  AVDRespice, Adspice, ProspicePremium
join:2003-02-06
Onion, NJ
kudos:1 | somebody? Its going to be comcast or verizon that will, eventually, roll out an IPTV solution with dedicated set top boxes and some sort of accepted standard. Not a question of IF just when.
--
standard disclaimers apply. | |
|
 SSX4lifeHello WorldPremium
join:2004-02-13
kudos:2 | I've been cordless forever Started college back in the late 90's and never had a land line. Never had cable TV either.... Skype / Boxee / Netflix is all I need. Can't beat the price of 35.00 for tv and phone and internet | |
|
|
 |  FBGuyPremium
join:2005-03-19
Evanston, IL
 ·Comcast
 ·T-Mobile US
1 edit | Re: A pipe dream or any entire generation of couch potatoes dies off and the next generation of couch potatoes comes forth..
i'm probably an expection, but of all the people I know only those over the age of 30 have cable/satellite. everyone else does netflix, hulu, filesharing, usenet, or goes outside. | |
|
| | |
| |  LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5 | said by FBGuy:i'm probably an expection, but of all the people I know only those over the age of 30 have cable/satellite. That is because they are the ones with jobs; houses; and HDTV's. Those under 30 are living in their parent's basements jobless or underemployed and using a PC screen to watch things. | |
|
| | | FBGuyPremium
join:2005-03-19
Evanston, IL Reviews:
·Comcast
·T-Mobile US
| Re: A pipe dream said by Linklist:said by FBGuy:i'm probably an expection, but of all the people I know only those over the age of 30 have cable/satellite. That is because they are the ones with jobs; houses; and HDTV's. Those under 30 are living in their parent's basements jobless or underemployed and using a PC screen to watch things. are you being serious? or are you just trolling? I was being serious. I own my home. I choose to save over $1200/year not owning a tv and subscribing to cable. I do have an 1080p capable monitor that plays blu ray just fine. I know many under 30's that live on their own (condos, apartments, etc) that have hdtv's too. they just choose to watch ota.
hdtv's are not a status symbol. | |
|
| | | | LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5
1 edit | Re: A pipe dream said by FBGuy: I know many under 30's that live on their own (condos, apartments, etc) that have hdtv's too. And I know many that are not living on their own.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomerang_Generation
He cites Canadian census statistics showing that, in 1981, 27.5% of Canadians aged 20–29 lived with their parents; in 2001, the figure had grown to 41%. In United States the proportion of adults ages 20 to 34 living with their parents has increased from 9% in 1960 to almost 17% in 2000. The Japanese have an interesting name for it: Parasite Single:
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_single
According to a 1998 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, about 60% of single men and 80% of single women between the ages of 20 and 34 live with their parents.[citation needed] These numbers have been steadily increasing since 1976. It appears to be a world wide situation in industrialized countries. | |
|
| | | | | FBGuyPremium
join:2005-03-19
Evanston, IL Reviews:
·Comcast
·T-Mobile US
| Re: A pipe dream ah. i forget about those people. I graduated years back with many many of them. Thanks for reminding me. Took me about a decade to forget that people are that unambitious.
I think of mom's and dad's that pay for every last thing for their kids. For christs sakes people teach your children some damn independence. sink or swim. whats it gunna be? | |
|
| | | | |
approval from:
Linklist 
Boredness
| I think you may find a correlation between the numer of 'parasite singles' and the size/cost of government. In the old days, it was possible to own a home, nice car and have the wife stay home and raise the children, all while having enough left over to save for the future. Oh, eh, income tax back then was less than one percent and property taxes... $12/year.  | |
|
| | | | | |  DryvlyneFar Beyond DrivenPremium
join:2004-08-30
Newark, OH | Re: A pipe dream BS... ever heard of the credit crunch? People in this country don't own anything but debt. Personal debt in this country has skyrocketed over the past 3 decades and is part of the reason why the current recession is so painful.
--
In relative terms life is shorter than the blink of an eye. Remember that each and every day because in the end it's not about what you've done but how you've lived.
| |
|
| | | | | | |  56403739Less than 5 months leftPremium
join:2006-03-08
Naples, FL
kudos:2 | Re: A pipe dream said by Dryvlyne:BS... ever heard of the credit crunch? People in this country don't own anything but debt. Personal debt in this country has skyrocketed over the past 3 decades and is part of the reason why the current recession is so painful. I think you missed the humor...
$12 property taxes....
less than 1% income taxes...
I own lots of things, and they are all debt-free. Personal responsibility and smart money management can be a wonderful thing.  | |
|
| | | | | |  JammerMan79Premium,VIP
join:2004-05-13
Prince George, BC
kudos:10 | or because the "free market" artifically brought prices for houses etc up to a price that younger people can no longer afford
--
I may work for, but do not necessarily represent the views and beliefs of TELUS Communications. | |
|
| | | | | | | These stats are deceptive due to the age range. I'd bet the numbers are heavily weighted towards the 20-23 age group. Many of these people are likely still in college and many of them still live with their parents while school is not in session. College attendance is also up compared to years ago. And lets not forget those who enlist in the military straight out of high school and continue to list their parents' address as their home address until their tour of duty is up.
I'd be willing to bet the numbers would greatly change if you narrowed the age range to 24-34. | |
|
| | | |  dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | said by FBGuy:said by Linklist:said by FBGuy:i'm probably an expection, but of all the people I know only those over the age of 30 have cable/satellite. That is because they are the ones with jobs; houses; and HDTV's. Those under 30 are living in their parent's basements jobless or underemployed and using a PC screen to watch things. hdtv's are not a status symbol. concur. you can't even buy a new tv that isn't hd these days.
--
The shortest distance between 2 points adds 1.5 stars to T. want $25? solve »coord.info/GC20A37 for me | |
|
| |  DavePR
join:2008-06-04
Canyon Country, CA | Local TV comes in mighty handy when the mountains are on fire and you want to know where it's going next. I'm terrain sheilded and must use cable TV to watch my local channels.
There's a trend not mentioned of people in their late teens finding the internet quaint. Stuff goes in cycles. Plug and play rules. | |
|
| | | FBGuyPremium
join:2005-03-19
Evanston, IL Reviews:
·Comcast
·T-Mobile US
| Re: A pipe dream said by DavePR:Local TV comes in mighty handy when the mountains are on fire and you want to know where it's going next. I'm terrain sheilded and must use cable TV to watch my local channels. can you get AM radio? i would imagine that there are plenty of emergency am stations that can announce that stuff. | |
|
| | | 56403739Less than 5 months leftPremium
join:2006-03-08
Naples, FL
kudos:2 | Good luck with that cable when the fire burns through it... | |
|
|  BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | said by Nightfall:Until.... 1. Content you want to watch can be easily found. 2. The technology exists where you can watch it anytime you want. 3. The technology is easy to plug in and go. 4. The content is 720p, 1080i, or 1080p 5. All streams are 100% legal 6. The output to the TV is easy. You won't see the cord cutting happening widespread. Case in point, I love live sports. What I don't love is trying to find these live sports streamed over the internet. The Versus debacle on Directv is a good case in point. If I wanted to watch hockey on Versus, I had to find a stream for it. Browsing all over the place for the streams and then finding something that would lose its picture was just not acceptable. Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. | |
|
| |  NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·Comcast
 ·Callcentric
 ·Site5.com
1 edit | Re: A pipe dream said by BF69:said by Nightfall:Until.... 1. Content you want to watch can be easily found. 2. The technology exists where you can watch it anytime you want. 3. The technology is easy to plug in and go. 4. The content is 720p, 1080i, or 1080p 5. All streams are 100% legal 6. The output to the TV is easy. You won't see the cord cutting happening widespread. Case in point, I love live sports. What I don't love is trying to find these live sports streamed over the internet. The Versus debacle on Directv is a good case in point. If I wanted to watch hockey on Versus, I had to find a stream for it. Browsing all over the place for the streams and then finding something that would lose its picture was just not acceptable. Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. For $160 for the season AND blackout rules apply.
Remember, the whole idea behind cord cutting is to be able to view the same content on the TV like we do with DVRs today at the same quality level for free or at least a very limited cost. I don't know many people who would drop that kind of money to watch in a crappy format over the internet. Not only to the content providers need to get their crap together, but the internet speeds as a whole need to go up and the caps need to disappear.
--
My domain - Nightfall.net | |
|
| | | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: A pipe dream The expectation of getting everything for FREE is the biggest hinderance to getting more content online.
AND blackout rules apply. I live out of market. So for me $2 a game does not seem that outrageous. | |
|
| | bt
join:2009-02-26
canada
kudos:1 | said by BF69:The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. For out-of-market games only. | |
|
| | | | | Re: A pipe dream said by bt:said by BF69:The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. For out-of-market games only. Blackouts is the biggest reason why I am not going to cut the cord. When the sports leagues decide to drop their stupid blackout rules and put more of the games online. I'll cut it. | |
|
| | | | nsayer
join:2004-09-30
Santa Clara, CA | Re: A pipe dream said by tjb122982:Blackouts is the biggest reason why I am not going to cut the cord. When the sports leagues decide to drop their stupid blackout rules and put more of the games online. I'll cut it. You'll wait forever.
The purpose of the blackout rules is to insure that they have fans in the stadium to watch the game live. | |
|
| | | | | | | Re: A pipe dream said by nsayer:said by tjb122982:Blackouts is the biggest reason why I am not going to cut the cord. When the sports leagues decide to drop their stupid blackout rules and put more of the games online. I'll cut it. You'll wait forever. The purpose of the blackout rules is to insure that they have fans in the stadium to watch the game live. That's only the NFL. MLB's policy is based on protecting local broadcasters.
I can't watch the Cubs on either Extra Innings or MLB.tv because MLB wants to protect CSN Chicago but the thing is that Time Warner in Terre Haute doesn't carry CSN Chicago; and all my attempts to get my parents to switch to satellite have failed.
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Leag···t_policy | |
|
| | | | | | bt
join:2009-02-26
canada
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Start Communicat..
| Re: A pipe dream said by tjb122982:That's only the NFL. MLB's policy is based on protecting local broadcasters. Somewhat the same for the NHL, except they also use it to protect a team's territory. Without Center Ice, you can't watch most games that aren't national broadcasts (exempt from regional blackouts) or involve the team who's broadcast region you're in. | |
|
| |  espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2
·Vitelity VOIP
| said by BF69:Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. It's still no comparison to broadcast HD game coverage. It's great in a pinch, but it is only an acceptable alternative to broadcast HD if your standards are very low. | |
|
| | | NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI Reviews:
·Comcast
·Callcentric
·Site5.com
| Re: A pipe dream said by espaeth:said by BF69:Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. It's still no comparison to broadcast HD game coverage. It's great in a pinch, but it is only an acceptable alternative to broadcast HD if your standards are very low. This is the same for every stream I have found. Yes, I can watch Lost in HD right on ABC's website. No, I can't put it on my HDTV without getting some kind of TV out card or cable from my PC. As you said, its great in a pinch, but not where it needs to be.
The real cord cutting will happen eventually, but it will probably take 10-20 years.
--
My domain - Nightfall.net | |
|
| | | | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: A pipe dream said by Nightfall:said by espaeth:said by BF69:Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. It's still no comparison to broadcast HD game coverage. It's great in a pinch, but it is only an acceptable alternative to broadcast HD if your standards are very low. This is the same for every stream I have found. Yes, I can watch Lost in HD right on ABC's website. No, I can't put it on my HDTV without getting some kind of TV out card or cable from my PC. So what if you have to spend less than $100 on a card and HDMI cord? People pay that for just ONE month of cable. Also last time I checked ABC is a BROADCAST network surely you have a ABC station near you. | |
|
| | | BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | said by espaeth:said by BF69:Yeah the streams you found sucked because they were illegal. The NHL offers legal broadband streaming. It's still no comparison to broadcast HD game coverage. It's great in a pinch, but it is only an acceptable alternative to broadcast HD if your standards are very low. No my standards are not low. If paying $1000 a year or more in cable bills is worth getting hockey in the "HD" that is acceptable to you then more power to you. | |
|
| | | | espaethDigital PlumberPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Vitelity VOIP
| Re: A pipe dream said by BF69:No my standards are not low. If paying $1000 a year or more in cable bills is worth getting hockey in the "HD" that is acceptable to you then more power to you. On a 60" display the NueLion feeds are flat out painful to watch.
Between DirecTV and Shaw Direct (Canadian satellite) my bills are a bit north of $1k/year, but considering the cost of my Wild season tickets, even paying for Center Ice and basic service for both providers is the best value in the world. | |
|
| | | | | | | Re: A pipe dream Man, I am so lucky that I hate sports. | |
|
| | | | | | | | Re: A pipe dream said by gettagrip :
Man, I am so lucky that I hate sports.
+1
My only vice is WRC, and as far as I know, it's not aired in the states. | |
|
| | Cost reality check... I imagine that some households require that +$100/month subscription. But not the majority.
(Sports packages, 3 or more HDTV DVRs, PPV, ...) but some I know have cut the cord (due to cost and quality).
Extra box fees.
Almost bi-monthy channel re-org (under the guise WE ARE ADDING MORE CHANNELS).
Moving good channels to higher-cost tier.
Charging more per hour/per household.
Yes, the economy. I think the figure is more like 14% unemployed or greater number of employed with pay cuts, no more bonuses, and poor annual increase.
When salaries go down or flat, and prices get inflated...something is going to break.(Hopefully them before me!)
BTW, I cut the cord on FiosTV a year ago. How about you? | |
|
|  Steve MehsGun Control Is Using A Steady HandPremium
join:2005-07-16 | Re: Cost reality check... $100/month? Yeah right. My cable bill exceeds $300/month on a regular basis depending on what sports are in season. Digital cable with HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, Encore, Sports Tier, HD Tier, Latino Tier, NHL Center Ice, MLB Extra Innings, ESPN Game Plan, 2 HD DVRs, Road Runner Turbo and Digital Phone. Disney On Demand, Stern On Demand, the gay channel, the Russian channel, NBA League Pass, MLS Direct Kick and ESPN Full Court are the only services I don’t subscribe to.
quote:
Extra box fees.
Cable companies lease out hardware. They don't get the terminals free from Motorola or Cisco thus they charge a fee.
quote:
Almost bi-monthy channel re-org (under the guise WE ARE ADDING MORE CHANNELS).
quote:
Moving good channels to higher-cost tier.
For every one analog channel that is removed on put on digital, two HD channels can be added. That is a good thing for three reasons. 1) Bandwidth is used more efficiently 2) More HD channels 3) No more fuzzy analog channels. How and why people can want analog cable is beyond me. Plus this is 2010, the word 'analog' should be removed from the dictionary.
Analog removal and requiring digital terminals is a very good thing.
quote:
Charging more per hour/per household.
????  | |
|
 markofmayhemWhy not now?Premium
join:2004-04-08
Pittsburgh, PA
kudos:5
·Comcast
| Model isn't changing, delivery doesn't matter quote:
What happens when Apple, Google, or an unknown upstart finally creates a broadband TV service that provides an inexpensive, simple, a la carte alternative
Who knows, as Apple is not providing an inexpensive, simple, a la carte alternative. The show is a rental, 24 hours delayed, and more expensive. As I read another reporter say (paraphrasing, couldn't find source again): "If I watch 2 hours of TV with my wife per day and my kids watch 1 hour of TV per day, on a weekly average, it will cost me $90/month for Apple iTV's 720p only, 48 hour deleted rental, 24 hour delay after airing product, with no solution for live events, news, weather, or sports".
GoogleTV is NOT a product in competition with cable, sat, nor Apple's iTV. GoogleTV is just like Android for the cell phone (Android didn't knock off Sprint, nor Verizon, nor AT&T), it is nothing more than a gateway/interface to combine traditional pay-TV with Web 2.0 Google solutions. It is a marriage of cable and Youtube. Why would Google take the time to do this? Because Google is about to compete directly with Netflix, iTV, Amazon, etc. GoogleTV is in competition with Rovi, TiVo and Moxi.
People are choosing food over TV. This is great news! It is refreshing to see that in an economic downturn, TV is not increasing. Finally! It is the only way to correct the market for entertainment. Unfortunately, it has zero to do with how the 1's and 0's are sent to our homes to make images. QAM, 8PSK/QPSK, ATSC, IP... really? It makes a difference, huh? | |
|
 FrinkProfessorPremium
join:2000-07-13
Scotch Plains, NJ
1 edit | My expierence I haven't gotten a "bi-annual rate hike" hit in a very long time. Years. Once FIOS competition arrived to compete with cable company monopoly, my rates have gone down significantly - for vastly better service. I do need to sign contracts, but for zero price increases over the last two, and the foreseeable future, it's worth it. Sure I won't be cutting the cord anytime soon, but I need live football anyway, something my newsgroups have yet to provide a solution for 
Edit: forgot the no-contract changes recently. There goes the contract. | |
|
Reviews:
·ooma
·Optimum Online
 ·Verizon FiOS
| if your paying... more than $100 for triple play entry level is highway robbery... doesn't matter which company!
Yes, eventually consumers not locked into buying cable-tv because they can't get OTA for free plus a HPTC server for video aren't really getting the best value for the dollar. You overpay for set-tops, franchise fees, taxes (yes, they're in there somewhere), etc. More and more hardware are doing the streaming video feature... LCD-TVs, Blue Ray Players, Consoles, HTPCs, DVRs, probably even some HD Tuner boxes with the feature by now (for the analog tv hold-outs). Compare that with a dumb set-top which is a almost compeltely walled garden and makes you jump through hoops for vod, value added and other features.
All this is pointing to the cable companies & the entertainment industry being screwed in the coming years. They better get on the video distribution bandwagon sooner rather than later because about 25% of the residential footprint of the country (think population, not geography numbers), have 6+ megbits available to them.. and they will download for free if a competitive legal alternative isn't forthcoming. By competitive that doesn't necessarily mean FREE, but AT LEAST must fit the criteria as more user friendly than torrent hunting, lacking restrictive DRM, e t c . | |
|
Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·Optimum Online
·EarthLink
1 edit | Alternative = "OFF" button I canceled my overpriced Cablevision service. They were charging $54/month for a whopping 45 channels. Getting more channels would have raised my bill to over $80/month, just for TV.
Now I don't watch any TV.
I don't care about "alternatives", either. I simply don't watch TV at all. (Well, I downloaded a whole 3 pirated TV shows this year. Not 3 series. 3 episodes total.) | |
|
| | | Re: Alternative = "OFF" button I am finally going to cut the cord/feed/whatever in two months. I've had my DirecTV suspended while the wife is getting a new business up and running. I haven't looked back...neither of us have. I thought it was going to be difficult, but everything I want is online.
I am a sports junkie and while finding decent streams is a drag, at least I have my choice of WHATEVER game I want to watch. Between those streams, Netflix, and The Daily Show, I'm a happy camper. That's $90 staying in my pocket each month.
Being in the northeast, there's zero competition and even less quality service. I don't like my options so I'm letting my wallet do the talking to the companies. | |
|
| | | Was on TWC paying $140+ for 7mbps cable/mid-range package and two boxes. Stepped down to $75 with one cable box, basic cable with about 40 "free" HD - no internet. Got Clearwire (10-15Mbps) with Netflix/Hulu/Playon, dumped cable entirely and now pay about $50/month. Two friends saw my setup asking me to set them up - they are now officially cord cutters.
I can afford cable but can't justify paying $75/month when only interested in about 4 channels. I do miss Disc/NatGeo/History but just not worth it (many shows end up on Hulu or DVD rentals eventually). I'd go back to cable if they could figure out how to bundle just the channels I'm interested in at lower price. | |
|
| | Reviews:
·MetConnect
| Re: Alternative = "OFF" button I was looking at channel packages for both dish providers awhile back, you have to have the top teir HD package and/or SD channel package to get Natgeo.
Then this week i saw that Natgeo is on a satellite broadcast in the clear!! I was pissed! with the right dish a guy can get it free! then I found that history channel is in-the-clear too! dish/cable are robbers! | |
|
maubs
join:2010-02-26
Farmington, IL | Was THIS close to cutting the cord And then I moved to a house that can only get 650 kbps DSL service. Ugh! No streaming for me! | |
|
| BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: Was THIS close to cutting the cord said by maubs:And then I moved to a house that can only get 650 kbps DSL service. Ugh! No streaming for me! This is why people need to research about their broadband options BEFORE moving into a place. I'm not sure why they don't. | |
|
 jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Cutting the cord isn't always by choice cable companies lost 711,000 subscribers, which represents the biggest quarterly loss in cable TV's history. Six out of eight cable TV operators also reported their worst subscriber losses ever last quarter. Telcos and satellite TV providers were able to pick up some of those customers, posting combined gains of 495,000 subscribers. That still leaves 216,000 subscribers who cut the cord entirely.
And how many of those 216K households were evictions or non-payment shutoffs due to the awful economy?
It's just as silly to twist a news story to fit one's pipe dream of a free content broadband-driven media utopia that punishes those evil cable companies. | |
|
| 56403739Less than 5 months leftPremium
join:2006-03-08
Naples, FL
kudos:2 | Re: Cutting the cord isn't always by choice Actually...it is legitimate news that in this downturn people are dumping Pay TV. Previously it was thought to be recession-proof. | |
|
| | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Re: Cutting the cord isn't always by choice said by 56403739:Previously it was thought to be recession-proof. Resistant, yes. It's pretty inelastic demand. But when one no longer has a wall into which to plug their TV, recession-proof doesn't really apply. | |
|
| | | 56403739Less than 5 months leftPremium
join:2006-03-08
Naples, FL
kudos:2 | Re: Cutting the cord isn't always by choice Not a very good argument. Cable TV fees have gone up so much that they are almost an order of magnitude higher than back in the '80s when the last housing collapse happened. Most of the people losing their walls should never have bought them in the first place.
Consumers are finally starting to realize how idiotic paying over $100 a month to watch TV really is. The cable industry has done a stellar job addicting us to their product and slowly, steadily raising the price. Look at all the posts here acting like they'd die if they couldn't watch 100 sports events every week, or the latest cookie-cutter crap from MTV.
The cable novelty is starting to wear off, stolen by on-demand, Internet-based streaming services that you can watch anywhere...even where there isn't traditional pay TV service. It'll take awhile yet but the MVPDs are in trouble and they know it. | |
|
| | | | jester121Premium
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | Re: Cutting the cord isn't always by choice said by 56403739:Not a very good argument. Ditto. You're living in the same technology-centric dream world as Karl (and many other people on BBR) -- the unwashed masses have exactly zero interest in connecting their TV to a HTPC and hunting around the internet for on demand stuff, and then figuring out how to bypass the latest DRM flavor of the month to watch it in HD. When they aren't losing their jobs, most consider their TV or triple play just another utility and keep paying.
Don't forget, these idiots are the same people paying close to $100 per month for cell phone service + iPhone data package, and 3 years ago were the same idiots being chided here for paying $0.20 per text message.
said by 56403739:The cable novelty is starting to wear off, stolen by on-demand, Internet-based streaming services that you can watch anywhere...even where there isn't traditional pay TV service. It'll take awhile yet but the MVPDs are in trouble and they know it. Once again, nothing new here. Of course it will wear off. People don't have cable/satellite/uverse/fios because it's "novel", they have it because they figure it's part of life. And of course things will continue to evolve, just like every other part of our life. We better have some articles about the impending death of the auto industry -- personal flying vehicles are way better and right on the horizon. | |
|
| | So... It's just an assumption then that the lost cable subscribers are cord cutters using Internet video, and not people who can no longer afford any service, or people who had to move because of foreclosure or no longer being able to afford their mortgage in this economy? Or people who lost their jobs?
And the Internet video services are only going to be as good as the content providers will let them be. If Disney suddenly wants to force Internet video services to charge per subscriber if they want to carry ABC and ESPN shows, even if those subscribers don't watch, then where will all of this be?
That's what happens to cable, satellite, and telco TV right now. It would be naive to think that the content providers won't try to continue the same thing with the Internet if they lose TV revenue. | |
|
 funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:6 | My (not) cord-cutting plan I'm a TV junkie, but it's mostly older shows in re-runs and news/talk.
Next spring, I plan to cut back to the most basic tier cable-TV service for the local stations (there is very little OTA here). I'll supplement that with online video (free and Netflix), a budget for (mostly used) DVDs, and more activities out of the home (which is why I'm waiting until spring).
As a result, the cord won't get cut, but it will be significantly thinned.
--
Robb Topolski -= funchords.com =- Cape Cod, MA -- KE1MO
Tweet! Tweet! -- »twitter.com/funchords | |
|
| BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | Re: My (not) cord-cutting plan said by funchords:I'm a TV junkie, but it's mostly older shows in re-runs and news/talk. Next spring, I plan to cut back to the most basic tier cable-TV service for the local stations (there is very little OTA here). You're quite wrong about that. I see plenty of OTA in your area. You're not going to get it in with rabbit ears on the TV but OTA is doable. | |
|
| | funchordsHelloPremium,MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA
kudos:6 | Re: My (not) cord-cutting plan How far can I expect to get OTA from a transmitter site when I have no line of sight? Zip 02675 | |
|
bt
join:2009-02-26
canada
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Start Communicat..
| 216k is trivial That still leaves 216,000 subscribers who cut the cord entirely 216,000 sure seems like a big number, but it works out to under 0.2% of US households cutting the cord. (based on US Census Bureau projections for 2010 household count).
Yes, it's enough to show that cord cutters exist. It also shows that (for now), they are a trivial fraction of US households. It's less than the typical margin of error on this kind of statistics work. This is not the start of the TV revolution, it's standard quarterly fluctuations.
Oh, and the very article that points that number out also has this to say:
SNL Kagan expects the industry to gain a total of 900,000 subscribers in the third and fourth quarter. Internet video is very likely the future, but cable/satellite is definitely still the present. | |
|
| | | Re: 216k is trivial The economy sucks right now. How many of those 216k people made cut backs to do things like pay the light bill, or put food on the table? They probably have the lowest tier of internet so watching video is probably not the top of their list. | |
|
| | exsevenPremium,VIP
join:2003-05-23
L8E0G6
kudos:1 | Re: 216k is trivial How many cut the cord because they moved back home for the summer from college/university | |
|
 MoracCat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ
kudos:1
·Comcast
| Paying too much for cable After watching the Emmy's last night I obviously don't watch that much TV since I had no idea who many of the people who won or who were in the opening number were. That makes me wonder why I'm paying all this money for cable TV.
I probably watch a handful of channels, but have to subscribe to all channels to get them. I've very seriously considered dropping cable and using the Internet, but considering how often I have problems with the Internet in my area lately that's probably not likely to happen.
--
The Comcast Disney Avatar has been retired. | |
|
| | Really? It's a risk in coming years, yes. However, the difference in net sat/telco adds and net cable losses could be the number of middle-aged women who got married or began cohabiting, and gave up their seperate homes. Not an official cableco opinion, I'm low man on the totem pole. But it's not time to get hysterical yet. It's time to fix the business model before hysteria arrives. | |
|
| | | Re: Really? That's what AT&T was saying about VoIP back in the year 2000. Four years later they exited the consumer voice business and a few months later were gobbled up by SBC. | |
|
| | Antennas Sounds like a lot of people are shifting to antennas to get their TV.
Like Karl said, it's not broadband. Rather, people are realizing that they mostly just need the big four and they can get that OTA, in full quality with an inexpensive antenna. | |
|
kjpwv
join:2006-10-24
Fairmont, WV Reviews:
·Frontier Communi..
| I want to cut the cord, but... ... my connection is EVDO Rev A, a frontier  dsl box just went in up the road and comcast is almost here, but that does nothing for me today.
And even when I do get some land based solution there is still the sports problem. While watchable, sports streams (at my speeds at least) always suffer from some motion blur, and when the stream stutters, you miss game action.
Case in point - My Dish TV went out, the evening of the Super Bowl. We a heck of a winter and somehow the freeze thaws ate the connection to the ground block. Not that I knew that then, it was dark and the game was about to start. So I hit the net and the best quality I could find was a french stream, I don't care what language its in its football, I'll understand. The picture was good, just some motion blur, oh and NO COMMERCIALS. Seriously this is why it hasn't caught on in other places, 2/3 of the coverage was dudes just standing around. No wonder they think we are lazy.
There were typical stream problems, the occasional stutter, the need to reconnect, I enjoyed the game but keeping that feed up was more work than I wanted. With sports I want the easiest most thought free solution so I can enjoy the game, not wonder about the quality of the stream. My Dad bought access to college basketball games from CBS this year and that feed was total sh*t even over his office cable connection despite being a paid service.
So until they improve both my connection and the digital delivery of sports I'm keeping the cord. | |
|
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA | Except That Apple and Google are making it pretty clear that they WON'T be providing an inexpensive, simple, ala carte alternative.
CableSatelCo has nothing to worry about, and they know well that the average 2+ person household is not going to disconnect at any price.
While Generation Y and Z will grow up watching streams on 15" laptop screens, when they graduate high school, they will attend colleges that have discovered new revenue streams: mandatory dorm residency - with one flavor of "basic cable" for everyone - you'll pay for it whether you watch or not. | |
|
|
| | tv out card and whats the problem? 1999 said good buy aint looked back at cable or whatever | |
|
|
|
