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Columnist Mocks The Case Against Cord-Cutting As 'Too Many Choices' (techhive.com)
An anonymous reader quote TechHive:
The cord-cutting naysayers are trotting out a new argument in favor of cable, and it's even more absurd than the old ones: Having too many high-quality, standalone streaming services, they say, is actually bad for consumers, who are apparently helpless at using technology or making sound purchase decisions... The New York Post's Johnny Oleksinski concluded that all those sneering hipsters who've had the nerve to ditch cable are about to get their comeuppance -- in the form of additional services to choose from... By now, anyone who's actually cut the cable cord should be screaming out in unison: No one's making you subscribe to all these services! You can pick the ones you care about most, rotate between services, or occupy your screen time with a growing number of other digital distractions...
I will concede that if you want to use multiple streaming services, trying to sift through them all can be confusing. But even this concern is blown entirely out of proportion by naysaying pundits, who seem to ignore solutions that already exist. Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV all offer universal search across services like Netflix and Hulu, while features like Roku Feed and the Apple TV TV app demonstrate how system-wide browsing is getting easier. Besides, using a handful of apps to get what you want isn't that burdensome -- especially for the growing audience of people who've been raised on smartphones... consumers are smarter than they're getting credit for. That's why cable subscriptions continue to plunge, even as these bogus stories keep popping up like clockwork.
I will concede that if you want to use multiple streaming services, trying to sift through them all can be confusing. But even this concern is blown entirely out of proportion by naysaying pundits, who seem to ignore solutions that already exist. Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV all offer universal search across services like Netflix and Hulu, while features like Roku Feed and the Apple TV TV app demonstrate how system-wide browsing is getting easier. Besides, using a handful of apps to get what you want isn't that burdensome -- especially for the growing audience of people who've been raised on smartphones... consumers are smarter than they're getting credit for. That's why cable subscriptions continue to plunge, even as these bogus stories keep popping up like clockwork.
And how much did the cable and satellite companies pay Johnny Oleksinski to write that article?
#DeleteFacebook
Cord cutting reveals the content distribution chain as a series of monopolies. By copyright law, the producer of content owns a monopoly. But through subsequent licensing deals, additional monopolies are created. Like the last mile pipe, content distribution networks, and DNS, streaming infrastructure is a shared service that provide benefit to everyone on the net yet when commercially owned creates monopolies or walled gardens.
I remember interview with some Hollywood type in which they expressed a strong hatred for streaming services because the brand was no longer the studio or the production house but it was the program itself. The same effect is happening with streaming services. I don't think of "Man in the high Castle" as part of the Amazon brand. Its brand is "Man in the high Castle".
I think it's past time for a RAND policy for all content and a method of making sure everyone gets paid
This isn't an argument that can have a single truth that covers everyone. There are some people who are experiencing the difficulties described and many who aren't. People are different with different levels of capability and tolerance. If there is no way that you will give up live access to CNN, you can't cut your cable. I cut my cable more than a decade ago and still miss certain aspects.
In my case, I will not pay more than about $20 per month for the family beyond my internet costs for all media purchases combined. I'd likely maintain that limit even if I had limitless income because it serves the purpose of limiting my viewing time too.
That generally means I'll pay for two services and no more. Right now, I'm just paying for Netflix and a music service. There is no chance that Disney or any other service will ever get my business unless they can fully supplant Netflix for the same price. If the price point is significantly compromised, I'll go back to watching only what is free.
I thought about that, when I went overseas. But no, you have no idea *just how important* watching TV is to a lot of people's lives. They aren't just disappointed when they can't watch the latest American TV, they get upset. Angry and then bitter. It's real emotions, not crocodile tears. It's not as simple as "just turn off the TV and go outside", watching TV is a way of life for them and to remove it causes them real pain.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
And you'd be wrong.... although I wouldn't argue that you might be right as a generalization, speaking from personal experience, after my wife and I cut our cable subscription, we still watched all of the shows that we would otherwise watch on television entirely legally, by just streaming them from the network's website. The only caveat to this was that you couldn't watch it until the day after it aired, and an episode was not available for free streaming anymore after a week.
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
That guy does have a valid point in 2017 even. I've thought about cutting the FiOS cord but you'll get nickel and dimed for XYZ streaming service that it's just easier to keep cable. Sure you could have Netflix for movies (old ones), Hulu and/or Sling for current TV shows but what about local sports? Let's hope you have an OTA antenna that picks up the local games. By the time you add up Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and whatever else, you're almost at the cable price point. So why bother switching when cable TV, for one monthly price, just works(tm).