Cutting the Cord? Time Warner Loses 184,000 TV Subscribers In One Quarter

Mr D from 63 (3395377) writes Time Warner Cable's results have been buoyed recently by higher subscriber numbers for broadband Internet service. In the latest period, however, Time Warner Cable lost 184,000 overall residential customer relationships [Note: non-paywalled coverage at Bloomberg and Reuters]. The addition of 92,000 residential high-speed data customers was offset by 184,000 fewer residential video customers in the quarter. Triple play customers fell by 24,000, while residential voice additions were 14,000.

Comments

They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[i kan reed]

And I asked myself quite reasonably, "Why the fuck do I have cable TV?"

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. Minimum basic cable price (if I don't want to sell my entire soul to the cableco) where I am is $39.48 + $3.99 for a converter box + 13% taxes + some other silly fees I've forgotten about (LPIF?), every month. Ends up about $54. As encouragement for me to never sign up again, they'll punish me with a $49.99 one time bonus fee.

Primewire, netflix and even sometimes the sites for the stations themselves gives me all the content I need (no hulu in my country). I'd actually pay $20 for what I watch on top of Netflix, but it has to be equally convenient and unlimited to what I get now, and typically anything I've seen isn't. Basic cable is a joke.

Cable TV can DIAF.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[TWX]

Yup. We got rid of cable TV something like five years ago. Keeping it was already in jeopardy when I realized I was coming home from work and watching four hours of CSI every evening on Spike, and starting to see reruns of episodes that I could have sworn were just shown, and the straw that broke the camel's back was the removal of Turner Classic Movies from our cable package. Since getting rid of cable we've found ourselves actually engaging in our hobbies again, as opposed to just passively staring at the screen.

A lady at work the other day didn't seem to know that one could still receive over-the-air broadcasts for television. I wonder how many people don't realize this and are paying for TV that they don't want or need.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[cayenne8]

I've been seriously considering cutting it myself.

I've been toying with the idea of setting up a HD external to the home antenna, and hooking it to a MythTV box for local HD stuff.

And with Netflix and Amazon Prime that would cover about 95% of what I usually watch. I'm pissed that there are really no cooking shows anymore on FoodTV or Cooking Channel, just contest and reality crap.

The only thing I'd miss from my cutting the cord...are the cable new networks. I figure between watching MSNBC, FoxNews and CNN...I get some idea of the truth between them all.

I only watch ESPN during college football season....so would miss that I guess, or could just have a permanent excuse on Saturday to go to the local bars to watch games.

But man...I'm on ATT Uverse...U200 package with taxes is about $112/mo....for tv only. I find I'm watching less and less of the main channels they offer, and could likely get by with the HD / Mythtv setup I mentioned earlier. I can easily afford what I have now, but I do hate to waste money.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[mrchaotica]

Minimum basic cable price (if I don't want to sell my entire soul to the cableco) where I am is $39.48 + $3.99 for a converter box

They blatantly lie and claim that the box is "necessary" "because digital", but it isn't. The real reason they want you to use the box is because of their unilateral insistence on encrypting even the signals that you'd otherwise be able to get unencrypted from an antenna anyway, so that they can charge you a rental fee. But even then, it still isn't necessary because you can get a CableCard instead.

When I had cable TV (only because the TV + internet bundle was cheaper than internet-only that year), I refused the box (and refused to be charged for the box) as a matter of principle.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Anonymous Coward]

I figure between watching MSNBC, FoxNews and CNN...I get some idea of the truth between them all.

Only if you want news biased to a conservative, American ego-centric sources.

If you think you're getting the truth by watching those three sources, you're sadly mistaken.

CNN hasn't been an objective source of news for over a decade now. Fox never was.

Add some international stuff to your news, because with only 3 US sources, you're pretty far from objective truth and balanced coverage.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Adriax]

Local cable company recently swapped to a completely digital signal so everyone had to rent a new tuner box for every TV in their house (at something like $10 a month each). We stopped using cable but my dad kept with it.
One thing he noticed is his internet connection went to (even more) shit after the change. So he disconnected all the TVs yesterday and wired it so the cable signal just goes to the modem.
3x the download speeds and half the ping time, plus he loved not having to deal with constant commercials as he watched the news on his computer.

Cable companies are shooting themselves in the foot trying to squeeze a couple extra drops of revenue out of people.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[drinkypoo]

But really....I watch a swath of new channels from the right (Fox) to the far left (MSNBC) and the more moderate ones....and try to get my own sense of balance between all of them.

heh heh MSNBC far left HAHAHAHAHAHA

This is what you get when you depend on video for news, you can think that centrists are leftists

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[RobinH]

GP said they weren't in the US, so CableCard might not be an option. I am in Canada and nobody here offers CableCard, which is why we had to give up TiVo when it came time to get an HDTV. TiVo is CableCard only (and there's a good reason for it). The real reason they want to encrypt everything is to rent you the DVR.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Quirkz]

I actually feel like I gained something by the number of commercials I'm avoiding, far in excess of any entertainment possibly lost by cutting the cord. Occasionally if we travel or we're at someone's house and the TV is on, my three-year-old daughter asks me what's going on when there's a commercial and the show isn't playing. I think it's kind of awesome she's confused by them, rather than considering them part of life.

Occasionally I'll go over-air to catch a football game, but I've hit the point where after seeing the same commercials five times in fifteen minutes, I get bored and wander off, and then forget to come back for twenty minutes, invariably at another commercial break, and wander off again. It's a refreshing new way of life.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, I"m not that interested frankly, in the news of the world for the most part...why would I?

Because understanding the difference between what get said inside the echo chamber that is America, and what gets said outside of America might actually help you understand that Americans only see the world through their own lens. And they're frequently clueless as a result.

.I watch a swath of new channels from the right (Fox) to the far left (MSNBC)

If you think Fox and MSNBC define the right and the left ... then you really are a clueless American. What passes for 'left' in America is pretty severely to the right in the rest of the world.

But what happens outside of the US, has very little impact on the average US citizens life....

Not true.

Know all those pesky little wars you've been getting into over the last few decades? The reaons, rationale, and historical context for all of those are pretty much entirely different inside and outside of the US.

Americans think "Oh, we went in and saved the world". The rest of the world think, "Oh, here come the naive fucking Americans who think they're saving the world, but really doing sound-bite foreign policy with no real understanding of the issues".

The next time your government tells you you're going to war for a reason, you might actually know if it's a lie.

Despite claims to the contrary, the US does not intervene on moral, humanitarian, or principled stances ... they intervene purely on the basis of strategic oil, and what plays well in the domestic market.

America isn't the champion of democracy and freedom they like to think they are, America actively undermines those things elsewhere in the world.

And then when they do, they often impose conservative, American, Christian values on their aid ... like allowing Monsanto corn to be given as aid, with the expectation starving people won't keep seeds ... or disallowing any form of access to birth control even if it would benefit poor women around the world ... or any number of reasons.

America isn't nearly as good or perfect as the people who live there like to think.

And part of the problem is you haven't got the slightest idea of what is happening in the world around you.

At a minimum, you might understand the reasons why people dislike you. And then you might actually be collectively aware enough to stop being such assholes.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[drinkypoo]

Seriously? You thank Rachel Maddow, and Al Sharpton are centrists??

Moving the goalposts, from network to individuals. MSNBC is more than Maddow and Sharpton. Logical fallacy detected, comment invalidated.

Oh look, it's only been 1 minute since I last posted a comment. Slashdot is shitting on itself again.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[cayenne8]

If you think Fox and MSNBC define the right and the left ... then you really are a clueless American. What passes for 'left' in America is pretty severely to the right in the rest of the world.

And precisely why would I give a fuck what is "right" and "left" in other parts of the world?

If I wanted to live in a left leaning, more socialist part of the world, I would.

I prefer the US.

I will agree, the US and its polices aren't the "good guy" ones of the past, I blame that on corporate money takeover of our govt.

But I don't really care what the world thinks of us. I really don't, I have too much of my own life occupying my time and efforts. I don't have time to waste worrying if country X doesn't like me really, as long as they leave me alone and don't throw a weapon at me.

I do think if the US *did* pull fully out of world politics and wars...there'd be a lot of screaming that "the US doesn't do anything, they don't share, they don't help"...etc.

Hell, if we pulled fully out of all the bases and all in Europe, there would likely be a lot of pissed off people when they found they had to start pulling all that funding for free healthcare and 3 month vacations in order to pay for their own self defense in the big bad world. The US covers a lot of your countries' defense cost allowing you to spend your money on other things.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[mrchaotica]

Buy a new cable modem every year or two

Every year or two?! What are you talking about?

In the decade or so I've used cable Internet, I've only owned two cable modems, and I only had to get the second one recently because Comcast forced me to upgrade from DOCSIS 2 to DOCSIS 3. I expect my current modem to last at least another decade (or I would, if I didn't expect to switch to Google Fiber sooner).

There haven't been enough DOCSIS versions invented to necessitate you upgrading your modem anywhere close to yearly!

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[drinkypoo]

I don't know if I would say far left, but msnbc is most certainly a left leaning channel.

Sure, for the USA. But there's plenty more to the left of MSNBC in the world. It's just not well-represented in American media.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[drinkypoo]

Who gives a damn about what is right or left in the rest of the world, eh?

Yeah, what could we possibly learn from the rest of the world? We know everything!

That isn't germane to the conversation here.

You can't possibly believe that, can you? You must be trolling. Because if not, the alternative is that you are a gigantic idiot. Wait, I've seen your posting history. You may not be trolling. But if you aren't, your use of the word germane in this context may be the funniest thing I've seen all year.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[danomac]

I cut the cord four years ago. When I moved into my new place I had nothing but trouble with cable (half the time half my channels wouldn't work.) Umpteen tech visits later, I even had three different techs say the cable from the street to my house was damaged (underground cabling in my neighbourhood.) I was actually injured and basically bedridden at the time and it was basically the only thing I could use other than my laptop occasionally (weight on my legs = killer pain.) Anyway, they didn't want to fix the damn wire and they were surprised I cancelled the service???

About six months later I read about the digital OTA service (I've always known about the analog service.) It was kind of in testing mode (not all stations moved over) but I figured I should give it a shot. Due to my distance from the tower I've had to raise my antenna to about thirty feet, but I got 6 or so full HD channels. The first thing I noticed that was in high-motion movement there was NO pixelation, unlike my cable connection.

So I started telling people at work they didn't have to spend $1200-$1500 to get TV and almost all were in disbelief. Some would say "but I can't get channel X". I guess they've decided that one channel is worth $150/month, but I think they're crazy.

A lady at work the other day didn't seem to know that one could still receive over-the-air broadcasts for television. I wonder how many people don't realize this and are paying for TV that they don't want or need.

I was over at a young coworker/friend and I was telling him about it. His wife's eyes grew really big and she stated "You're STEALING TV?"

Sigggghhhh............

The new generation grew up thinking they have to pay out the arse for TV and grew up thinking this was perfectly normal.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[RavenLrD20k]

When the government put out regulations where companies couldn't use lead-based solder in consumer electronics products anymore (it's still widely available for private purchase), all electronic devices began suffering significantly shorter operational life. The lead kept the solder from developing micro-fractures that eventually caused joints to arc, or disconnecting altogether. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can often resurrect dead electronics by touching heat to the joints which has the effect of making the solder become molten again and thus eliminating the fractures. Under constant operating conditions it can take about 2-3 years for the fractures to progress to the point where a device will no longer work properly. It's one reason why you hear about Red-Rings-of-Death, Red lights of death, etc. from gaming systems released in the last 10-15 years while a good portion of classic systems from the Atari, to the Oddessy2, to the Sega Master System, to the N64 can still be found 20-30 years later still running as well as they did on day one. You always hear the phrase "They don't make 'em like they used to." It's because literally (in the very literal sense, not figuratively speaking type of literally), they don't.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[mrchaotica]

Depending on where you live or who your provider is you may be able to get analog cable despite the claims. My local cable company tells you that it's digital only and you must have a card/box. My dad plugged his coax straight into his tv (which does not have or support a card) and he gets about 100 channels. So, I say try plugging the coax in and find out what is really what.

That's what I had done until Comcast started encrypting everything.

The FCC sold us out about two years ago.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[macromorgan]

Minimum basic cable price (if I don't want to sell my entire soul to the cableco) where I am is $39.48 + $3.99 for a converter box

They blatantly lie and claim that the box is "necessary" "because digital", but it isn't. The real reason they want you to use the box is because of their unilateral insistence on encrypting even the signals that you'd otherwise be able to get unencrypted from an antenna anyway, so that they can charge you a rental fee. But even then, it still isn't necessary because you can get a CableCard instead.

When I had cable TV (only because the TV + internet bundle was cheaper than internet-only that year), I refused the box (and refused to be charged for the box) as a matter of principle.

They are prohibited by FCC mandate from encrypting over the air channels, those must be broadcast "in the clear", and with the copy protect flag set to "copy freely". You just need a tuner capable of grabbing Clear QAM signals to view it (some TVs but not all). If you see a violation of this you can report it to the FCC and they'll get in big trouble. As for the rest of the channels, Time Warner Cable is objectively the worst cable provider, in that they encrypt ALL channels (excluding the Discovery Channel) that they aren't required to decrypt by law. They also set the copy protect flag to "copy once" on all channels except those they are required not to by law. Comcast is a better TV provider than Time Warner Cable, and that's saying something. Comcast uses the copy protect flag more sparingly, and offers more Clear QAM channels. If the merger goes through the only silver lining is that my TV will get better (while my Internet gets far worse... fucking data caps should not exist on wired broadband).

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[RavenLrD20k]

On top of the microfractures I described above, lead-free solder can also develop whiskering which lead to the same sorts of failures.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Yaztromo]

I was in the same boat you were. I was a very happy TiVo customer here in Canada, until we moved to an HDTV.

The funny thing was having to try to convince the customer service woman at TiVo that no, I couldn't upgrade to TiVo HD. The concept that I couldn't get a CableCard from my local provider was so alien to her that I had to explain it several times (and even point her to TiVo's own webpage explaining why TiVo HD wasn't available in Canada). Even then I don't think she was quite convinced.

I guess that TiVo had so few Canadian customers that she really hadn't had to deal with the situation before. I still miss out old TiVo; the Motorola box we got from Shaw is great for 1080p video and Dolby Digital audio (neither of which our TiVo 2 could handle); but the user interface and software absolutely suck compared to the TiVo. It's always trying to do dumb stuff, like start a new scheduled recording on the tuner I'm using to watch something, even though nothing is being recorded (or is scheduled to record) on the other tuner at the time; menus you can't move back up from (even if you're several screens down, if you need to go up one menu you frequently (but not always!) have to exit entirely and start over again, drilling back down to where you wanted to be), not being able to filter out all the myriad of channels we don't get form the listings (I've simulated this by setting up a "favourites" list containing only those channels we get, but the way the interface is setup managing this when a few channels change often means I have to remove the favourites list and start over again), and ugly, ugly on-screen graphics (crappy fonts with no smoothing, no built-in upscaling for SD channels, so the entire UI changes to a more compressed version to fit within 480p, etc.). I could probably go on all day. I believe they have better boxes available now, but as I had to buy this one, I don't see it as worthwhile to "upgrade" to another non-TiVo box that is probably equally crappy.

Yaz

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Obfuscant]

When the government put out regulations where companies couldn't use lead-based solder in consumer electronics products anymore (it's still widely available for private purchase), all electronic devices began suffering significantly shorter operational life.

We should note that the RoHS (pronounced "roe-hass") regulations do not apply in the US, but they're a major hassle in the EU. And yes, the lead-free solder is a real pain in the ass to use and leads to a lot of junction failures. A local community college even offers a special class on how to solder under RoHS.

On the upside, you can pick up a lot of "failed" commercial products and with a quick re-solder with real solder you can bring them back to life cheap.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[Anonymous Coward]

We've revived many a printer (newer hp laserjets like the 1320 for example) this way. You remove the controller card and bake it in the oven for a few minutes. Once re-installed, they work like new.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[mrchaotica]

They are prohibited by FCC mandate from encrypting over the air channels

Nope.

Comcast is a better TV provider than Time Warner Cable, and that's saying something. Comcast uses the copy protect flag more sparingly, and offers more Clear QAM channels.

Also, nope. In my area, Comcast started encrypting everything, including over the air channels, over a year ago.

Time Warner Cable is objectively the worst cable provider

LOL, you poor, naive fool. You only think that because you haven't experienced the Hell that is Comcast "customer service." I've filed multiple BBB complaints. I once almost got arrested by the sheriff's deputy Comcast hires to guard their office from irate customers -- that's how bad they are!

Comcast is so bad that I've even resorted to lobbying local politicians to try to kick them out of my city.

If you see a violation of this you can report it to the FCC and they'll get in big trouble.

I tried. In my case, Comcast started encrypting (some of the) OTA channels weeks before sending the notice required by Title 47 Section 76.630 (a)(1)(v) (look it up!). I filed a complaint with the FCC, and heard nothing whatsofuckingever.

The FCC is in Comcast's pocket.

Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced

[macromorgan]

It looks like the rules were changed last year, so what I said should be considered wrong. And boy does that suck.

Re:No surprise here

[MightyMartian]

Yes, but their "solution" seems to be lobby Congress to preserve their sixty year old business model, not actually innovate.

The Internet Has Better Porn

[Lilith's Heart-shape]

Which is reason enough to ditch cable TV.

Re:No surprise here

[gstoddart]

Yes, but their "solution" seems to be lobby Congress to preserve their sixty year old business model, not actually innovate.

They didn't get where they are by innovating.

They got there by lobbying Congress in the first place.

"Cutting the cord"

[MobyDisk]

My Internet still has a cord. I'm fine with that.

Also, those so-called "cord cutters" are probably still buying their internet from Time Warner.

Re:"Cutting the cord"

[theVP]

Well that's just it.

Look, I'm not a lover of cable companies, and I think they regularly and historically have engaged in some really shitty business and billing practices. But at some point, displacing all of their consumption from TV to Internet, whilst utilizing the same infrastructure (and clamoring for infrastructure upgrades), is going to create pressure to increase Internet prices.

There seems to be a lot of people here who would rather see them drop dead, and again, I can understand they're not your favorite people. But, okay, they've dropped dead. Now what? Back to the DSL service you hated enough to be using them in the first place? Or enjoy the new monopoly that buys them up and gives you even shittier service (strange idea, that!). I'd rather see some regulation regarding their shitty business and billing practices, and then enforcement of those regulations.
Dead companies = Bigger other companies

Re:No surprise here

[jmyers]

Or maybe "Traditional TV viewing" is coming back in that people are going to over the air for local channels/major networks and internet for everyhting else. At least that is what I see with my peer group.

Perfect timing

[Nemosoft Unv.]

I just got off the phone ending my cable subscription when I saw this post. Perfect timing :)

The reason is different, though. While I am not a customer of Time Warmer (different country), I realised that I wasn't needing it anymore. Or more precisely: there's nothing of interest on it for me. I watch perhaps 3 hour a month; the few things I want to see (mostly news, a few background programs) I can watch on free-to-air. So I'm saving about $20 a month now, which I might use for a cinema ticket or so.

I'm sure I'm not the only one... Perhaps there's more to cable-cutting than just rising cost.

I welcome the Death Spiral

[Moof123]

I am rooting for a death spiral. There are so many cable channels that would die a very quick death in any sort of ala carte system where they actually had to compete. The system has been cable system has been setup to extract maximum dollars, while providing very low quality (maximizing profit). I'd much rather see an ala carte system with a few very good premium channels, along with some scrappy quirky channel, and let the invisible hand slap down the rest. I want to be able to get HBO without ESPN, QVC, TLC,CNN, Fox News, etc. Get it down to a handful of good channels that i pick out for $20 a month and I might sign back up.

For now I watch a few things on Hulu and Netflix, and buy dozen or so DVD's a year. I am pretty happy with what I get for the money, and I am very glad that ESPN doesn't get one red cent from me.

Inevitable

[psycho12345]

Anecdotally, I never watch TV and I'm 27, part of a fairly large generation/cohort that has shown to be very unlikely to adopt TV. Ran into a classmate from high school and the story was the same, she doesn't even OWN a TV, let alone TV service. Like me she gets everything online. On the non anecdotal, it is telling when they are routinely, for the last 4 years running that I know of, the winners or runner up to the most hated companies in the US, with their customer service rated below everyone in their industries (Both TV and Internet Service), and are rated below even banks. I think that really is amazing and has to be sinking in, that people rate their ISP and TV service below those who arguably have committed massive criminal behavior and can strip people of their homes. Mind you, in this day and age, being stripped of Internet Service, while no where near as bad as losing ones shelter, is a pretty crippling blow to economic and educational opportunity and in some cases, denies you even basic functioning life since some government functions are moving to be purely online. Even in the case where it is not, the sheer difference in what you have to devote time to without an internet connection represents a massive drawback (Imagine having to personally drive or transport to pay all bills, as well call business to ascertain information, as well as conduct any government business of any kind, such as taxes or drivers license).

Re:Internet alone is more expensive than Internet+

[i kan reed]

Which just makes me so glad that I don't sit on my ass watching other people exercise for entertainment.

Offline for the rest of the month

[tepples]

Good luck sustaining those speeds for any length of time. With the typical 5 GB/mo cap of a typical cellular Internet plan, a 10 Mbps Internet connection won't last more than 5 * 8000 / 10 / 60 = 67 minutes, after which you're offline for the rest of the day and the next 29 days. Even in areas where the cable company imposes a 300 GB/mo cap, that's still a more reasonable choice for operating system updates, video streaming, paid movie and video game downloads, and other lawful things that home Internet users expect to do with an Internet connection.

Dumb is unprofitable

[tepples]

I long for a new era of "Dumb Pipe"/quote. Dumb is unprofitable, and as long as regulators see home Internet as a luxury and not a necessity, home Internet won't get regulated like the public utility it is.

No cable, no problem

[Russ1642]

I haven't had cable for eight years. Haven't missed it one bit. The very idea of letting TV schedule when I can sit and watch is ridiculous. Same goes for a DVR, where you have to both know about a show before it airs and set up the DVR to record it. Netflix has a terrible selection here in Canada so I tried that for whatever the trial period was and then ditched it. Turns out I ALWAYS have better things to do than watch TV, and when I give in to the urge I just hit up a torrent site.

Re:No cable, no problem

[JustNiz]

>> Same goes for a DVR, where you have to both know about a show before it airs and set up the DVR to record it.

Not since the 90's.
I just type in program titles and keywords (e.g. the name of my home town) I'm interested in into my mythtv box and it records matching shows whenever they air on any channel. I haven't actually set up a recording for months.

Re:No cable, no problem

[ArcadeMan]

1. Netflix costs more than The Pirate Bay: true
2. Netflix has a lower selection than The Pirate Bay: true, including and especially the latest releases and obscure titles (if they're still seeded)
3. Netflix has less usability than The Pirate Bay: false*

* Netflix is just plain easier. I can sit down in front of the TV, start my AppleTV, navigate to something I want to watch, click play.

To do the same thing with The Pirate Bay, I'd have to sit at my computer, search their website, filter out all the weird containers like DivX and MKV, try to find a non-HD file that would take multiple hours to download, make sure the MP4 version I choose has subtitles and will play on my AppleTV, download the file, wait for at least 30 to 60 minutes for the download, add to my iTunes library and then finally watch the movie on my TV. That's nowhere near as convenient as Netflix.

Re:No cable, no problem

[mrchaotica]

To do the same thing with The Pirate Bay, I'd have to sit at my computer, search their website, filter out all the weird containers like DivX and MKV, try to find a non-HD file that would take multiple hours to download, make sure the MP4 version I choose has subtitles and will play on my AppleTV, download the file, wait for at least 30 to 60 minutes for the download, add to my iTunes library and then finally watch the movie on my TV.

Half the stuff in that list is the fault of the Apple TV, not The Pirate Bay.

Their customers are lucky...

[damn_registrars]

I was a TW customer for some time and then moved to a place where my only cable choice is Comcast. I can tell you from experience that TW was a vastly better product. Comcast is getting better, but I still got a better product for less money (and free service calls on top of it) through TW than what I get from Comcast.

TW customers should be breathing a sigh of relief that the merger didn't go through; Comcast customers are disappointed that they missed out on a possible chance at a better product.

That said, there is still almost nothing on TV worth watching. This is becoming increasingly a fault of the cable companies as they go about buying up networks so that they can provide various degrees of exclusive content.

Bang for Your Buck

[Anonymous Coward]

Cable TV is pretty expensive for what you get, it's full of ads you can't really choose what content you want, etc. It has to become competitive to survive.... well that's how it should work but then the music industry was also faced with this conundrum ~15 years ago and I think they chose to lobby their way into survival, I expect the same song and dance from Cable.

Re:Response will be telling

[mrchaotica]

No, he's referring to voting third-party.

(Don't worry, you can still vote for the lesser evil in the runoff.)

Re:That's what happens

[TheCarp]

But why would thhey do it? Remember the old question "Who benefits?".

Thing is, once they have the cable to your house, providing TV access over TV+Internet really costs them no more. The only difference is the number of subscribers reported to their suppliers and advertisers.

My assumption would be that their licensing costs + advertising revenue per customer results ina net profit per customer to them....so in essence, you agreeing to recieve the service means that the cable service is actually subsidizing your internet service.

I think the media companies might be too stupid

[Nelson]

We had a baby in 2010, cut the cord because we didn't want to contaminate him will all the bullshit. Sports is the only thing we remotely miss..

This is very easy to stop if they want, cut out the reality shit, produce quality content. Make the news news again with a bit less opinion. And by quality content, I'd say figuring out Law and Order and CSI and then making n versions of those shows in different cities probably isn't good enough. No more American Idol type crap. Like real quality entertainment, like dramas and comedies. I'd gladly pay for a news channel and 5 to 10 channels with good quality stuff on it.

That takes money, takes risk and takes some intelligence to try to suss out the good from the bad. Thus I predict it won't happen, not from the current batch of media and distribution companies. They're too fat and lazy and used to just cashing checks.

Re:I think the media companies might be too stupid

[IMightB]

I had a child roughtly the same time, at ~3 yo his absolute faviroute thing is watching Monster trucks on you tube..... We Also do all the TMBG Kids videos. He loves "I am A Paleontoligist" It't whoi I am It's who I am It's who I am!

Youtube + Netflix + Amazon

[Anonymous Coward]

TV is going through a wierd shift right now.

It's both the very best it's ever been and the very worst. There are a handful of very very very high quality shows. Honestly the most well produced, well written, entertaining, amazing video ever made and rivals even the best cinema.

The rest is crap. Really really really crap. Repulsive, base, cheaply made, immoral, sensational, manipulative, pandering shlock that insults your intelligence. Well, it's not all as bad as Fox News but it's not much better either.

At some point the makers of the handfuls of good shows are going to realize that they don't need traditional TV distribution to gain viewership and make money. HBO is going to "cut the cord" and and sell content online. I predict cable companies are going to start imploding when they can no longer rely on forced bundling to sell you drek you don't want to watch.

So we have some good shows, but it's not enough. Personally I've found you can get everything else you want and more on youtube. I don't give a wet fart about celebrity gossip but I can watch some english guy in his basement take apart vintage 70's laboratory equipment and explain it's theory of operation for hours. And I do.

Re:Internet alone is more expensive than Internet+

[Quirkz]

Oddly, mine doesn't. Charter vigorously advertises their triple play for $90, emphasizing with each ad that internet, tv, and phone are "$30 apiece" while internet alone is $50. I've told them repeatedly I've got no interest in phone, but if they could do internet + tv for $60 or even $65--basically just the price point they established for themselves--that I'd take it, but no, internet + TV is also $90, identical to the plan with the phone. I get the bulk discount, but that's just irrational.

Re:NBCNews.com, WANE.com, Weather.gov, etc.

[cayenne8]

Local and national news channels tend to run web sites. Is it that much less convenient to read instead of watching?

Well, in most cases...YES.

I do tech for a living, and I don't know about you, but I'm reading pretty much 99% of my day...staring at a computer all that time.

Before and after the day job...I kinda prefer to get away from a computer screen for a bit....and relax and watch and listen.

I suppose if your job doesn't have you reading a computer screen your full day, it might be more convenient to sit and read it all...but that's not my day. I like to get away from the computer when I can...

Why the surprise?

[XB-70]

When a product sucks, people stop buying it.

cool

[roc97007]

> Time Warner Cable lost 184,000 overall residential customer relationships

Couldn't happen to a nicer company.