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Millions of Subscribers Leaving Cable TV for Streaming Services
suraj.sun writes "Netflix and Hulu are convincing millions of cable, satellite and telco subscribers to cut the cord and dive into video streaming. That's the conclusion of a new report released this week by the Convergence Consulting Group, which finds that 2.65 million Americans canceled TV subscriptions between 2008-2011 in favor of lower-cost internet subscription services or video platforms. Though Convergence co-founder Brahm Eiley projects that the number of people opting out of TV subscription services will begin to slow in 2012 and 2013. Part of the problem, Eiley argues, may be the rising price tag for streaming rights to programming which could cause fiscal fits for Netflix."
It's cheaper to get Amazon Prime, Hulu, AND Netflix than it is to pay for cable.
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After 12 years of paying for TV, I finally cut the cord. The final straw for me were the distracting popups shown at the bottom of the screen in the middle of the shows. I mean really, think about. You are paying for the "priviledge" of being a product subjected to insistent advertising. How ridiculous is that? My average bill was around $100 month. That's over $12,000 a decade for chrissakes! What do I have to show for that expense now? Absolutely nothing!
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
I started to write a longer top level about how refusal to support Clear QAM and forcing cables boxes on people with QAM capable TV's and forcing people to use cable company provided DVR's instead of - well Clear QAM was a major contributing factor but the comment started to get too long and lose focus.
BTW, the way the media companies are dealing with loss of viewers is the opposite of what they should do.
Look at an original Star Trek episode on Hulu, it runs about 54 minutes. Look at an original Battlestar Galactica Episode, it runs about 50 minutes, look at a modern SciFi show - it will run about 43 minutes.
I would argue an hour long reality show is 0 minutes of non-advertising content.
People are watching less TV partially because there's less TV to watch in an hour.
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1) Doesn't it bother anyone that by having the choice of what to see and when, you simply reinforce your own interests/prejudices, rather than open your mind to new ideas? This is probably the Internet's greatest sin.
Actually, that is why I like my Netflix subscription. I watch it... a lot. I've seen almost all the things I want to see on it, and the rate of new content is slower than I would like - but I do only pay $8 a month, so I don't expect a lot. However, when it is 3 am on a sleepless night off with nothing to do (everything is closed and I don't think my neighbors would appreciate me cutting the lawn or building a shed at that hour), I will turn on Netflix and watch a show before going to bed. I find myself often going into sections I normally wouldn't, loading up something I don't think I'd normally watch, and finding out I really enjoyed it. Then I follow the suggestions based on that film until I run out of content - only to repeat the exploration again when I run out of stuff a few months down the road.
Think of it this way - its like internet browsing. I look up something on wikipedia, a blue link of an interesting word (or unknown word) gets followed, then an article link at the bottom takes me to a new web page, and so forth, until I am on a totally unrelated topic - a topic that I would have thought of looking into without that flow of links taking me there. I sort of do the same thing on Netflix as I do on my web browsing. So, no, I don't think the Internet and personal choice simply reinforces my own interest/prejudices - however, exploring one's interests is not always a bad thing. Just as I make it a point to go to new restaurants and places in my life, I also find it acceptable to go to my favorite diner or place frequently. The trick is balancing likes with new experiences.
Apple are on thier way to winning this war on cable. The new AppleTV was quietly updated to 1080p and requires no local time shifting storage solution. The have secured agreements so you can get most shows one day behind air date, with premium shows from HBO released after season ends. No commercials for the majority except for Glee which did put in post show adverts that put it in my will not watch again list. No monthly fee so you can not buy anything new and still have access to you previous purchases. Prediction: Apple will release AppleTV iOS apps with user selectable channels and lower the bar to become a broadcaster with Apple doing delivery. Tight integration with iPads and iPhones for remote control with Siri voice query as option. Maybe a TV set with AppleTV docking station to allow for brain upgrades without replacing set every time.
to pad their subscriber numbers. I cut the cord over a year ago and they keep calling me to give me "free" basic cable in order to pad their subscriber numbers and get more ad money. I always find it amusing when the person on the phone can't believe that I don't want "free" cable. I tell them I get everything I need over the internet and down't want cable. If they offer it to you, don't take it. It'll just prolong the life of an obsolete business model. I can only assume Comcast will eventually take the next next step and *require* you to have cable if you use broadband. If and when that happens I hope there is a firestorm of lawsuits...
Everyone seems to be forgetting how terrible TV is now-a-days. Reality TV is awful. They have shows about parking meter attendants? Pawn Shops? Random slutty women that marry rich and then spend their days gossiping about each other? How many carbon copies of "Star Search" are they going to make? The only decent TV is on AMC, HBO and Showtime. All of which you can get on DVD/Netflix after the seasons over. Network and cable TV is doomed.
I bet there are thousands of people who would be willing to subscribe to HBO.... if they didn't have to spend $80+ to be eligible to subscribe.
In the hose bib situation, no. you can't just hook up to it. You would be stealing the water from your neighbor as he has to pay to have it go through his water meter. If your neighbor puts his hose bib on your property, you can force him to move it, but you can't just hook up to it without an agreement.
The op has such an agreement with the cable company, but the agreement says he's allowed to use their equipment for internet access. It probably explicitly states he's not allowed to watch any tv signals that leak in. My guess is that his consuming the tv content doesn't use up any resources. The tv signal is there no matter what. Stealing isn't the right word to describe what he's doing. Breach of contract is probably more appropriate.
The right thing to do is to drop the cable news entirely. Same with talk radio. They're bad for you, and bad for the country.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Consider pirating the content. It doesn't cost anything and comes with none of those restrictions. I know, you tried to do the "right" thing, you went out of your way to try to give your money to the people who drone on and on about needing the money -- but when you did, they turned you down and said they didn't want your money. I don't know what they are thinking, but it's pretty darn clear they don't want your money, so stop trying so hard. Just go get what you want (content with no hassle) and if the authorized people ever want your money, then they'll give you what you want in exchange for it. Good luck.
I don't dispute there's quite a few anti-copyright people on here, but I would argue that this isn't a strongly anti-copyright place, it's an anti-stupidity and despite the constant ripping into one another and trolling a pro-ethics website.
Most Slashdotters I think you will find actually agree with some sort of copyright protection, as long as it's fair and it expires. You will not find a consensus on what is a fair term. Most Slashdotters are pro creative talent making a profit and anti-big media exploiting that talent and its consumers.
You will find a lot of Humble Bundle, creative commons, and direct sales fans here but not many fans of Sony/BMG and their ilk.
Slashdot isn't full of underhanded thieves, it's full of people who want things to make sense and understand the right thing shouldn't take huge amounts of effort or unnecessary amounts of cash to do.
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At that rate, it's over 150 hours of streaming - or about five hours a day.
Five hours per household, not five hours per person. Reduce that for operating system updates, application and game downloads, web surfing, Farcebook, etc.
I'm a Libertarian and I believe in reduced government regulation. I'm glad this law is off the books.
They fact the media companies are choosing to use this extra rope we've given them to hang themselves is evidence of Darwinism in action.
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