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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Protecting revenue

Caps are the industry's answer to net neutrality as they cannot throttle Netflix or charge Netflix (or other Internet video services) for access to their cable plants. Comcast, Time Warner, and other cable companies are TV providers as their core business. Being an ISP and phone company are like a side business to them. It's like a tavern that makes most of its money from drink sales but has a food offering to compliment their drinks. In Biddeford, ME there is a place called Mulligans that is mostly a bar but they have food as well and the reason they sell a whole plate of food for under $5 is they burn you on the drinks like nearly $3 for a soda with no free refills. I compare that to a cable ISP is they offer broadband at reasonable prices but they burn you on the TV so if you don't buy TV they charge more. I see using Internet video on a cable ISP like bringing your own drink to Mulligans where the drinks subsidize the food.

I am pretty sure eventually the cable ISPs will refuse to sell standalone Internet and require a minimum TV purchase although I will remain neutral on that issue. Verizon did the same by requiring a phone line to get DSL.

If you subscribe to basic cable ($5.76 in my area), it puts you on the books as a video subscriber and you get the cheaper Internet prices.

Like I've said before, they have the same infrastructure costs regardless of the products a subscriber subscribes to.

I just don't understand what is behind all the cord cutting. When I was young, many people gladly subscribed to cable. I was excited when I first got cable and I never looked back.

It would be nice if I could watch TV on my iPad, it will be nice when Comcast launches AnyPlay in my area.
34764170 (banned)
join:2007-09-06
Etobicoke, ON

34764170 (banned)

Member

And here is the third sucker posting on schedule.

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

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I just don't understand what is behind all the cord cutting. When I was young, many people gladly subscribed to cable. I was excited when I first got cable and I never looked back.

What don't you understand?

That $5.76 cable package doesn't get you anything other than the same stuff most people can get OTA. The way things are headed it won't even get you clearQAM HD locals. Nope, you'll need to rent a cable box. Oh, you wanted a DECENT cable box? Well, there's a monthly fee for that!

If you care about TV at all, chances are you want, at a minimum, a basic digital cable package with most of the popular networks. That's probably going to cost you over $50 per month. You want DVR equipment to go with it, that's going to be more. God help you if you're a sports fanatic.

Or you can get an internet connection, a PlayStation 3/SmartTV pay Netflix $8 per month, and get access to a wonderful library of commercial free programming. Sure, you may be a season or two behind those people with "real" TV service, but while you wait, you can easily find something else to get hooked on. It CATERS to someone who wants to watch all 176 "Deep Space Nine" episodes. It'll keep track of where you left off, even if you want to pick up and keep watching on a different device (like, your iPad).

It really makes pay TV services look bad.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to IowaCowboy

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Caps are the industry's answer to net neutrality as they cannot throttle Netflix or charge Netflix (or other Internet video services) for access to their cable plants.

Netflix, YouTube and the like are internet sites and services that the people want. Why should Cable companies be able to charge access "to their network"? WE'RE PAYING THEM TO GIVE US ACCESS TO THESE SERVICES. That's what WE pay them for. They've gotten this idea that they "own" us "Customers" and they have the right to charge Internet sites for "access" to us.

This is EXACTLY why Internet Neutrality IS necessary. Otherwise they would filter/throttle/block THEIR OWN CUSTOMERS from getting the services THEY'VE ALREADY PAID FOR.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

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cable cutting is on the rise but its not dominant. Even young people (think college sports jocks) will subscribe to tv and often high costs are not problem because they split the bills with roomates.

I myself added uverse tv to my existing u-verse internet but I got it with promotion locked for 1 year so I pay for tv basically $30 a month. It includes HD, DVR, and 200 channels. Now I have access to HBO and HBOGO, for now for free for a few months, later subscribe only when my favorie series are broadcasted. Sure, I could save money and pirate from torrent sites or usenet. But I don't wanna do that. The only thing I skipped is obviously u-verse voice because I already pay bill for wireless cell phone. The only thing that mostly annoys me in bills are surcharges or taxes. In Chicago alone, cell phone taxes are close to 20%. And some of those for TV and Internet add up too.