One in eight to cut cable & satellite TV in 2010

[Smokey]

Going without cable or satellite is unthinkable to many Americans -- just over 90% of U.S. households subscribe to some form of pay TV. But just as mobile phones have replaced many customers' land-line service, analyst at Yankee Group said on-demand Internet video will soon whittle that 90% figure down.

One in eight consumers will eliminate or scale back their cable, satellite or other pay-TV service this year, according to a new study released this week by Yankee Group.

The study, which was the result of a survey of pay-TV operators and more than 6,000 U.S. consumers, found that many will choose to drop premium channels or cut their service down to a basic package, while others will choose to cut off their service completely.

The biggest reason why customers will cut the cord, according to the study, is the growing cost of pay-TV service. Cable and satellite viewers pay an average of $71 per month, and they receive an average annual price hike of 5%, according to research firm Centris.

Broadcasters like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have traditionally cost cable and satellite providers nothing to retransmit, since they are offered for free over the air anyway. But lately, broadcast television networks have demanded -- and have received -- fees for their programming comparable to other cable networks. These higher costs will ultimately drive more consumers to cut their pay-TV service -- especially for non-sports fans.

As most sports are still watched on television, and since sports programming makes up as much as 50% of a pay-TV provider's costs, customers who are not sports fans are essentially paying half of their cable or satellite bill on channels in which they have no interest.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/30/technology/dropping_cable_tv/

[Feanor]

Going without cable or satellite is unthinkable to many Americans -- just over 90% of U.S. households subscribe to some form of pay TV. But just as mobile phones have replaced many customers' land-line service, analyst at Yankee Group said on-demand Internet video will soon whittle that 90% figure down.

One in eight consumers will eliminate or scale back their cable, satellite or other pay-TV service this year, according to a new study released this week by Yankee Group.

The study, which was the result of a survey of pay-TV operators and more than 6,000 U.S. consumers, found that many will choose to drop premium channels or cut their service down to a basic package, while others will choose to cut off their service completely.

The biggest reason why customers will cut the cord, according to the study, is the growing cost of pay-TV service. Cable and satellite viewers pay an average of $71 per month, and they receive an average annual price hike of 5%, according to research firm Centris.

Broadcasters like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have traditionally cost cable and satellite providers nothing to retransmit, since they are offered for free over the air anyway. But lately, broadcast television networks have demanded -- and have received -- fees for their programming comparable to other cable networks. These higher costs will ultimately drive more consumers to cut their pay-TV service -- especially for non-sports fans.

As most sports are still watched on television, and since sports programming makes up as much as 50% of a pay-TV provider's costs, customers who are not sports fans are essentially paying half of their cable or satellite bill on channels in which they have no interest.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/30/technology/dropping_cable_tv/
I have no statistic for here in Canada but I know the situation is generally similar -- except that there are no, (nada, zero), low cost options as there seem to be state-side.

I'm not a sports watcher consequently don't subscribe to sports packages but there is still plenty of sports -- plus heck of a lot of other stuff that I just don't watch. "Other stuff" includes French language channels and "basic" HD though I have no HDTV set. I'm paying almost $90/mo for what is bearly more than minium coverage: it's not good value, IMO.

Now that I'm retired I don't have money to give to Bell TV or Rogers just so their shareholders can stay rich. Something's got to give.

[thekid]

I am sure the economic downturn is playing a major factor here. Just as when a gallon of gas hit $4 people discover that things they once though of as necessities were really luxuries they could do without. If the economy comes back or cable lowers their prices they will be back.

[Smokey]

I have no statistic for here in Canada but I know the situation is generally similar -- except that there are no, (nada, zero), low cost options as there seem to be state-side.

Threr are not too many low cost options in state side either unless you want to get into yearly contract. I was one of the lucky ones. I disconnected my [comcast] cable two years ago and took the cable box back, but they forgot to disconnect my cable. So I been getting 100 analog channels for free :)


If the economy comes back or cable lowers their prices they will be back.

Not according to the study. the sudy said the availability of contents on internet and increase in internet capable devices will further erode cable/sattelite subscribers base :)

[Mr Peabody]

I wonder where they get 90%? When they were first planning to turn off the analog stations I saw a quote of only 80% subscribing to pay viewing. Although, not too many stations have taken advantage there is actually more potential for free TV now that the stations are HD. HD allows for more than one station at a frequency, similar to HD radio. Our PBS affiliate sure has expanded though we have 4 or 5 now. One being a 24 hours PBS Kids. I'll be an over the air statistic if I ever have a riff with Dishnetwork, because I will not use Directv and I will never use Charter cable again. My only alternative will be if U-verse ever hits the neighborhood.

I wonder if this story is what really prompted all the talk of turning off free TV? All the cable companies need is some lobbyists walking through the congress pumping money into pockets.

[errol van]

I discontinued my home phone, dish network, and internet service when I got layed off in sept 2009! I watch dvd movies, and have a blackberry for phone service, email, and internet which saves me about $200 per month! I don't miss the services one bit!

[pixelthis]

I discontinued my home phone, dish network, and internet service when I got layed off in sept 2009! I watch dvd movies, and have a blackberry for phone service, email, and internet which saves me about $200 per month! I don't miss the services one bit!

Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
When I was "let go" in 2009 I didnt discontinue anything, always found a way to scrimp by.
I would rather deep six the BERRY, and do without that paticular service.
But to each his own.
Me, I will be in a ditch with a laptop, getting wi-fi from the Krystal before I quit
the net.:1:

[Glen B]

Count me among the one out of eight who will not be cutting cable TV/Internet service unless Hell freezes over.

[Smokey]

Count me among the one out of eight who will not be cutting cable TV/Internet service unless Hell freezes over.

I could do without Cable as I have done it before, but never could do without Internet. Unfortunately in some households, those two are bundled together.

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah, the internet would be more difficult as we are tied to it for banking, shopping, research and just fun. We could go back to the old way but the net is sure convenient and fun.

[Smokey]

Yeah, the internet would be more difficult as we are tied to it for banking, shopping, research and just fun.

Looks like we have to be tied to it physically also :)

It seem for foreseeable future, our house have to be connected to a fix land line (be it cable or phone) one way or the other because of Internet. I could save about 50% by dropping my phone line and using a cellphone only, but Internet (DSL) comes with telephone.

[Hyfi]

Well I am already in the minority. I have always just used a roof antenna and I use DSL for internet. So I won't need to drop anything to save money.

Just maybe if sheep stopped paying too much, prices might drop. I'm still waiting for the price of CDs to drop which was promised when CDs first hit the market but it never happened.

I would much rather put that $100 a month towards my retirement so I will be able to afford a place to live (and watch TV) when I retire....early!

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Since my boys have basically moved out, cable, landlines and satellite dishes are all gone at all of my residences. I am all high speed broadband where I can, and rely on a large collection of movies to feed all of my hometheaters no matter where I am. Any television I watch, is basically online internet based stuff, even the daily news can be had off of the net.

In saying all of that, the net will not replace my critical viewing of movies in the near future. The PQ and SQ will have to improve dramatically to get me to give up my discs!

[pixelthis]

Since my boys have basically moved out, cable, landlines and satellite dishes are all gone at all of my residences. I am all high speed broadband where I can, and rely on a large collection of movies to feed all of my hometheaters no matter where I am. Any television I watch, is basically online internet based stuff, even the daily news can be had off of the net.

In saying all of that, the net will not replace my critical viewing of movies in the near future. The PQ and SQ will have to improve dramatically to get me to give up my discs!

NOT REALLY.
We are down to two or three video stores in my town, and I DOUBT EVEN YOU
will buy every disc they want to watch.
Although there is good in everything, got two BLU discs , 3.98$ each at the local
movie gallery closeout.
Would have gotten more but that was all that was left.
SO its netflix, redbox, for discs, and how much BLU do they have?:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

NOT REALLY.
We are down to two or three video stores in my town, and I DOUBT EVEN YOU
will buy every disc they want to watch.

Remember, I said they moved out, so they are responsible for their own discs when they want to watch their own movies. Besides, we don't shop at any local stores, Amazon, studio friends, and a close friend who is a distributer is where I get my movies from exclusively. There hasn't been anything worth shopping at local in years.


Although there is good in everything, got two BLU discs , 3.98$ each at the local
movie gallery closeout.

Good price, hope you enjoy the movies!


Would have gotten more but that was all that was left.
SO its netflix, redbox, for discs, and how much BLU do they have?:1:

Netflix has quite a bit of Bluray, especially new releases(that is another source of entertainment). Amazon has just about everything released in North America, and the prices are a bargain when you use the marketplace.

[Smokey]

Besides, we don't shop at any local stores, Amazon, studio friends, and a close friend who is a distributer is where I get my movies from exclusively. There hasn't been anything worth shopping at local in years.

There could be some good deals at local Big box stores such as BB, Target or Walmart if catching their weekly sales on DVD and Blu discs. There seem to be Blu-ray on sale for $10 almost every week in these stores.

And if you have Biglots store near by you can pick up DVDs for $3, and whole season TV shows for $6 :)

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

There could be some good deals at local Big box stores such as BB, Target or Walmart if catching their weekly sales on DVD and Blu discs. There seem to be Blu-ray on sale for $10 almost every week in these stores.

And if you have Biglots store near by you can pick up DVDs for $3, and whole season TV shows for $6 :)

Smoke, I'll have to admit that I haven't purchase a single DVD since December 2006. I have purchased nothing but Blu-rays since then.

[Ajani]

I haven't had cable or a landline in a very long time... I only use highspeed internet (from my cable company - never subscribed to their cable or landline service though) and my cellphone (just for calls - no net access)...

I watch all my TV online and I do have local stations on air (so I get 2 channels on my TV - which I never watch)....

I just see no reason to spend the extra money on cable and landlines....

[pixelthis]

There could be some good deals at local Big box stores such as BB, Target or Walmart if catching their weekly sales on DVD and Blu discs. There seem to be Blu-ray on sale for $10 almost every week in these stores.

And if you have Biglots store near by you can pick up DVDs for $3, and whole season TV shows for $6 :)

yeah, whole "seasons" of obscure cowboy series from the fifties.
AND not only 10$, I scored the Arrival, a minor sci-fi classic, on BLU for eight dollars
at walfart.
BLU is basically an upgrade of DVD, and I think most "get" that.
The Blue laser allows for Blu to be the way DVD should have been.
BUT except for collectors and the occasional family movie there wont be a market for either in a few years.
Not even at smokies fire sale prices.
Hard media is an inefficient way to deliver content, soon price will reflect that,
and that will be allsherote:1:

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

yeah, whole "seasons" of obscure cowboy series from the fifties.
AND not only 10$, I scored the Arrival, a minor sci-fi classic, on BLU for eight dollars
at walfart.
BLU is basically an upgrade of DVD, and I think most "get" that.
The Blue laser allows for Blu to be the way DVD should have been.
BUT except for collectors and the occasional family movie there wont be a market for either in a few years.
Not even at smokies fire sale prices.
Hard media is an inefficient way to deliver content, soon price will reflect that,
and that will be allsherote:1:

Until downloads can acheive the same quality as a Blu ray disc, there will always be a market for a Blu ray disc, it ain't goin anywhere soon. People who are quality concious(that would exclude you basically) are not going to abandon the quest for quality just to follow mediocre sheeple viewing quality habits, or because there is more convience. They will continue to pursue the best quality even if it confines them to a physical disc.

[Ajani]

Until downloads can acheive the same quality as a Blu ray disc, there will always be a market for a Blu ray disc, it ain't goin anywhere soon. People who are quality concious(that would exclude you basically) are not going to abandon the quest for quality just to follow mediocre sheeple viewing quality habits, or because there is more convience. They will continue to pursue the best quality even if it confines them to a physical disc.

I agree... I still buy my music on CDs (and then rip them to lossless files for my music server) as I'm not interested in accepting lower quality audio from the iTunes store etc... Once lossless and/or high res files are the default from online sites, then I'll stop buying CDs... So I see essentially the same thing applying to movie buffs...

[rob_a]

I guess you can count me as one how doesn't want Cable/Sat. TV but Not for the reasons stated in the survey. I have No interest in paying that much money to have 600 channels of junk flowing in to my house. I can't even stand the stuff on the major networks :prrr:

[Mr Peabody]

Pix, if you are wanting to fan the flame of internet vs disc go drag out one of the prior dozens of threads this was beat to death in and leave this one and every one to come alone with it.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Pix, if you are wanting to fan the flame of internet vs disc go drag out one of the prior dozens of threads this was beat to death in and leave this one and every one to come alone with it.

LOL +1

[pixelthis]

Pix, if you are wanting to fan the flame of internet vs disc go drag out one of the prior dozens of threads this was beat to death in and leave this one and every one to come alone with it.

nobodies making you read anything.
The transfer to cloud storage from hard copy is historic.
One REASON I wanted BLU to catch on quick, so that we collectors would have a proper medium for our stuff.
As to "internet VS disc", that is improperly framed.
ITS LIKE SAYING HORSE VS CAR.:1:

[Woochifer]

Resurrecting the discussion with a few new factoids.

Attitudinal surveys like the one cited in the original article are notoriously unreliable when it comes to predicting actual behavior, because they usually overestimate what will actually happen. Surveys like this ignore the simple inertia factor. For years, cable companies have ranked near the bottom of all industries in terms of consumer satisfaction, yet they continue to maintain a high customer retention rate.

This is because, aside from competition from fiber and satellite providers, consumers do not have a lot of choices and are not going to give up their programming. While internet options might address some of the complaints about pay TV providers, they don't address all of them. So, I don't buy the typical tech press meme that consumers will cut their cables because of internet TV options.

Cable TV has been losing subscribers for about a decade, but the subscriber gains from satellite and fiber have made up for it. So, the overall curve for pay TV services has continued to grow.

I haven't looked up what's happening with the major cable providers, but I know that Directv in the most recent quarter had net revenue growth per subscriber. Some of it came from service price increases, but a lot of it also came from subscribers adding stuff like HD and DVR services. That actual behavior seems to run contrary to what the survey is predicting.


I wonder where they get 90%? When they were first planning to turn off the analog stations I saw a quote of only 80% subscribing to pay viewing.

I think that 90% figure refers to TV households and it's just sloppy reporting in the original article. Roughly 10% of U.S. households don't have a TV, and that figure has been consistent for many years. Pay TV penetration is about as high as it will go right now. Any further increases will just come from population increases.

[pixelthis]

CABLE has been losing ground because of the bad service and high school dropouts
working there.
I recently went through the hassle of upgrading my cable box, something that should have
been troublefree, but I got a refurb that lasted all of FIVE minutes.
After being handed off to three different people on the phone, none of which knew what an HDMI connector was(thats what went out) I just took the box back, told them
that I WASNT GOING ANYWHERE without a new one.
Well, the new ones nice, with a lot more storage, but everytime I power up the system
it goes back to 720p, and I have to change it back.
A bother, but not compared to dealing with the friggin CABLE company.
They have been used to no competition for too long.
They are probably going to DIE a well deserved death at the hands of the free enterprize system.
BYE.:1:

[E-Stat]

CABLE has been losing ground because of the bad service and high school dropouts
Perhaps, but my local service has been very good. My neighbor had Dish and loses signal during storms - I have no such issues and run far more sets without having to pay for dedicated boxes. Just last week, the provider called me to say that one box was no longer talking to them so THEY initiated a service call. Indeed the box was dying and the guy replaced it on the spot. Along with replacing a cable that was restricting access in the office to Speedvision. They are also my broadband provider where I get 10-12 Mbit download throughput. No complaints here. :)

rw

[Smokey]

Just last week, the provider called me to say that one box was no longer talking to them so THEY initiated a service call. Indeed the box was dying and the guy replaced it on the spot.

Cable company just wanted to make sure your cable box was working, so there would be no delay on charges :D

[Mr Peabody]

WHA? Pix is miffed at his cable company? Has hell indeed now frozen? I thought your cable company set the standard for the world according to your past posts. Maybe they hired from Charters employee pool and your people went to who E-stat uses.

Seriously though that's impressive they noticed the bad box and actually monitor them. Most cable companies have employees who act like they never heard of a cable box, let alone help service one. The cable companies are like this perpetual company that no one runs, it's just there, some how the phone people get paid unless they are mindless clones. I've tried to elevate issues or contact some one higher up and they are ghosts. If the cable companies didn't have a fixed customer base they would have gone under years ago. No company can have such a high rate of screw ups and bad customer service and remain open.

[E-Stat]

Cable company just wanted to make sure your cable box was working, so there would be no delay on charges :D
In my case, they simply draft my VISA card. The box was working from my perspective.

rw

[Mr Peabody]

There is no way in the world any cable or satelite company would be trusted with my credit card. That's a disaster waiting to happen. Charter keeps a bad BBB rating and Dishnet has billing only they can understand or at least pretend to.

[E-Stat]

There is no way in the world any cable or satelite company would be trusted with my credit card.
As opposed to paying how else? Remember the movie "Catch Me If You Can"? The real guy who was the basis of that story disagrees with you. He was on NPR a while back and pointed out that using a credit card was the smartest and safest way to buy anything (so long as you don't carry a balance which I never do). Checks are too easy to forge and you have very limited protection. If I ever had trouble, I would just - not pay the bill! And I get to use the bank's money for a month and they pay me to do that with a 1% rebate on all my purchases.

As for something I'll never do is give PayPal my bank account number. They can seize money directly from your account. If they do so by mistake, they might have to eventually return it, but meanwhile you are out your money. Such can never happen with a credit card. Also, my two credit cards are directly linked through Quicken, so I get a daily download of charges to match with my receipts. On the two occasions I've had incorrect billings on my accounts in the past fifteen years, I contacted the company and the charges were reversed before I had to deduct them from my payment and write a letter explaining why.

rw

[pixelthis]

WHA? Pix is miffed at his cable company? Has hell indeed now frozen? I thought your cable company set the standard for the world according to your past posts. Maybe they hired from Charters employee pool and your people went to who E-stat uses.

Sadly that is the standard.
As the service gets more and more complicated, things screw up more and more.
The phone service addition was when things really started going south, think they overreached themselves.
I have just touched the surface, the stories you wouldnt beleive.:1:

[Mr Peabody]

E-stat, do you have control over paying the bill or do they debit your card automatically? If they debit your card then they can charge a screwed up bill if they want. I'd rather have control over my flow of money. In other words I will pay a bill if I agree it's correct. If they debit the card automatically it takes your say out of it. I know it's possible to dispute it but I'd rather not have additional complexity to an already bad situation. We do the online bill pay. That's probably more dangerous than even a check :)

Pix, sadly, I would believe, the stories.

[E-Stat]

E-stat, do you have control over paying the bill or do they debit your card automatically?
They first send the bill, then draft the account about five days later.


If they debit your card then they can charge a screwed up bill if they want.
And, if that should ever happen, then my simple response would be to ----- NOT PAY IT or pay the correct amount and explain their error. Which is what I would have to do if I paid by check or any other means. Since my configuration hasn't changed in four years, the amount has remained constant other than a couple of minor rate increases. They would have a challenge trying to explain why they might bill me for services or equipment that I do not have.


In other words I will pay a bill if I agree it's correct.
Obviously. Just because an entry is on my credit card bill, that doesn't mean I am going to pay it. I get the time to evaluate the charge and determine the course of action.


If they debit the card automatically it takes your say out of it.
That statement is not supported by fact.


We do the online bill pay.
That is what I do for companies that don't accept credit cards. I like getting paid cash or getting special perks by my credit card provider for all my purchases and paying one vendor instead of numerous. Call me a motivated lazy person. While my current job doesn't involve as much travel, I used to run around $50k per year through my American Express account. No troubles whatsoever and I got Medallion flight status, frequent first class upgrades and free flights to Europe. It also bumped my FICO score to just under 800.

rw