U.S. Consumers Ditching Cable TV In Droves

IBD's Click ^ | 11/17/2010 | Patrick Seitz

[Slyscribe]

U.S. cable TV operators lost 741,000 basic video customers in the third quarter, research firm SNL Kagan reported Wednesday. That’s the single largest quarterly drop for cable since SNL Kagan began compiling data for the segment in 1980.

Cable’s share of the multichannel pay television market continues to slide, dipping to 60.3% from 62.9% in Q3 2009.

Gains in telecom and satellite TV services were not enough to offset the loss of cable subscribers, so the overall multichannel pay-TV market lost 119,000 customers last quarter.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I have cable, but only because it’s a good deal with my Internet service (Road Runner). I would never get it stand-alone.

[netmilsmom]

We dumped Directv three years ago.
We have Netflix on the PS3 and since Dad hooked a computer up to the plasma, we watch YouTube (Iron Chef Japan) and CBS (Star Trek).

We got a nice antenna for the roof and all the locals, including the Canadian stations from Windsor, come right in.

No way would I go back to paying 60.00 a month for the crap they are showing.

[tisket]

I wonder if there is going to be a move to shutdown/limit Netflix/HULU, etc. I can see the cable companies working with TV/Film/Network production companies to limit what can be broadcast over the internet. Also, eventually seeing Netflix pricing go up dramatically from the current low rates...

I dumped Comcast tv this past summer but I kept their internet service so I could stream Netflix with less downtime. Now I hear that Comcast is going to dramatically raise the price of their internet pricing just to move in on the Netflix market, or, at least, cause it real harm.

The cable companies aren't going down without a real fight - but the bullet is in the air - and they have only their greedy little selves to blame.

[SECURE AMERICA]

Cable sucked. Lost reception way to often, was way to expensive.
Have Dish. Loss reception for a few minutes once or twice a year, less expensive.
Also have high speed internet and have netflix and get instant streamion movies and use Hulu for free to watch many TV programs I can not record because of recording others

[Claud]

I’d like to know too...what kind of antenna?

We ditched our cable and are only on airwaves now as well—we’re right outside of Philly but our reception is not that great. When I was a kid I used to be able to pull in a couple of NYC channels.

[nina0113]

We went commando an ditched it ALL. Now we have Netflix through our Wii and Hulu through our computer and are perfectly happy.

What do you do for internet access? Ours is through the cable.

[Will88]

back then, the big selling-point was that, since you paid for programming up-front, there would be no commercials....

Yep, that was part of it. But another big part of early cable TV was that it gave us more than four channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS).

I can remember when having WTBS was some sort of great enhancement of the TV experience. Now there are so many channels no one could possibly watch more than a fraction of them, but the popular ones still add to what one is charged for cable or dish.

[Marie Antoinette]

We cut it after the 2000 elections. It helped out my blood pressure and my budget. It’s no surprise that people would cut cable when looking to slash expenses. It’s a no brainer.

[C210N]

canceling my free TV...

Always a good idea in threads like this to plug this book. Out of print, but still available from Amazon:

Postman's theme is the decline of the printed word and the ascendancy of the "tube" with its tendency to present everythingmurder, mayhem, politics, weatheras entertainment. The ultimate effect, as Postman sees it, is the shrivelling of public discourse as TV degrades our conception of what constitutes news, political debate, art, even religious thought. Early chapters trace America's one-time love affair with the printed word, from colonial pamphlets to the publication of the Lincoln-Douglas debates. There's a biting analysis of TV commercials as a form of "instant therapy" based on the assumption that human problems are easily solvable. Postman goes further than other critics in demonstrating that television represents a hostile attack on literate culture.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

This is Economics 101:

High price + crappy product = declining sales.

[mquinn]

If there was some way to still follow local sports for free, I’d ditch it in a heartbeat.

[savedbygrace]

We can sort of understand why.

If they had to go ala carte, then didn’t get enough subs willing to pay extra for the Midget Tossing Network to enable them to earn a profit, then they’d have to disappoint all those dozens of subs by dropping MTN.

It would be a tragedy.

(Should that be the Little Person Tossing Network? Don’t want to be unPC, you know.)

[ezo4]

this site for news, internet movies, podcasts, e-books / spend time with my crazy dog or working out in my shop -

To give you a example I didnt know who Nigella Lawson was until this last weekend.

[Frantzie]

TV is garbage - 24x7 propaganda and it was to some extent when that liar Cronkite was on.

I cancelled a year ago and do not miss the ENDLESS “dumb white man” commercials.

TV is brainwashing garbage.

[varon]

They just need a stimulus package bailout...

Any package stimulation is strictly in the hands of the TSA!

[Bruinator]

Plasma, being a glass screen, if you have occasion to have small children around, make sure its wall mounted. Also the glare is an issue. The screen has serious glare issues if not positioned correctly. I have a 42 inch samsung in my bedroom.

[varon]

They just need a stimulus package bailout...

Any package stimulation is strictly in the hands of the TSA!

[TomGuy]

Overpriced, too many junk channels, and too many advertisements.

I signed up with Netflix in the spring. Since then I typically watch twice as much via Netflix as via Cable channels.

I have to have at least basic cable tv to get cable Internet [a company requirement that probably could be challenged in a law suit], or I would consider dropping cable tv.

[woodbutcher1963]

My 2 cents:

I have had a Panasonic 42” 720p plasma for 2 years. I has been great. I bought it on Black Friday for $799. I think you can buy it today for $450-499 at Sears. The only drawback is that the plasma screens are glass and reflects sunlight coming into the room. Therefore, you sometimes need to lower the shades on your windows during the day.
Do not bother paying for 1080p. You will not be able to see the difference unless you go to a 50” or larger. Also, the only machine that gives you full 1080p is a Blueray player. I know 4 other people that have this exact TV and have had no problems with it. Some of them paid close to $2000 for them. Also, the sound out of this TV is much better than most others. Check out CNET or Consumer Reports. They both have rated the Panasonic as the best TV to buy.
Eventually we will all be watching LED tv’s. However, they are too expensive right now. give them another five years.

[nutmeg]

TV is brainwashing garbage.

It's that Frantzie channel again! I can't seem to turn off the Frantzie channel... ;-D