TV watchers fleeing cable/satellite, still finding ways to view

[kevindavis007]

SALT LAKE CITY — TV watchers are fleeing from cable and satellite providers at unprecedented numbers, but the exodus appears to be less of a retreat into neo-Luddism than confirmation that more and more consumers are opting for the choice, convenience and pricing of streamed video entertainment.


Getting your TV signal through a wire goes back as far as the debut of broadcast television in the '40s and initially was a strategy for getting those magical moments to consumers who were out of practical broadcast range. (And before anyone waxes nostalgic about the halcyon days of ad-free TV, Bulova paid to have its watches hawked in the first-ever paid spot during a Brooklyn Dodgers game broadcast in 1941.)


Cable exploded in the '80s, and along with it dozens of cable-only networks offering a slew of niche programming (think CNN, C-SPAN, MTV) and, in some cases, fare that was too risqué for the broadcast waves. Residential satellite TV service also popped up as a consumer option during this decade, with EchoStar (later to become Dish Network) and DirecTV coming online.


Since then, pay TV service has been a veritable feeding frenzy for providers with ever-expanding packages, some of which include hundreds of channel options and premium upgrades that can push a monthly bill to nearly $200.


New Hampshire's Leichtman Research Group, which specializes in analyzing broadband, media and entertainment industries, estimates that last year's average monthly cable bill was $103, up from $99 in 2015. Providers have also padded profits by bundling other services, including internet access and telephone.


Read More: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865684901/TV-watchers-fleeing-cablesatellite-still-finding-ways-to-view.html

[Cripplecreek]

Now the question is how they will retaliate.

The options for satellite are pretty limited but internet providers aren't going to take losing their cable service customers only to have them get the same thing cheaper over their internet cable.

I dropped my Xfinity/Comcast cable TV service a year ago but still have Xfinity/Comcast internet which I will be using to stream the shows I used to pay them for.

[kevindavis007]

Now the question is how they will retaliate.

The options for satellite are pretty limited but internet providers aren't going to take losing their cable service customers only to have them get the same thing cheaper over their internet cable.

I dropped my Xfinity/Comcast cable TV service a year ago but still have Xfinity/Comcast internet which I will be using to stream the shows I used to pay them for.

That is my fear..


The only way for them to stop this is spike the prices since they are a near monopoly.


With all of this talk of net neutrality, I think the only to truly have it is more competition. However, what is stopping it is the old fashioned rules that help the cable industry before it became huge.


or have the Government help them. 

[Wingnut]

I have embraced my over the air antenna.  I wish more stations would go terrestrial.

[Fishrrman]

Well, if the cable and satellite providers want to get some of those customers back, they could always just...

... lower their pricing.  ;)

[Cripplecreek]

Well, if the cable and satellite providers want to get some of those customers back, they could always just...

... lower their pricing.  ;)

They'll have to do a lot more than lower their prices. They'll have to stop forcing me to pay for a half dozen home shopping networks, pbs networks, golf channel and 300 other channels I don't watch. They have to let me choose the 25 channels I might want to watch. They have to allow me to subscribe to specific series that I might want to watch even if they're on channels I don't otherwise subscribe to. And they have to let me watch the shows when I want to watch them and not just when they air.

Looks like a Sling TV blue package for $25 per month combined with an Amazon Prime subscription may be right up my alley.

[truth_seeker]

There are semi-bootleggers of cable, like "x tv" and "pluto" both available on Roku

And many others, which can be found noodling around on "youtube" for cordcutters, "Roku private channels," and so forth.

The big cable companies, already own options like "Direct TV Now" "SlingTV" etc.

[kevindavis007]

They'll have to do a lot more than lower their prices. They'll have to stop forcing me to pay for a half dozen home shopping networks, pbs networks, golf channel and 300 other channels I don't watch. They have to let me choose the 25 channels I might want to watch. They have to allow me to subscribe to specific series that I might want to watch even if they're on channels I don't otherwise subscribe to. And they have to let me watch the shows when I want to watch them and not just when they air.

 

[Wingnut]

So just how fast are we switching from traditional TV to the Web for our at-home entertainment?

A Netflix report to investors is expected to chart a dramatic trajectory. The streaming-video company will release its earnings figures after the market close Monday.

Those figures are expected to show U.S. subscribers have hit 3.2 million, nearly double last year's 1.7 million, The Motley Fool reports. Globally, the company behind original series like House of Cards is expected to pass 100 million subscribers.


http://www.stltoday.com/news/watching-netflix-you-are-far-from-alone/article_624172f7-296f-56b6-be62-c252c84f04c6.html