disney's putting A&E networks on the block, with more detail about that in particular.

Sidebar: Tony Gilroy Says Including the Word 'Genocide' in 'Andor' Was 'Pretty Effortless' [06/07/2025]

If only.....

Define “soon.” And, which 1/3 is he specifying?

A&E forgot Arts is their name.

They need to rebrand if all they are going to do is focus on true crime documentaries and reality shows.

Overall, cable and network TV are dying. Too much garbage.

Just like The History Channel no longer shows History documentaries, and MTV no longer plays music videos.

History-too much background music. It’s infotainment.

Cable is going the way of rooftop TV antennas.

“Welcome back to Cork Cutting Today”

Is “Cork Cutting” like popping the cork?

I’m particularly impressed (not) by The Learning Channel (TLC) teaching the ‘correct’ lifestyle to live and that we must accept the unacceptable.

I loathe reality tv. But it’s really popular among airheads. It truly is a shame that there’s not enough history to be explored for the History Channel to actually produce historical content; maybe in another thousand years or so, they could come up with something. 🙄

Nothing Burger story here.

Cable channels have and will continue to morph to streanubg apps.

There are cable equivalents for streaming; Pluto TV, Plex TV, Peacock, YouTube TV, ...

The only difference is *certain* live sports. E.g. local ice hockey. I can get it on cable or the “Bally’s” app for a subscription. Both are too expensive for what they are. I quit paying cable to just watch my Red Wings.

Some local channels are digitally broadcast over-the-air. I don’t miss cable TV.

This translation definitely has an LGBTQ connotation to it

And powdered wigs!

Indeed! And network news not longer shows news :)

Yeah, that’s a good e.g. of what I said up there. For that matter, now that I’ve noticed that the ‘toldinstone’ guy doesn’t say (for example) ‘qwarters’ instead saying ‘corters’ (that’s somewhat common around here) I brace myself a little when his videos start. 😜

Pluto TV is free, the others are not.

I have an antenna. I only watch the H&I (Heroes and Icons) Channel and MeTV. H& I shows the original Hawaii Five-0, Black Sheep Squadron, Star Trek, The Invaders, Rat Patrol, and lots of other classics.

I also watch the Grit Channel for westerns.

You should become a Stars fan. We have a free streaming channel called Victory +. Besides, the Red Wings stank.

--> YouTube-Generated Transcript <--
0:00	·	Welcome back to Cork Cutting Today
0:02	·	weekend edition where we break down some
0:04	·	of the biggest things happening in the
0:05	·	world of cork cutting including today
0:07	·	since the end of cable TV as we know it.
0:11	·	War Brush Discovery, Disney and Comcast
0:13	·	are all getting rid of their cable
0:15	·	networks, shutting down some, but mostly
0:17	·	spinning them off into independent
0:19	·	companies. We're going to break down
0:20	·	what's happening and why suddenly
0:22	·	everybody just wants to get rid of their
0:24	·	cable TV networks and just doesn't want
0:26	·	anything to do with them. First though,
0:28	·	if you want to read more about this
0:29	·	story, I'll put a link to it in the show
0:30	·	notes and in the first pen comment so
0:32	·	you can read it there for yourself and
0:33	·	come up with your own opinions. I'd love
0:34	·	to hear from you. If you like what we do
0:36	·	here, please consider hitting that
0:37	·	subscribe button, hitting that thumbs
0:39	·	up, doing one or both lets YouTube know
0:41	·	you enjoy what we do here. All right,
0:43	·	with that said, let's dive into it. This
0:45	·	year has been a lot of news about the
0:48	·	end of cable TV. Let's be honest,
0:50	·	justifiably, we've seen several cable TV
0:53	·	networks shut down. Most notably that's
0:55	·	already happened is Universal Kids is
0:57	·	shut down. But in August, several HBO
1:01	·	networks will be discontinued and shut
1:04	·	down. The smaller like HBO family type
1:06	·	channels with this are going away on
1:09	·	August 15th. Not sure exactly when on
1:11	·	the 15th. Is it like 11:59 p.m. or 6:00
1:14	·	a.m.? I don't know. Somewhere on the
1:16	·	15th. They'll be removed from your
1:18	·	packages if you pay for HBO.
1:21	·	But other things are happening too.
1:23	·	Comcast. This was the first one. They
1:25	·	announced that all their cable networks
1:26	·	except for Bravo will be spun off into
1:28	·	an independent company, including MSNBC,
1:31	·	CNBC,
1:33	·	uh, USA Network, and more. With that,
1:35	·	Warren Brothers Discovery has filed
1:36	·	suit, announcing they'll spin off all
1:39	·	their cable networks, though they will
1:40	·	remain in day-to-day control of Turner
1:43	·	Classic movies, but all others be
1:45	·	completely spun off into independent
1:46	·	one, including CNN, Cartoon Network, and
1:50	·	more with that. And Disney at first
1:53	·	saying, "Oh, we're we don't have any
1:55	·	intention of getting rid of any of our
1:56	·	networks or making any changes has now
1:59	·	reportedly starting to put some of its
2:01	·	A&E networks. Disney owns half of A&E
2:04	·	and its joint partner and them are
2:06	·	putting them up for sale. With that, I
2:10	·	think this is just the tip of the
2:11	·	iceberg. A couple things are happening.
2:13	·	Of course, core cutting is happening. A
2:15	·	lot of people have cut the cord and are
2:18	·	no longer paying a subscription at all.
2:20	·	They're not even paying for something
2:20	·	like Fubo or YouTube TV or any of those.
2:23	·	And because of that, we're seeing a lot
2:25	·	of uh loss in revenue, but advertisers
2:28	·	have started to heavily pull out of TV.
2:31	·	Few things in general, the advertising
2:32	·	market in general is really soft.
2:34	·	There's more places than ever to
2:36	·	advertise. Not only on traditional cable
2:38	·	networks, but look at all these on
2:40	·	demand services that now have ad
2:41	·	supported. And then you get the ones
2:43	·	that are 100% ad supported like Pluto
2:45	·	TV, Tuby, the Roku channel, and more are
2:48	·	seeing a lot of growth.
2:49	·	And because of that, we're seeing a lot
2:51	·	of change with it.
2:54	·	All this put together is creating the
2:56	·	perfect storm and a breaking point for
2:58	·	cable TV network parents where companies
3:00	·	where they're just saying it's no longer
3:02	·	worth it. This is really the end here a
3:05	·	little bit. We've seen recently over 5
3:08	·	million people a year for several years
3:10	·	in a row have canled a subscription to a
3:12	·	cable network whether that be through
3:14	·	one of these uh streaming services or
3:17	·	traditional cable TV type service.
3:20	·	People are ditching it and now we're
3:23	·	seeing ad revenue fall apart. I expect
3:25	·	somewhere between four and five million
3:27	·	people this year to cancel TV. Also,
3:29	·	it's funny to say, "Hey, that's 15
3:31	·	million people in just a few years no
3:33	·	longer seeing our ads. Why put our ads
3:35	·	on those channels? And that's why we're
3:38	·	also seeing a lot of big changes on
3:39	·	things like MTV now airing long
3:42	·	stretches of friends just to try to get
3:45	·	any traffic there. Put this all
3:48	·	together. What does it mean for now?
3:52	·	We're just seeing a hey, we want them
3:54	·	offer books. I anticipate in the next
3:56	·	couple years we'll see a mass exes of
3:59	·	cable TV networks. expect I I I do mean
4:03	·	this over the next few years as many as
4:06	·	a third of all cable TV networks to shut
4:09	·	down by 2020 2030 to be very generous
4:13	·	2035 in 10 years maybe a third or more
4:17	·	of cable TV networks could shut down.
4:20	·	I've heard from multiple people in the
4:21	·	industry that I'm friends with say
4:23	·	similar things that they do believe that
4:25	·	we're about to see a mass shutdown of
4:27	·	cable TV networks. As few fewer people
4:29	·	watch, why have all these channels? Why
4:31	·	not consolidate those viewers behind
4:33	·	just a handful of popular channels? Why
4:36	·	do you need MTV 2, MTV
4:39	·	um classic, all these smaller MTV
4:42	·	channels? we can just push them on to
4:43	·	MTV or more importantly over to things
4:47	·	like Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Max,
4:49	·	and other similar streaming services.
4:52	·	Look for a large number of cable TV
4:56	·	channels to shut down in the next few
4:57	·	years. You're already seeing it with
4:58	·	Universal Kids, some of the HBO
5:00	·	channels. We've also seen some
5:02	·	international channels that aired here
5:03	·	in the United States shut down. Disney
5:06	·	has gotten rid of most of the cable
5:07	·	channels internationally. The Disney
5:09	·	Channel, for example, is completely gone
5:11	·	in most of Europe, Australia, New
5:13	·	Zealand, and parts of Asia. And instead,
5:15	·	they're sending people to Disney Plus. I
5:17	·	think that's coming here to the United
5:19	·	States. Maybe not immediately for a
5:22	·	channel like the Disney Channel. But how
5:24	·	long is FXX or FX Movies and other
5:27	·	similar smaller channels going to
5:28	·	continue to be offered? Because of that,
5:31	·	I firmly believe you look for a third of
5:35	·	the cable channels. Many of which are
5:37	·	channels you probably never heard of.
5:39	·	Many of them could be some bigger
5:41	·	channels you were once well um fans of.
5:44	·	I expect some bet some of the smaller
5:46	·	channels there to shut down. But what's
5:48	·	the future of Cartoon Network?
5:51	·	Several people who work there and the
5:53	·	voice have expressed concerns for the
5:55	·	future as major cuts have happened.
5:57	·	viewership is way down and Adult Swim
5:59	·	has continued to expand. You see um
6:02	·	Comcast and others moving um Cartoon
6:05	·	Network either into more expensive
6:06	·	packages or out of their base packages
6:09	·	into add-ons only instead focusing more
6:13	·	on Adult Swim with that.
6:16	·	All this comes together into a perfect
6:17	·	storm. What cable TV networks are most
6:20	·	likely to shut down? I firmly believe it
6:21	·	will be children's networks. some of the
6:23	·	most want likely even something as big
6:26	·	as Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network could
6:28	·	just be folded into their streaming
6:29	·	services.
6:31	·	After that, look for some of the smaller
6:34	·	channels like be the smaller BET
6:37	·	channels and the smaller NTV channels
6:39	·	for example to be shut down and
6:41	·	consolidated. There's just not the
6:43	·	viewership to support these channels
6:45	·	anymore. And there's not the ad revenue
6:47	·	to make it up either.
6:49	·	put this all together. Hey, core cutting
6:51	·	is one, but now what's next for movie
6:55	·	studios? They now have to figure out how
6:56	·	to make these streaming services
6:58	·	profitable enough to continue to
6:59	·	operate. We'll watch and wait. Give me a
7:02	·	comment. What do you think is the most
7:03	·	likely cable TV network to shut down in
7:06	·	2025? I'd love to hear from you. If you
7:08	·	like these videos, you like our
7:10	·	breakdowns, everything happening in the
7:11	·	world of cork cutting, don't forget to
7:13	·	hit that subscribe button or hit that
7:15	·	thumbs up. Doing one or both really does
7:18	·	help us because it lets YouTube know you
7:19	·	enjoy what we do here. Maybe we can help
7:22	·	you break free from the high cost of
7:23	·	cable TV and still watch the shows you
7:26	·	enjoy.
7:27	·	But over a third of all cable TV
7:30	·	networks in the next 5 to 10 years shut
7:33	·	down. That's my prediction. And it comes
7:36	·	from over 11 years of covering the world
7:38	·	of television every day for a living and
7:41	·	from many experts I've talked to in the
7:43	·	field who share similar views with me.
7:47	·	But from my understanding, that's my
7:49	·	prediction. And again, these are going
7:51	·	to be mostly lesser known channels.
7:53	·	Remember, there's well over 120 rated
7:55	·	channels out there and even more than
7:58	·	that when you look at some of the very
8:00	·	small ones on the market. Well, that's
8:02	·	it for today. I hope you have a
8:04	·	fantastic day. We'll be back again
8:05	·	tomorrow with another video. Until then,
8:07	·	take care, be safe. I'll talk to you all
8:10	·	again real soon.