  ArgMeMatey
join:2001-08-09 Milwaukee, WI
·AT&T Midwest
| reply to cooldude9919 Re: No Escape
Given that this {is/will be} the first large scale recession in the modern era of subscription TV, TV providers will feel plenty of deflationary pressure. Triple play is just marketing to the lazy, and Darwin says people get less lazy when money gets tight.
It's hard to imagine anybody with working legs treating cable TV as the equivalent of water, sewer, electric, telephone, or even internet service. Most of what TV does in my home is take up space and time. Why should I pay for that if I can't pay my other bills?
Deadbeat subscribers aren't going to see a big need to pay these bills, since the worst that can happen is the service gets shut off and there's an unenforceable money judgment on record.
When Joe Sixpack gets laid off, he is going to buy an antenna and a converter box and cancel cable.
Advertisers will see lower subscriber numbers and with their own lower profits, will demand lower rates or walk away. A few networks will fold or merge. The best will consult their cost accountants and actuaries, and they will change their terms to maintain a positive growth curve despite lower overall profits. -- USNG: 16TDN2870 Find your Lat-Long: Geocoder |