 NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
 ·Comcast
 ·Callcentric
 ·Site5.com
| When times are tough, sacrifices must be made With unemployment still very high, it is not surprising to see people tightening their belts. I know four such households here who are switching from traditional cable/satellite TV to OTA antenna and Netflix. I had lunch with one of these people last week and he said that the service was too expensive. Of course this is the same guy who goes to the bar 2 times a week and drops $40 each day, but I digress. 
These aren't the cord cutters that are getting their content from the internet or torrent sites. Maybe a thousand of those people are, but not the whole enchilada. A bulk of them just can't afford it or have better things to spend their money on. The cable and satellite companies would do well to take note of this situation. It is only going to get worse until the economy rebounds.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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 BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | It's not just the pricing it's what you get for the pricing. Even if they cut the pricing in half is it still worth it? I think more and more people would say no.
Here's the irony. Traditional content makers want to kill off things like Netflix because they think cable/satellite is the only way to make money. Well guess what my son who has never been much of a TV watcher has been watching season 5 of Breaking Bad on AMC. Now you know why he is watching that? Because seasons 1-4 where available on Netflix. If he didn't have those first 4 seasons available he never would be watching it on TV now. I'm sure my son isn't the only person that has done that. |
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Reviews:
·Time Warner Cable
 ·Verizon FiOS
·voip.ms
| reply to Nightfall
Cutting off cable is the last thing to go (even above internet). Phone is the first because it can be easily replaced. They are actually adding phone subs though (3 play bundling at prices of 2 play). That is to stop the bleeding they were having.
What nobody mentions is that there is a major competition for peoples entertainment budget, including the internet. I may spend 8 hours a day on the net, and 30 min watching TV, and 1 hour watching netflix. Then there is gaming, consuming on tablets, tweets, FB, (reading, mags, games), music, and just being. So out of my day 30 minutes of broadcast is not worth $60 when I actually watch more on Netflix for $8 and actually consume it more.
So what cable guys aren't saying is that steam, ipads, netflix, web are all siphoning business from them.
Economically speaking content falls under substitution (it's not really that unique and the model is from the 40's), and people are just substituting TV for other forms of entertainment. The water cooler is gone, so the social pressure of "conforming" is gone too.
I just had dinner w/ 3 groups of friends and the discussion of what we watched came up--six people. Maybe 2-3 people agreed upon ONE show (think it was batchelor) and THAT was it. 10-15 years ago that was different. If you missed Friends there was something wrong with you. Today nobody cares. I'm watching Miami Vice on Netflix.
Since cable is not innovating and raising prices, they are going to bear the shotgun that blows up in their face. If Aereo flies, it will blow up the cable model. Cable will have a hard time innovating because like Sony they are also in the content business and that means consumer unfriendly DRM. Take a look at Sony's latest earnings....
Cable can clamp usage for a time (imaginary caps), but there will be major backlash on that too and wifi and the like will go after them. |
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 GbcueP.E.Premium
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA
kudos:8 | reply to BF69
I did that. My friend starting watching BrBa and it was on Netflix. I checked it out and got hooked, but I already had cable and AMC... |
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NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI Reviews:
·Comcast
·Callcentric
·Site5.com
| reply to BF69
said by BF69:It's not just the pricing it's what you get for the pricing. Even if they cut the pricing in half is it still worth it? I think more and more people would say no.
Here's the irony. Traditional content makers want to kill off things like Netflix because they think cable/satellite is the only way to make money. Well guess what my son who has never been much of a TV watcher has been watching season 5 of Breaking Bad on AMC. Now you know why he is watching that? Because seasons 1-4 where available on Netflix. If he didn't have those first 4 seasons available he never would be watching it on TV now. I'm sure my son isn't the only person that has done that.
Without the content makers, Netflix wouldn't have Breaking Bad. In fact, Breaking Bad wouldn't be around at all without AMC. I think there is going to be a change in the way content is made eventually. Until then, every cable TV subscription and advertisement and DVD box set sale goes toward the making of these shows.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny YoursPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI Reviews:
·Comcast
·Callcentric
·Site5.com
| reply to elefante72
said by elefante72:Cutting off cable is the last thing to go (even above internet). Phone is the first because it can be easily replaced. They are actually adding phone subs though (3 play bundling at prices of 2 play). That is to stop the bleeding they were having.
What nobody mentions is that there is a major competition for peoples entertainment budget, including the internet. I may spend 8 hours a day on the net, and 30 min watching TV, and 1 hour watching netflix. Then there is gaming, consuming on tablets, tweets, FB, (reading, mags, games), music, and just being. So out of my day 30 minutes of broadcast is not worth $60 when I actually watch more on Netflix for $8 and actually consume it more.
So what cable guys aren't saying is that steam, ipads, netflix, web are all siphoning business from them.
Economically speaking content falls under substitution (it's not really that unique and the model is from the 40's), and people are just substituting TV for other forms of entertainment. The water cooler is gone, so the social pressure of "conforming" is gone too.
I just had dinner w/ 3 groups of friends and the discussion of what we watched came up--six people. Maybe 2-3 people agreed upon ONE show (think it was batchelor) and THAT was it. 10-15 years ago that was different. If you missed Friends there was something wrong with you. Today nobody cares. I'm watching Miami Vice on Netflix.
Since cable is not innovating and raising prices, they are going to bear the shotgun that blows up in their face. If Aereo flies, it will blow up the cable model. Cable will have a hard time innovating because like Sony they are also in the content business and that means consumer unfriendly DRM. Take a look at Sony's latest earnings....
Cable can clamp usage for a time (imaginary caps), but there will be major backlash on that too and wifi and the like will go after them.
Excellent post!
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to elefante72
said by elefante72:Cutting off cable is the last thing to go (even above internet). I'd cut cable before internet. I can replace TV to an extent. OTA, Netflix etc. If you cut internet how do you replace that? |
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| reply to elefante72
Exactly, it is about consumption. People are willing to pay for the service, they just don't view a majority of the channels. It is not just about the money, but what content they want tailored to them. And as you said to paraphrase, people have other "content options" vying for their attention.
People are willing to cancel cable, yet most have a higher cell phone bill. And they are unwilling to part with that ?! It may be a matter of importance, but if it boils down to expense, then why not remove that and/or trim down both ?! |
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Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to BF69
My cable bill has been on a steady increase over the past 5 years.
All the best promo was: $89 - 100 afterwards
$100 -> $109 --> $121 --> $129 --> $139 -> $150
Loss of channels (analog gone to digital)
Shorter 'programming' season (more repeats, less quality programming)
More 'junk' channels |
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