Posted on 07/25/2018 11:39:09 AM PDT by Zakeet
It is not a pleasant time to be a cable company. Decades of regional monopolies are being swept away, leaving us with - the horror! - actual competition. Prices on streaming bundles are so low that companies are actually struggling to make money on the $40-a-month skinny services. Any time margins are so low that telecoms giants are complaining, you know that it’s good for consumers.
Unsurprisingly, people are keen to ditch cable. While traditional pay TV is still the biggest distribution method by far, a pair of new studies out this week suggest that cord-cutting is about to hit new highs. Record cord-cutting numbers are absolutely nothing new, but the interesting thing is that year after year, cord-cutting numbers are consistently outpacing analyst expectations.
Let’s start with data from New York-based eMarketer, which sources its data by aggregating third-party sources. For the pay TV forecast, numbers come from two dozen data sources, including big names like Nielsen, Deloitte, Kagan, GfK, Parks Associates, and MoffettNathanson. In short, it’s a comprehensive overview of what industry experts think.
[Snip]
As for why people are leaving services, a new survey of over 3,000 Americans from cg42 provides some insights. The study’s author Stephen Beck spoke to Marketwatch, and the message seems clear:
[Snip]
The trend is moving firmly away from pay TV, as cord cutters find doing so means hefty savings. Cord cutters saved an average of $85 each month after leaving pay TV, according to survey responses, and of those who left , 79% said they were happy with their decision to cut the cord. Only 5% said they regretted their decision and would go back to pay TV.
At this point, it doesn’t seem as though there’s really any way cable TV survives in its current condition.
(Excerpt) Read more at bgr.com ...
You can still keep the high speed internet and ditch cable tv. Just switch to streaming. Been doing it for 10 years,
I am so happy I am not funding the LEFT MEDIA CARTEL.
Winner! You do not even have to plug in the tv. When you send a check the LEFT MEDIA CARTEL gets a check.
I dont think everyone realizes that the check is a big deal to the cable tv channels. CNN gets half of its revenue for subscriber fees. Or that they can cut the cable tv and keep the cable internet.
If you cut the cable tv cord, you can stop funding the LEFT MEDIA CARTEL.
It would be so entertaining to watch CNN circle the bowl. If the cable companies are forced to offer a la carte, CNN would still go down the tubes because so many would never pick CNN.
It may be streamed but after the fact. I feel ya.
I agree. The only way to get a la carte is to force them financially to offer it.
Cutting the cord on cable tv and telling them you will be back when they offer a la carte. Plus it is a free market solution.
I have direct TV too. Although I’m thinking about dropping that. Beyond some breaking news things and sports, no one in the house watches live TV anyway.
I do not care if the cable companies make money on their internet service.
We need the internet service, the basic bundle not so much as many cancel their tv service. I have been cable tv free for 10 years.
My goal is to get the LEFT MEDIA CARTEL unbundled so they have to survive on their own which many will not.
The media needs more competition. That cannot happen while the LMC is propped up by cable subscriber fees by being in the basic bundle.
Unbundling is being prevented by content providers. When you cut cable tv, you cut the content providers.
Be sure and tell the cable company you will be back when they offer a la carte. The choice is simple, they offer a la carte or they get nothing, the cable company and the content providers.
It is a free market solution. Consumers can get what they want by refusing to buy what they do not.
Consumers get what they want and the LEFT MEDIA CARTEL get what they deserve.
Thanks. I’ll look, but streaming video is near impossible for us. :)
Yup. We recently cut the metaphorical cable with Dish. There were so many stations on, it was almost impossible to sort through for anything we actually wanted to watch. It had gotten to the point where I was watching Antique Roadshow or Forged in Fire that we'd queued up on the PVR occasionally during dinner and nothing else. Finally just decided it wasn't worth it. If I could get a package of 5 or 10 channels at $1/mo each, we'd probably go back. Otherwise, it's just an insane amount of money to be spending on something we don't use except occasionally.
The only thing I'm really going to miss is Doctor Who when the new season finally comes around, but since they've got a new Doctor, and it's a woman, I'm probably not going to be missing much of anything.
They’re now turning the screws on Internet-only users. Up to $80/mo around here.
cable TV at first had no commercials ... that's what you paid for ...
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