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Cable TV Companies Could Lose Nearly $1 Billion in the Next Year From People Ditching Their Subscriptions (businessinsider.com)
Nathan McAlone, writing for BusinessInsider: Cable TV companies could lose nearly $1 billion to people cutting the cord over the next year, according to a new study by management consulting firm cg42. The firm estimates that 800,000 cable customers will ditch their subscriptions in the next 12 months. Cg42 expects each customer to be an average loss of $1,248 annually, and losses to approach $1 billion over the year. Cg42 also found that the average cord-cutter saves $104 per month by canceling. Some in the industry have argued that cutting the cord doesn't actually save you money if you subscribe to a bunch of streaming services like Netflix, HBO, and so on. But that point of view neglects the reality that many cable subscribers pay for those streaming services already.
Or perhaps you use landline internet, the other monopoly?
Unfortunately a great number of us don't have any alternative once we cut the cord.
Sure, I'm not paying $80 a month in cable bills any more- but I'm still paying $50 for the data (no option- they have a monopoly on connections fast enough to stream). So- then I add Hulu, and Netflix (the wife has Amazon from a student account). Bang- I'm right back to the price I started with.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
They won't lose any money, they just might not make as much. No company is entitled to continued steady profits.
Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
Maybe if they stopped putting huge ads with flashing animations and sound overtop of the content, it would actually be worth watching some of their content.
At least that's why I cancelled my cable subscription.
Just like they do every year to make up for cord-cutters.
I think they call that slitting your own throat.
Good.
If they let people only pay for the channels they want rather than force them to buy a whole package of useless crap, far fewer people would be cutting the cable.
The cable companies have known for years that people want this, but they remain too greedy/arrogant to provide what their own customers actually want, so the market is rightfully killing them off.
At some point they will finally be forced to deal with their own egos just to survive, but by then it will already be way too late for them, because most of their market share will have already moved to other sources such as Netflix, Amazon etc. that already do a much better job of meeting individual needs affordably.
Every time they say "Ancient Alien theorists" on that show, I want to box my ears. I suppose it sounds better than "crackpots".
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Cord cutter, here. If you're thinking of joining me by switching down to an internet-only service, you need to know this: Your cable company is going to lie to you. They're going to tell you all kinds of stories about how they don't actually offer internet-only options, or about how it's actually less expensive to have a bundle than it is to go internet-only. Don't believe them. There is exactly one way to get the full truth out of them: Tell them you're cancelling. As soon as they transfer you to the retention department, someone who actually knows what they're talking about will happily give you that internet-only connection you're looking for, and most likely at a reasonable price, too... at least, for the first year, anyway.
Sidenote: Obviously, this only works if you have at least one other viable broadband provider in your area. If you live in one of the many broadband monopoly areas... well, in that case, you have my sympathies, because you are well and truly screwed.
Take a look at Playstation VUE's packages (no, you don't have to have a playstation to use it, I'm on the latest version of Amazon FireTV):
I get the Core Slim package for about $35/mo..has all the ESPN channels, and the SEC Channel.
This is part of my cord cutting package.
Just FYI...the VUE application is too much for the PS3 unit if you do have one...the guide just doesn't work well. And on the Roku 3..the Guide is not a true guide like on the Amazon FireTV. I'm guessing the Roku 4 is good too since it has more hardware, but I've not tried it yet.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
It is a shame that Sling is just terrible.
I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
I live in Europe.
I pay 16Euro per month for 70Mbit/s Internet connection.
A "landline" is included in the price - IP telephony device included - with 20 free minutes to landlines here in my town and free calls within provider network and reasonable prices for calling cellular providers or out-of-town numbers.
AND, included in that 16Euro/month package, I get some 100 cable channels, with 15 most popular channels having an archive - ability to play, and skip adds for any program from the last 20 days.
I pay about 7Eur per month extra for package with various Discovery channels, History channel and cartoon channels for my kids (cartoons being the main reason I keep the extra package, because most documentary programs air various reality shows 95% of the time)
This is what you get when you do not allow companies to create artificial monopolies for the last mile.
I live in town and 5 different providers have fiber optics cable leading to my apartment building. People living in small distant villages have more limited choice, but they still can get ADSL for some 10Euro/month for uncapped contract, plus satellite package for TV for some 10Euro/month for about 100 channels.
Paid my cable bill last night: the broadband chunk of the bill is now ~$20 higher than the (now sports / entertainment tier-free) TV bill.
Over the last few years, the rate of increase of the broadband part has out-paced the TV rate increases for... reasons?
Bottom line: Big Cable will get their monthly three-figure pound of flesh even after everything is TCP/IP-based.
Plus, they need the cash to pay their right-wing prostitutes for banning community-owned broadband systems.
Cg42 expects each customer to be an average loss of $1,248 annually, and losses to approach $1 billion over the year. Cg42 also found that the average cord-cutter saves $104 per month by canceling.
And after further investigation, Cg42 has discovered there are 12 months in a year.
Same boss because once things start shifting the Cable TV companies will acquire Netflix/Hulu/youname it.
Hulu LLC is owned by Disney, Comcast, Fox, and Time Warner. All four companies own broadcast TV networks (ABC, NBC, Fox, and half of CW respectively) as well as mid-tier cable TV networks. Comcast is also a multichannel pay television provider.
Now even the damn "Premium" pay channels i.e showtime, hbo have ommercials.
WTF?
Now they're double & triple dipping the f'n ad revenues.
I forgot to mention the pricelessness that is realizing your kids have absolutely no idea what a "commercial" is. I am proud when they are utterly confused (then totally frustrated by) commercials when forced to endure them. That could, even more so, be the nail in Cable TV's coffin during the next generation.
It could also backfire and kids take commercials seriously due to being naive, leading to an even poorer next generation...
Cable will lose subscribers, but they won't lose the money those subscribers haven't paid yet. It's like trying to Chicken-Little the fact that cable will "lose" revenue from subscribers that die in the next year.
The fact is, the TV market is changing and the providers continually refuse to adapt. If cable rates increased at less than 6 times the rate of inflation, that would help save their asses.
"Cable companies raked in at least $1bn last year from people who really didn't need to be paying them."
Feels a little different that way.
-Styopa
The brain drain from the main cable channels is kind of amazing. Discovery went from serious science documentaries to endless loops of shark attacks. TLC went from educational content to vapid reality TV. A&E went from broadcasting operas to vapid reality TV. History went from serious history documentaries to "When Aliens Attack Part VIII!" CNN Headline went from a short form summary of the top headlines to murder mysteries. The main 24/7 cable news channels have lost all semblance of journalistic integrity. No wonder all the commercials are targeted at the 65+ crowd. There's essentially nothing on broadcast TV left worth watching unless you are a sports fan.
Oh, is that what Bernie thinks? The numbers that I see are that people who earn less than $250k have no change in their taxes, and that people who earn more than that have several new brackets they would fall into. There's a small case where people making between $464,851 to $499,999 would actually see their taxes fall by a couple percent, otherwise the new tax brackets for the highest earners ($10 million or more) would go from 39.6% to 52%. If you also include the proposed 2.2% medicare flat tax, then that raises everyone's taxes by 2.2% more and brings the highest earners to 54.2%.
So anyway, where is your 90% number coming from? I'm curious about your source for that one.
Haha, no I'm not, I'm kidding, I know you're full of shit and just wanted to call you on it.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
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