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Comments on news posted 2014-05-30 12:26:17: Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, like many in the cable and broadcast industry, still doesn't think cord cutting is a real threat, now or ever. ..

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Chubbysumo
join:2009-12-01
Duluth, MN

9 recommendations

Chubbysumo

Member

I am a cord cutter

and I am offended at this assholes notion that we are all unemployed mommas boys living in a basement, and so should everyone else.

michieru
Premium Member
join:2009-07-25
Denver, CO

1 recommendation

michieru

Premium Member

!

What "is" cord cutting?

Is it the process of switching from a cable package over to just VOD from provider x?

If a user was able to access a large library of content and pay for what they want to watch via a cable box provided via the Cable provider does this constitute cord cutting as well?

Is the definition of cord cutting just simply going with an alternative solution vs a cable plan?

It's a very vague definition and I think the real debate here is whether or not we want to pay via al la carte vs channels. I can pay for "just" national geographic.

Whether in the short and long term I save any money is all based on what I am subscribed to. If I want anything and everything available I would most likely end up paying more.

However I think we need to define correctly what cord cutting is.

FreedomThink
@166.137.101.x

7 recommendations

FreedomThink to Chubbysumo

Anon

to Chubbysumo

Re: I am a cord cutter

I agree I work 50+ hrs a week and make close to 100k a yr and an cord cutter. I used to pay 200 for direct tv with nfl ticket and other sports packages.

They refuse to acknowledge the fact that people with money are choosing to stop paying for something that used to be entertaining but has been hijacked and no longer designed for entertainment.

If they had half the amount of ads and got rid of the propaganda in sports the entertainment value would return. It is pretty easy to see from bewkes comment that he is an elitest that doesn't understand that people won't accept this socialistic system and pay for it at the same time.

If your going to push ads and politics then give me free service otherwise I am not going to pay to listen to the propaganda. Companies used to have to conform to the interests of consumers. When did companies change to forcing consumers to conform to the interests of the companies? Any free thinking person can see these people are ruining society to push their agenda

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

1 edit

IPPlanMan

Member

You scared Jeff?

What an arrogant ass...

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
- Mahatma Gandhi

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

3 recommendations

TechyDad to michieru

Premium Member

to michieru

Re: !

Cord cutting is cancelling cable tv service and getting any video entertainment from OTA, Internet-based, or disc-based (DVD/Blu-Ray) sources. For example, I have Time Warner Cable. If I cancelled my TWC service and went with DirecTV, it wouldn't be cutting the cord. However, if I cancelled my TWC service and only used OTA, Netflix/Amazon, and my local library's DVD rentals, that would be cord cutting.

Cord nevers are people who never signed up for cable TV in the first place. I don't think this is a huge movement right now, but will only grow since the younger generation doesn't have the same view of video entertainment as the older generation did. Namely, that you watched shows on the days/times when the channel told you watch them and only on a television. Unless cable companies start innovating, they will lose the younger generation to other entertainment sources.
kaila
join:2000-10-11
Lincolnshire, IL

kaila to michieru

Member

to michieru
A cord cutter is someone who does not subscribe to a traditional pay CATV package, and typically gets their TV needs met through an old school over-the-air antenna, and/or an internet subscription providing access to IPTV or VOD programing.

Cord cutting is the action of canceling one's pay CATV subscription.

Kuro
@75.151.50.x

Kuro to TechyDad

Anon

to TechyDad
If anything I think Nevers are a shrinking breed because Comcast and the like advertise packages that have basic cable and internet at a lower price, for the first year or so, than just a plain internet. I know I am in this category even though the cable box is in a box in a closet unused.

fg8578
join:2009-04-26
San Antonio, TX

fg8578

Member

Denial: it's not just a river in Egypt!

As a telecom guy, I lived through the transition that saw millions of POTS customers "cut-the-cord" in favor of wireless and VoIP. It was real, and it was inevitable.

Having said that, pay-TV is a bit more complicated. Voice is a pretty simple service; Internet phone applications have been around since the mid-90s.

Streaming video is a little bit more complicated (but not much) and so I think older folks will stick with what they know, pay-TV, for now at least. Of course that is true of most new technologies and older folks, but eventually the stream of cord-cutters will become a rising tide. When that time comes, the cable TV companies had better embrace the change (as the telcos did, in fact they are trying to actively push people off old POTS service) or they will be left behind.

Bewkes is in denial, but he's probably just touting the company line.
kram1984j
join:2009-12-06

1 edit

kram1984j

Member

Article Title vs actual quotes??

How does "Once they take the mattress and get it off the floor, that's when they subscribe to TV," translate into "live with mom"?

Wouldn't it more likely translate into "once they have enough money to buy luxuries like furniture/etc" vs mattress on the floor like many people barely making ends meet?

Do that many middle-class kids usually have their mattress on the floor? I thought parents usually buy them beds...

Not that I disagree with any of the rest of the sentiments expressed, but I just don't see where the leap came to interpret the comment that way.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad to Kuro

Premium Member

to Kuro

Re: !

Good point. People like you might be classified as "invisible cable nevers" because you pay for TV service only because it is more expensive not to and because it would be impossible to count how numerous you are.
TechyDad

TechyDad to IPPlanMan

Premium Member

to IPPlanMan

Re: You scared Jeff?

They're fighting cord cutters now (while still trying to laugh at them) via caps and trying to charge Internet video providers extra to deliver data to the users. By doing this, they hope to make Internet video more expensive than cable. Because if you can't compete, use your monopoly to crush the competition.

cybah
join:2000-03-09
MA

cybah

Member

Wow

Hello, Clue phone? You need one buddy, you're so not in touch with your end users and customers it isn't even funny. See ya in 10 years when you're begging to be bailed out because you've spent so much time forcing video services that people are no longer subscribing to. See ya in bankruptcy court, asshat.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Reality

The scenario they should be very afraid of is one where pricing reaches a peak with their consumers and negotiations with content providers becomes increasing difficult to settle. Eventually content providers will stop doing business with the TV providers and finally offer their services directly to customers without forcing them to have a TV subscription service for access.

It's already beginning to happen now, and I only see this movement growing.

Although, the only way this will work is if steps are taken to ensure that the TV providers will not be able to use their captive customer base to force content providers to pay a toll, and the Wild West "rules" governing their ability to manipulate data however they see fit should be more strict, clear, and enforceable.
itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Carlisle, PA

itguy05

Member

Wife is the only reason

She's the only reason we have cable. Until I figure out how to get her shows (mainly network TV) easily into the house we have pay TV.

If I can crack that nut it's gone and we'll be Internet only.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

1 recommendation

djrobx to fg8578

Premium Member

to fg8578

Re: Denial: it's not just a river in Egypt!

Netflix is great, but it's missing sports and near-real-time programming (think contest shows like The Voice or local news). I know a lot of folks around here don't "give a f***" about those types of shows (to quote a post I saw on the last thread), but there's a social aspect to TV. People like to talk to friends and coworkers about what happened on the latest episode of The Walking Dead, or American Idol, or the last football game. If Netflix can figure out how to bring this type of programming into its fold, traditional TV will be in big trouble.

POTS is a good analogy though. POTS itself probably wouldn't have faced such a demise had it just adapted to its competition. I can get a voip line with unlimited nationwide calling and features galore for $150 for two years, why am I going to spend $50/month for pots and get nickel-and-dimed for things like caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail that now costs virtually nothing to offer? I suspect traditional TV will make the same mistake and refuse to compete.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

NormanS to fg8578

MVM

to fg8578
said by fg8578:

... I think older folks will stick with what they know ... Of course that is true of most new technologies and older folks ...

It has been twenty-five years since I turned forty. Yet here I am, a "cord never" who has been playing with computers since 1978, and signed up an online service in 1983.

I set up my first home LAN with SPX/IPX (Novell Personal Netware 1.0) on MS-DOS 6.22 with Windows 3.1, using 10Base2 ("ThinLAN").

My first attempt at running a media server was a crappy Java-based computer program (server) and a crappy third party Sony PS2 application (client). Not very good, a waste of money and time; but it did show the way to the future.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx to kram1984j

Premium Member

to kram1984j

Re: Article Title vs actual quotes??

I was wondering the same.

There's at least some logical correlation to mattresses on the floor and cord cutting. A mattress is perfectly functional on the floor, the frame and box spring are aesthetic luxuries. Both are things you might do to try and avoid spending money unnecessarily.

icp1
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Saint Louis, MO

icp1 to itguy05

Premium Member

to itguy05

Re: Wife is the only reason

OTA? We use over the air only and a DVR + netflix

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall to itguy05

MVM

to itguy05
said by itguy05:

She's the only reason we have cable. Until I figure out how to get her shows (mainly network TV) easily into the house we have pay TV.

If I can crack that nut it's gone and we'll be Internet only.

The WAF (wife acceptance factor) is a major thing. My wife loves network TV, the History Channel, Discovery Channel, and the Science Channel. That is one of the reasons why we have cable TV.

What I did is instead of fighting it, I embraced it. I built a Windows HTPC and used a silicondust cablecard tuner. Now, I don't pay mirroring fees to my televisions and I pay $100 a month for cable and internet. That has been my price for over three years. Even if I decide to drop cable TV and keep internet, I will only be saving about $40 a month.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to TechyDad

Member

to TechyDad

Re: !

I'm in the "cord-maybe" column where my Fios package is $10 more for 150 channels than simply internet. Outside of broadcast, no more than 5% of family viewing happens on pay tv--the rest the dearth of on demand streaming options..

So for $10 I get 150+ channels and I think that is a good deal. However I'm not so sure that the base price of just internet is fine. So I pay $79 for 2-play inc my cablecard. THATS IT.

The big distinction is that I don't get soaked w/ operator DVR/STB fees which when you read these forums most people say they are paying x amount but guess what if I payed the Verizon bounty for my 6 TVs that would be over $60 a month more taking my cost from $80 to $140... Not insignificant.

Now could Verizon have an app and eliminate STB/DVR today by using a Roku or Chromecast. Absolutely. And they don't because they make obscene margin on equipment and try to lock you in to their proprietary platforms. This new VMS stuff costs them even less than the last generation equipment, and guess what Verizon is charging $20 more to enter the game.

Nobody ever talks about the "actual" price which is what you pay every month, not the package price.

Why is he saying this...Well valuation. They don't want to say to Comcast you are buying a turd. It's all sunshine and roses. TWC trucks are like model T's in my area. I don't think I've seen a truck around in quite some time. We still have 2002 speeds here. Verizon has lapped them, so maybe they just go for the suckers.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad

Premium Member

said by elefante72:

I'm in the "cord-maybe" column where my Fios package is $10 more for 150 channels than simply internet. Outside of broadcast, no more than 5% of family viewing happens on pay tv--the rest the dearth of on demand streaming options..

I'm in a similar boat. Time Warner Cable gave us a good deal last time. We're essentially paying $50 a month for cable TV. Most of our watching is Netflix/Amazon Prime/Roku, but there are enough cable TV shows that we'd still want to watch if we cut the cord. Paying for them would eat into the $50 a month savings until cord cutting wasn't worthwhile. Once that deal expires, though, cord cutting might be completely viable. Especially given that we're getting more and more used to watching TV without relying on cable TV as our source.
said by elefante72:

Now could Verizon have an app and eliminate STB/DVR today by using a Roku or Chromecast. Absolutely. And they don't because they make obscene margin on equipment and try to lock you in to their proprietary platforms.

That's one good thing about Time Warner Cable. They have a nice app that lets you view channels - even some on demand channels - via your Roku box. So you could use your Roku as your cable box and avoid any set top box fees.

dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI

dnoyeB

Member

Cord cut

Mark one for Over 40, educated, and employed. Being slapped in the face with a $100 cable bill just doesn't work for me. Anyway, I'm an athletic outdoors type so it was inevitable.

Still, I think either he is ignorant, or purposely misleading. My expectation is that the people with the least money will be the last to cut. When you make enough money to consider actually doing something with it, then you start seriously evaluating how it is being spent.
amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus to Nightfall

Premium Member

to Nightfall

Re: Wife is the only reason

This is indeed the challenge for a great many people. That, and folks who feel the need to pay whatever it costs for sports.

Once done with Dish, I think our house will go with "basic" cable - there's a (Cox, but others have it) package without ESPN that looks ...reasonable... "Economy" I believe. In the range of $40/mo. and not well advertised, as they really want to foist the other packages on people. It's possible to add "preferred" internet + economy TV on their site, though not very obvious. Seems they've completely dropped the 'basic' options, which probably means they'll be shuffling most analog channels into oblivion soon.

If it were just me, I'd be fine with just my antenna. Was just fine with it for some time, in fact.

If it weren't for Dish giving us a deal right now, I'd have had no problem paying the ETF and being done with them. As things stand now, it stays for at least another few months (much to my chagrin). Even with HBO, the total cable + internet bill from Cox would be at least $30/mo. less.
broadbandmav
join:2014-01-08
New Rochelle, NY

broadbandmav

Member

Sadly..

It's the executives of these monopolies who are most disillusioned with the actual reality of consumer interests.

Not sure if it is by choice, or that they are simply misinformed.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena to itguy05

Premium Member

to itguy05

Re: Wife is the only reason

said by itguy05:

She's the only reason we have cable. Until I figure out how to get her shows (mainly network TV) easily into the house we have pay TV.

If I can crack that nut it's gone and we'll be Internet only.

I showed my wife we could save over a THOUSAND dollars per year by cutting cable. She was like: Why do we still have it?

She knows how to use Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer on my media center setup, and the only thing she was bummed about is that OWN (Oprah) isn't on any on-demand stuff yet. But the fact we could save a thousand dollars a year weighed in a lot more.... so we'll wait till Oprah's stuff does come to hulu or some other form of online viewing.

gigahurtz
Premium Member
join:2001-10-20
USA

gigahurtz

Premium Member

It's this arrogance by the cable industry that frustrates me!

The arrogance of this CEO is exactly why I look forward to the day I can cut the cord (waiting on my wife!). It's really absurd the way cord cutters are talked about and how the cable industry really does have most of us by the you know what.
itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Carlisle, PA

1 recommendation

itguy05 to amungus

Member

to amungus

Re: Wife is the only reason

quote:
This is indeed the challenge for a great many people. That, and folks who feel the need to pay whatever it costs for sports.
Not I. If all pro sports stopped tomorrow it wouldn't affect me in the least. Let those that enjoy it fund the stadiums, channels, etc.

JakCrow
join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA

JakCrow

Member

For the price of pay TV service....

You could get 5 to 10 different VOD services, and use any number of free online streaming options, not to mention the networks' own websites. But you can also get a lot of content for less as well. You have to decide how much immediate gratification is worth to you.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

1 recommendation

elray

Member

Keep beating that drum...

And to think it was only yesterday that Karl actually published data affirming that cord cutting is... but a notion.

Let us also take note that this is a content company, not a cable firm speaking.
They are the ones fully in control of how their product is viewed - if they felt they could make money selling to "cord cutters" or "cord nevers", they would.

For the record, should anyone actually read the article, not once does Bewkes state that Cord Cutters Live With Mom; that notion lives only in the mind of our editor.

What Bewkes does not address, is why those fresh out of the nest don't subscribe pay-tv - the entry price is the same, whether one lives alone, or in a household of six, and even if in the latter situation, with housemates, managing a six-way split on a cable bill is just unforgiving. (I regularly witness the dramatic unraveling of such arrangements in line at the cable office.)

I suspect they've run the numbers, and determined while a new delivery model could capture some "cord nevers" and the newly cord-cut, they wouldn't make any additional profit, and eventually, the new line would sabotage existing sales.

carpetshark3
Premium Member
join:2004-02-12
Idledale, CO

carpetshark3 to gigahurtz

Premium Member

to gigahurtz

Re: It's this arrogance by the cable industry that frustrates me!

We are Nevers. Not living at parents' homes. That idiot hasn't learned that a good book and your imagination is more effective than just sitting there.

I got insulted years ago by a cable sales idiot who bothered me on the phone. Since then, I've boycotted the whole shebang. We've never had cable. Don't want cable.
We have better things to do, and we entertain ourselves with projects and hobbies.

I do subscribe to MLB on the Roku. I used to listen to any game I could find on cross country trips and I happen to like baseball. I can get PBS on the Roku too. I work on digitizing, photo editing and other crafts on the computer while watching.
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