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Comcast Downplays TV Cord Cutters
CEO Roberts: 'not any real evidence' of people moving to Internet video

As we recently explored, Internet video currently isn't much of a threat to the multi-billion-dollar traditional TV broadcast industry -- though it's only a matter of time before faster broadband and easy, cheap devices and services more seriously challenge old-school TV. Most "cable guys" are infinitely confident in their ability to hold off the Internet video challenge, and Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is no exception. Speaking at The Cable Show this week, Roberts downplayed the threat of people cutting the TV cord, and then immediately seemed to admit it was still a threat:

quote:
"There’s not any real evidence that [consumers] want to get rid of my distribution, whether it’s satellite, cable, or phone, and just go to the Internet"...But the Comcast chief said that he has expressed concerns about cord cutting, and noted that he has had previously expressed more alarm about the trend than one of his top lieutenants, Comcast COO Steve Burke. "This is where Steve Burke and I are very different people. He wakes up every day, and the glass is half full. I wake up every day and the sky is falling," Roberts said.
Of course it's not so much a matter of cynicism as it is one of logic. Cable carriers (Comcast in particular) continue to have the lowest consumer satisfaction rates across any industry. They continue to impose bi-annual rate hikes on their customers. Should someone come along with a cheap, easy service that makes it simple enough for regular users to bypass cable operators -- it seems very hard to believe there won't be a number of people ready to make that migration -- eventually.

Meanwhile, Comcast's attempt to keep these supposedly non-existent cord cutters from cord cutting is called TV Everywhere -- which as we've discussed provides existing TV customers only with a limited selection of paywalled TV content. Early reactions were somewhat mixed, but Roberts says there should be a new version of the platform arriving sometime in the next 90 days.

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Mizzat
Will post for thumbs
Premium Member
join:2003-05-03
Atlanta, GA

3 recommendations

Mizzat

Premium Member

I'm a cord cutter

Happily enjoying my free OTA and Hulu shows while paying my $0/month TV bill. The cable isn't even attached to the pole anymore, truely off the grid as far as TV is condernd.

I even have a home built PVR to record those favorite shows I or the Mrs. miss in 1080i or 720p and full surround sound glory. All for free!