Is Cable going the way of the Dinosaur

[low-key]

yes, I still have it, but its over priced and there are better options, Im just comfortable with it, but this relationship is on its last days

 

[dotfurio]

I haven't had cable for years. I have netflix, hulu, and amazon prime, and purchase seasons of shows from amazon if I can't stream then anywhere else. I get HBO for a couple months in the summer to catch up on those series.

It seems like my youngest and all her friends pretty much just watch youtube. I wonder what will happen as they grow up - will they change to watching the usual tv shows or will tv shows change to lure them in?

 

[kdonnel]

It is and people will not be happy with the replacement waiting in the wings.

I have not had traditional cable or satellite TV for several years now but think the early golden years of streaming is coming to an end.

In the very near term you will be forced to subscribe to multiple streaming services to get all the channels you want at a cumulative cost that is the same or greater then what you would have paid a traditional cable or satellite company.

Disney is pulling content from other steaming services to create their own streaming service.

WarnerMedia is doing the same.

AT&T is creating a streaming service to compete with their own streaming service again leveraging unique content, HBO.

We are doomed!

 

[barkley]

AT&T is creating a streaming service to compete with their own streaming service again leveraging unique content, HBO.

i was at the local at&t store to pay my bill and the direct tv ads were running non stop on the screens. i made a comment to the clerk that i suspected people would be dropping hbo like crazy when game of thrones ends. he replied that they were getting specific training on how to market direct tv w/o using hbo as an incentive b/c they anticipate the same.

 

[L&Lfan]

Sticking with Comcast and my DVR . I’m old (59) and don’t watch much TV in general. I don’t even understand much of the previous posts.

 

[powellrj]

I am a shut-in so I watch lots of tv. I don’t like the direction tv is taking. We just dropped U-verse and picked up att direct. I miss my U-verse, but it was getting hard to watch because it was always going off.

We have Netflix, Hulu and amazon prime so the grandkids have something to watch when they visit. They got me watching YouTube, so I watch the ones I am subscribed to everyday.

 

[firefly_ris]

I dunno, haven't had cable since 2006.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

UNC basketball & Tampa Rays baseball are the reasons we subscribe to cable/satellite. We also watch the Miami Dolphins, but we could watch them on antenna. We have multiple other options to watch movies & TV shows. If there was a reliable way to see the Rays play & watch + record the Heels games, we'd get rid of cable. Until that's possible, cable/satellite is a priority.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

i was at the local at&t store to pay my bill and the direct tv ads were running non stop on the screens. i made a comment to the clerk that i suspected people would be dropping hbo like crazy when game of thrones ends. he replied that they were getting specific training on how to market direct tv w/o using hbo as an incentive b/c they anticipate the same.

That's funny. I loved Directv & have never seen one episode of Game of Thrones. I loved it for their sports options. We had to switch to cable, when we moved, because AT&T internet is slow here. We keep hoping AT&T will improve their internet speed in our area, so we can go back to Directv.

 

[NotUrsula]

Cable as we know it? Yes. Paying for most TV programming? Nope.

The model is shifting, but within the very near future even less programming will be available free of charge than ever before. Paywalls are going up all over the 'net, and if you want ad-free TV, you're going to have to pay for it one way or another.

The new model is going to be more democratic in the sense that it will reach more households as people cherry-pick the programming that they want to watch, but almost none of it will be fully sponsor-supported. I've had a TV package for about a decade now, but I've never been willing to pay for premium channel packages. I'm willing to wait and buy program seasons after they air; it's much less expensive and I get to keep my favorites to watch any time I like.

 

[Meriweather]

No cable was available where we lived in WA, so we had BUD and then DISH network.....creature of habit and what I am used to (and old), so I tend to stick with what I know, so we still have DISH

 

[dclpluto]

yes, I still have it, but its over priced and there are better options, Im just comfortable with it, but this relationship is on its last days

I don’t think there is better options. Cheaper yes better no. Why do you think the other options is better?

 

[kdonnel]

I don’t think there is better options. Cheaper yes better no. Why do you think the other options is better?

Streaming services have many advantages over traditional satellite or cable.

1. I have unlimited recording storage
2. I don’t have to worry about a local failure in my house causing recordings to not record since all recording is done by my provider. For example last year I had a two day power outage due to a storm. When I got power again all the shows that aired were properly recorded and available to watch.
3. I can travel to other areas temporarily and get access to different content via location aware channel lists.
4. All my content is cloud stored so it is all available no matter where I go.
5. I can watch all content using different devices such as phone, tablet, or television and switch mid show if i want.
6. My provider allows each person on the plan to have their own unlimited storage library. So I don’t have to wade through my kids shows to find mine and they don’t have to do the same.
7. On demand and recorded content is presented in a unified manner. Forget to record a series from the beginning? No problem. Hit record and instantly any on demand versions are available and seemelssly integrated with recorded versions while the provider records any future airings.
8. Not having a guide grid. I thought his would be a negative but it has been freeing. I pay no attention to what is in what channel when. I only watch things I have recorded even though live is an option.
9. A slight savings in electricity. No spinning hard drives in my chromecasts. They use much less power then a cable box.

Being strapped to a TV and a cable or satellite box seems so archaic now. I would feel as dirty as I do when I am forced to touch a DVD or BluRay.

 

[sam_gordon]

i was at the local at&t store to pay my bill and the direct tv ads were running non stop on the screens. i made a comment to the clerk that i suspected people would be dropping hbo like crazy when game of thrones ends. he replied that they were getting specific training on how to market direct tv w/o using hbo as an incentive b/c they anticipate the same.

Please explain. HBO has been around a LOT longer than GoT. So why would you think a single show ending would then have a massive amount of people dropping a channel?

To the original point of the thread, I say newspapers are still around. So are books and magazines. I think we are a long way from cable, much less satellite, TV becoming extinct.

 

[Hikergirl]

I still have it because I need my landline and it is cheaper for me to bundle than to cut off TV entirely.
We rarely watch it though, we watch Netflix, Amazon and for Christmas my ds is getting Spotify. Since he's a student the bundle Hulu and Showtime with it so I'll end up watching those too.

 

[kdonnel]

Please explain. HBO has been around a LOT longer than GoT. So why would you think a single show ending would then have a massive amount of people dropping a channel?

I only add HBO as an option while GoT is airing. As soon as the season ends, I drop the channel. I do the same for other premium channels that offer original content.

 

[kimblebee]

I hope not. Streaming options suck in Canada so we’d miss out on a lot. Plus, I like channels over individual shows. Plus plus, I watch a lot of live sports..doesn’t seem like anyone offers streaming for that.

 

[dhardawa]

My problem is that if I drop cable, my internet prices go sky high because everything is bundled. If I could find a way around that, I’d drop cable in a heartbeat.

 

[Toolulu22]

We ditched Cable years ago. Since then, we 1. Have saved thousands of dollars. 2. Watch much less programming in general. 3. What we do watch is specific to our interests. We don’t miss the old style of tv viewing at all.

 

[Floridaman999]

When I tried to get just internet with Comcast recently I was given a better price if I included cable channels as well. This wasn't one of their 12 month or 24 month packages, this was just the regular price. The rep explained that Comcast can get more money from the content providers based on how many channel customers they have. That was the reason given to me as to why it was cheaper to include basic channels in my package. I'd have just gone with internet alone but it was cheaper to get cable with it. I do think cable is a dying breed, but I also worry about what the lack of net neutrality is going to do to our streaming options in the future.