Will TV Providers Finally Realize That People Really Are Cutting The Cord -- And Not Just Because Of The Economy
from the bye-bye dept
This week, my wife and I finally decided to drop our satellite TV service. We almost never watch it. I turn it on maybe once or twice a month, at most. For what we're getting, it's crazy expensive. There are some TV shows I'd like to see, but it's just not worth what's being charged. Even if I agree rationally, for about a year I've been emotionally attached to hanging onto the account "just in case." But that's silly. We just don't get that much value out of it. For years, we keep hearing the TV folks insisting that such cord cutting is largely a myth. But the fact is my wife and I are not alone in this. A new report says that we're actually a bit behind the curve, and that people are cancelling in droves.Of course, the Associated Press buys the TV industry's very questionable claim that it's all because of "the economy."
The chief cause appears to be persistently high unemployment and a housing market that has many people living with their parents, reducing the need for a separate cable bill.I don't buy it. I would bet that a lot of folks cancelling are like us. We can afford it, but we just don't see the value. We don't watch enough to want to pay the rates that seem way out of line with what we're getting and using. Even more ridiculous, though, is that the AP mentions this kind of reasoning as a problem rather than an opportunity for the industry:
But it's also possible that people are canceling cable, or never signing up in the first place, because they're watching cheap Internet video. Such a threat has been hanging over the industry. If that's the case, viewers can expect more restrictions on online video, as TV companies and Hollywood studios try to make sure that they get paid for what they produce.Wait, what? Because more people want more convenient options, they should expect to get less of them? This is the logic of dying businesses (both the TV folks and the AP). Restricting people doesn't help you get paid. Giving people what they want and putting a smart business model around it does.
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Filed Under: cord cutting, tv
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Sigh
I remember back in the day when there was only Seinfeld and that was it. Now I don't have time to watch all this stuff.
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Re: Sigh
You stream and find the shows you want to watch. I can't tell you how many shows I've missed because they come on a certain time that I'm busy with work or school.
But then, I'll go to stream that last episode and watch something else interesting.
The only reason my family likes to watch Dish is because of the very expensive Asian channels. For just one little extra dish, you have to buy the basic service PLUS the Asian package. How is that for customer service? Make more money off the fact that customers can't pick and choose their own packages...
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Re: Re: Sigh
> because they come on a certain time that I'm
> busy with work or school.
You do realize that you've had the ability to record TV shows when you're away from the TV since the late 70s, right?
Being able to time-shift your viewing isn't some new feature available only on the internet.
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Re: Sigh
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It's just not that simple.
Most people don't have any awareness of what they really use or how much it would cost in an alternate delivery format.
OTOH, I don't think it really matters so much. A lot of people are cutting the cord for economic reasons. People are spending less and getting less. However, that doesn't matter so much as people will adjust to that and be far less likely to go back (to cable).
In the end, the alternative just has to be good enough to make the extra cost of cable discouraging.
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Re: Re: Sigh
Paying $200 a month for something you don't use is just stupid.
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> waiting around at various places
What a dreadful way to watch a show. If I'm interested enough in a show to watch it, the last thing I want to do is see it on a tiny screen, with horrible audio, in a crowded place with all sorts of other noise and distraction.
If it works for you, more power to you, but other than the occasional YouTube video, I won't be using my phone as my entertainment center any time soon.
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Ala la carte cable...
No dodgey 3G or wifi network required.
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I don't pirate anything. If I want to see something premium I will pay a subscription if I feel there is value in it. If not, then I won't see it. I pay for Netflix streaming, I pay for Spotify Premium, occasionally I pay to go to the movies, I will even buy DVDs of things I know I will want to watch multiple times. It's not a moral issue for me, I just think paying for content you like is a fair thing :)
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FTFY ;)
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If I'm willing to pay, but they aren't offering me a way to do so that I find reasonable, then I won't pay. If their reasons for not offering it as such are just, like if it really was something difficult to do, then I wouldn't fault them, and I'd likely wait around until I could get it for a fair to me price, or until I forgot about it. I used to wait a few months and buy used games that were only alright, because an alright game is not worth the full asking price to me, though like you said, it's fair to pay for certain things. But, when they aren't offering it to me because they want to drain my pockets via a cable subscription, and then the premium package I would need to get, then it's clear that the only reason I'm not served properly is because they are greedy, and thus, I will not give them any money until they remove their heads from their asses. I'm not going to miss out on Anna Paquin just because of their greed...so then I may or may not pirate it...
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Whatever excuse you have (your strong desire to see Anna Paquin, et al.) does not entitle you to view the product for free if it is not being offered for free.
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When did they take the POOR, out of the concept of capitalism.
When did the BALANCE between what can be afforded and THEY CANT, disappeared??
there is SUPPOSED to be a balance..NOT UP-UP-UP-UP=UP..
IF' the CORP cant adjust the availability/price/Quality of a product to SELL IT..they should go broke. The small companies GO BROKE.. WHY NOT THE BIG ONES??
THEY forced the change in the laws..to make ALL of there goods, Perpetual..but NOT for the artist.
Where are his rights?
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Re: Sigh
If only HBO and SHO would offer Roku channels, I'd gladly pay them directly for the content they offer...
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BUT I DON'T WANNA!
If things don't go smoothly for you, there's a good reason why. That's The Law.
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nature shows
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I would love to cut satelite and land lines
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Re: I would love to cut satelite and land lines
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I cut the cord
The other factor is I got engaged (and then married). I was already busy. Now I'm insanely busy. I have VERY limited "free time" and while there are a few shows I would like to watch, frankly I'd rather use my spare time playing video games or reading a book or going out with friends.
TV is nice, and I'd like to watch more - but not at the expense of rearranging my schedule to watch inconveniently timed shows. OR for $100+ a month!
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Let's be honest here....
The cable companies really screwed up when they made people pay separately for an internet connection. They should have just integrated it into your tv packages and left well enough alone. Now people recognize that they are separate, and only one is really needed. Regardless of how hard the cable guys try to re-bundle it now, the cat's not going back into the bag...
The economy has some to do with it I would imagine.. but IMO Internet connection is to TV what a cell phone is to a land line.. it's just the natural next step.
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Re: Let's be honest here....
I completely agree with this. Comcast has tried to bundle me with land-line phone service too and a firm "I have zero interest" quickly ends that phone call.
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Re: Let's be honest here....
From discussions here over the last last couple of days, there may be an opportunity pointed out here. There was a bit of talk about digging ditches. Maybe a large resolution to several issues might be fibre to every home as a public utility (the end user gets to decide what services to use or not). Then let anyone provide service to every connection. While at the project, double or triple the backbones, I would suggest 100% more than current projected possible needs.
This doesn't require a lot of research, the technology exists. It would give jobs to a number of levels of skill. It would open competition in a variety of crossover areas, correcting current market abuses. Stimulate the economy, now with jobs and later with greater digital opportunities, ie. more jobs and economic flow (isn;t unlimited growth the only way out of these jams we get ourselves into? What a system we created).
Some may think that this might look like nationalizing the current digital infrastructure. Let's think about that for a moment. I remember when my phone bill (think pre AT&T breakup days) included a surcharge for line maintenance or something, that was an additional charge to the rate payer to build out the network. WE paid for that network, and not as customers and corporate profits, but as Utility customers who were charged additionaly for the Utility to build the network. I do think there is an argument that at least the original backbone is is already ours and was 'taken', or at least assumed.
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Re: Let's be honest here....
Sadly, the "evolution" will involve moving all their TV service to their Internet lines and jacking up the price to cover the difference...
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I've "cut the cord" twice
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Kicking and Screaming
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We cut the cord and ordered a Roku. We watch a bit of Hulu on the computer but don't pay for it. I've considered hooking up a digital receiver but I don't like the idea of having to be at home at a particular time in order to watch something. We also hit up redbox which has an indoor location a ˝ mile away so I'm getting exercise. Take away the $80 difference in what we now pay and it easily paid off the Roku and all of the movies with a nice chunk left over for steam games.
If internet video becomes more difficult to obtain(Hulu, Crackle are what I use) then I'll likely just stop watching "TV" altogether. For what it's worth I don't even bother with bittorrent or trying to download shows. If it's not convenient then I just don't watch it. This caused me to miss Mentalist and NCIS which I loved but they are not on Hulu and I missed a week of each so I fell behind.
What the broadcasters and content creators should really fear is the freedom people find when they discover they can do without the entertainment of moving pictures and break away from the addiction. Now that I don't feel the "need" to be glued to the set and catch my shows I'll have a very difficult time ever trying to fork over that $80 per month for something I don't need.
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BTW, NCIS is not on Hulu was because CBS had a hissy-fit about Hulu's rates and moved all of their shows to TV.com and their own cbs.com. Since then, however, they dropped many shows from tv.com too. That really sucks because the tv.com player was at least usable. They both have ads, just like Hulu, but some of the ads on cbs.com will drop the video out of fullscreen. Even worse, they'll do this every time you pause as well, and sometimes won't switch back to fullscreen on its own when you resume. As for Mentalist, it's never been online as far as I know.
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I did leave out Big Bang Theory, which I caught every week. It has been the one show that was worth dealing with CBS.com (I think that's it) in order to watch.
The hissy fit that CBS had with Hulu lost them at least 2 pair of eyeballs on two different shows. Sad because I kept pace with both of them since the start.
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BTW, CBS leaving Hulu pissed a lot of people off, especially when their own player sucks so much! TV.com, which CBS bought out, was a usable middle ground until CBS started redirecting their videos to the CBS site.
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BIG RE:
HULU is nice.. All your shows in 1 area..
And the contracts hulu has to PUT UP WITH..is stupid.
Then look at the Corp sites..SyFy?? NBC?? the rest...trying to install THEIR OWN servers and run there own progs?? and NOT know that it takes TONS of bandwidth AND following into line with a Standardized PLAYER..that works with All forms of devices.
Let them learn the hard way..
Funny that 5 MAIN CORPS control all the channels.. Check the bottom of the page on SyFy..
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Why would one need both the internet and cable?
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I cut the cord
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My belief is that there are a lot of people with incentive to deflate those numbers. Netflix doesn't want to alarm Cable and Satellite providers. Those providers don't want to worry their investors. No one is incentivized to report them accurately.
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"Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
And, how is it that "free" TV costs $200 a month? Is that some sort of disconnect reverse where you champions of "free" actually PAY out the wazoo for the crappy fare? Hmm. A few facts always illuminate better than argument.
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
You either truly don't get it or you get paid to not get it. Nobody said or believes everything should be free. In fact, pirates spend a lot of money to be pirates. The pirates I know have many, large hard drives, home theater PC's and they pay for encrypted newsgroup access. And as you point out, we "pay" for "free" TV through cable and satellite service.
So you see, free is only part of the business model, not the whole business model. Get it now?
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
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Sorting through the crap.
It's a nice double whammy that demonstrates the folly of patent litigation and the "be careful what you wish for" principle.
We nearly canceled cable ourselves back in the 90s before we got our first Tivo.
Today cable would seem even more worthless if not for my MythTV setup.
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
... Drive people to reading their ebooks
... Encourage more time on Social Networks
... Allow Internet based programming access to more people
... Boost sells of video games
... Increase Movie ticket sells
... Provide more opportunity for Web based sports offerings
... Finally deliver reform of copyright in favor of the people.
Let's make something really crystal clear. You are increasingly talking to a high tech generation. Kids are used to seeing price cuts of 50% on 3 or 4 year old technology. Every year, their dollar buys MORE and BETTER technology than it did the year before.
Why in the world do you think that the Content Industry (who gets to benefit from drastic cuts in costs to produce content, market content, and distribute content) is not going to be expected to produce MORE and BETTER content for the same dollars spent?
Who died and exempted the Content Industry from competition?
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
You're alleged argument is incoherent and poorly phrased--it sounds as though you've recently escaped from the nursing home and are suffering withdrawal from your meds.
Breathe, take your time, assemble your arguments in a logical, persuasive, consistent manner and I'm sure that grade will improve.
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Re: Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
He's... Special.
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Re: "Restricting people doesn't help you get paid."
What makes you think that people will pay large sums of money and jump threw insane hoops if somehow the easy method is removed?
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Then there's stuff that gets shoved down our throats by being shoved down the throats of cable operators first.
Anything with ads should be freely re-transmittable to anyone that doesn't alter the content. Cable companies should be making money off of the clean signal they can give you and not be subject to upstream leeches.
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Big Media mindset
There are three problems with this philosophy.
1) Like most content providers, they over estimate the value of their content. They may produce some great programs, but there are lots of other forms of entertainment.
2) They assume that they have exclusive control over the making of of programming. Netflix is already getting into original production, and others are following.
Major league sports is still one thing that big media still mostly controls. As the cable and dish market declines, sports may see the opportunity to open up Internet access.
3) They assume that things will stay the same forever, or at least for a few years. But if you want to see cable cutting in action, go visit a college residence hall. Note how many rooms have no TV. If they do have a TV, it is most likely used for a big screen display for video games or Internet content. And consider that cable TV is probably being provided free or as part of the room fees. Once upon a time if you walked through a residence hall on a fall Sunday afternoon you would hear nothing but football. Now maybe one room in 10 has football playing.
Big media and pro sports had better wake up or they will lose an entire generation. Or maybe they have already lost them.
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Wow. Congrats on cutting the cord.
So now, unless you can find it legally for free, please remember that you have not paid for in any manner most TV shows, cable network shows, etc. So downloading them for free from a torrent site is no longer some bizarre form of time shifting, it would be piracy.
Honestly, if you cannot find something, anything, to tivo in a week, you are probably better cutting the cord anyway. For me, it proves that your taste and your feelings about content are not at all mainstream.
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And as reported here on this very thread, there are lots of ways to get tv shows legitimately free.
Crawl back in your hole douche bag.
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Same Old
Why? Commercials galore. Lack of shows I want to watch (plus too many repeats of shows I've seen to death or am not interested in! Not everybody loves Raymond!) I've got perfect free TV reception, a large DVD collection of TV shows, a BluRay player and a nice new 42" TV. Who needs a monthly ongoing cost for something they generally don't use? Not me!
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Ditto
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We get plenty of television options with just over the air, Netflix and Hulu (and the occasional "3rd party" site for those shows not on Hulu)
We never saw the value of cable even when we could afford it. The only channels I ever watched were Sci-fi (back when that was what it was called) and Cartoon Network (back when they had good shows) My wife watched HGTV, but she has been able to live without it.
The internet is awesome. It has brought convenience back to television watching. TV producers would be wise to embrace it.
Now if only my DSL provider would let be cut my land line.
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Cord cutters are not the people that companies like Comcast, DirecTv, etc. should be worried about, they can always be bribed into coming back.
It's folks like myself who never get it in the first place. We've never seen the value and thus it takes a lot more convincing to get us to buy service.
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even paying for the btguard account we saved enough to move up a tier of internet and still come out 40 dollars to the good.
Plus there's an enormous amount of satisfaction in knowing i control every device in the house, and made them all talk to each other. i can download anywhere, pull files to anywhere else and watch whatever i want on every tv..which is a lot better than being tethered to the living room with it's single DVR.
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This is the option they've chosen.
Will it work? Not a chance.
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There is no "force".
If you want to do something, and that something belongs to someone else, you get to either borrow it from them or pay them to use it. It's not a big deal.
If you want to prove there is no force, just stop using the evil content for a while. Nothing stops you from stopping, except your own desire. If you have the desire, you should have the respect to get the content in a legal manner.
No force - if you want it, get it legally. If you don't want it, nobody is forcing you.
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We are forced here in Canada.
Blank media surtax.
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Add a video capture card to your computer and some software and you can put together a pretty nice DVR.
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http://www.youtube.com/movies
or
TV Shows
Monstermoves
http://www.youtube.com/show/monstermoves?feature=sh_b_show_5_1
The Guild(the new episodes are on Bing)
http://www.youtube.com/user/watchtheguild
Web Therapy(Lisa Kudrow)
http://www.youtube.com/show?p=wEkAE_CA0f8&tracker=show6
Biker Mouse From Mars
http://www.youtube.com/show/bikermicefrommars?feature=sh_b_show_8_11
I could go on, but you could do a quick search with MIRO and even choose to only watch CC programs and there is a lot of them today.
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I never saw the rentals can you kindly point to one so I could test the link to see what it looks like?
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Look at the number of episodes or clips, if it says clips those are 15 second ads for the show and not full episodes.
Oh Terry Jones is a blast.
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives
http://www.youtube.com/show?p=s-Gqsjg9y-8&feature=sh_b_show_1_10
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Smug Jerks
"piracy" is not at all necessary.
There is a glut of cheap media these days.
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we cancelled long ago
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Cutting the cord
Then there are the constant logo's (in the corner) which were bad enough by themselves, but now they are helpfully "supplemented" by persistent text advertising some show I'm not watching on top of the show I WANT to be watching.
I am someone who loves TV shows, but I have come to loathe the TV experience. I am cutting my cable (Time Warner) in favor of buying the shows I really enjoy through iTunes (sans logos and pop-ups). I'll supplement this with services such as Hulu to evaluate new shows... at least while they still have access to such content.
Also, I fully expect in the very near future that TV will largely consist of only cheaply produced "reality" shows anyway... so why would I want to pay for cable while TV rides that wave into suckdom.
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Sad...
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Cutting the cord
Comcast, Dish, DirecTV, and the rest ALL need to realize that:
I don't like DVRs, too restrictive
I don't want to need a DVR just to watch the few shows that I like at a time that is convenient for me
I don't want to pay for content that I don't want
I want convenience
I really don't mind paying reasonable pricing for good content.
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Then there are the constant logo's (in the corner) which were bad enough by themselves, but now they are helpfully "supplemented" by persistent text advertising some show I'm not watching on top of the show I WANT to be watching.
I am someone who loves TV shows, but I have come to loathe the TV experience. I am cutting my cable (Time Warner) in favor of buying the shows I really enjoy through iTunes (sans logos and pop-ups). I'll supplement this with services such as Hulu to evaluate new shows... at least while they still have access to such content.
Also, I fully expect in the very near future that TV will largely consist of only cheaply produced "reality" shows anyway... so why would I want to pay for cable while TV rides that wave into suckdom.
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The 'cord was cut' for me.
Besides I'm too busy reading techdirt.
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I'd like to cut the cord, but...
This is when I tell her, "Remember all those series you said you wish you could watch? They're on Netflix now."
No budge. If it doesn't have 3 letters in the title, I'm forced to pay more than I want.
The worst part of all this is I can't even reduce my cable bill by removing channels/services I don't use/want because of the "bundle" I'm in. If I were to shave $60 off my monthly bill, I could rid the HD over-charge they offer, but nope: dropping this $60 package will add $80 to my bill.
1/1/2012 will be the day cable does not enter our home.
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Same boat
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Eh, we cut the cord years ago
I haven't paid a cable bill in over a decade.
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I've gotten so fed up with reruns, commercials, and lowest common denominator programming that not even the news or sports can make up the difference.
You know what? Today I don't see commercials. I don't miss the silly tv shows. Couldn't even tell you what they name them or what they deal with. Instead I find I have more time for what I want to do.
My neighbors tell me I could get a dozen or so public tv channels for merely putting up an antenna and getting a tv. I have no interest in doing that.
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FIRST
CABLE started with 1 of 2 promises..
1..You pay for it, and we give you NO/LESS commercials.
2..YOU DONT pay for it, and we get money FROM the commercials.
NONE of which has happened..for many reasons.
For those that dont get it..THE FCC has been TRYING for the last 10-15 years to get Cable/SAT to create ALA-CARTE channels.
YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU WANT. NOT for what you DONT WATCH.
Cable/SAT dont want to do this...it would take to much TECH and cost TONS, they say.
BUT, if you look at WHAT WAS', they can do it..IF they wanted, as they had done in the past.
The list of channels gets longer and LONGER.. And the CRAP gets higher and higher.. They sell a BASIC package, that YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR..then the optional channels(cant get them separate)
ESPN and 1/2 the basic channels USED TO BE EXTRA.. NOW they add them in.
IT USED to be $10 per month, THEN ADD the extras...sports, and news, and others..
NOW you pay $50 and get 200 channels...and PROBABLY only watch 10-20.
Which would you rather do...
Pay $1 per channel..so you GET what you want, and pay for..($10-20 per month)
Pay $50-60 for 200 channels...and only watch 10-20..then every ONCE in awhile watch one of the OTHERS.
??
That LAST sale they had?>? Anyone read the FINE PRINT??
These guys are acting as bad as most BANKS and CC companies..They can change the RULES any time, and YOU AGREE TO IT.
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cutting cord
Now I go outside more. I personally think it is better.
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Question for the cord cutters...
1) multiple TVs in the household (living room, and a bedroom or two?)
2) Cable only channels (local sports in my case...)
Yes, I know how to stream from a laptop to a compatible TV. That certainly helps...
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Comcast Caved
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So I cut the cable...
This is why they don't believe people are cutting the cord.
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Color me: A never again cable or satellite tv service person again.
Would rather rent a movie and *&^%$# the ads.
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Another BIT you may not know..
But while back the FCC, said that you have the RIGHT, to buy the box..FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSE. and not be chaged for the box, PER MONTH.
BUT,
1. try to find one..
2. find the correct one, version..
3. TRY to get one that you can USE,
as the SAT version with DVR, is encoded on the HD..and the SMALL USB port on back, is turned OFF(so you cant transfer the data, easily.
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Cut the cord 8 months ago...
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Me too
I'm PAYING to watch ads from ambulance chasers, car insurance, sanitary pads etc whilst being told it's 'Because I'm worth it'.
I may be, but TV is not. I have never regretted dumping it.
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I wish I could cut the cord... but it's packaged
Honestly the cable companies "bundle's" is IMHO propping up the numbers of people who haven't cut the cord yet.
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Re: I wish I could cut the cord... but it's packaged
as IF' they advert the Internet at a price, you SHOULD be able to get it ALONE.
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Back to Antenna
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Cut the cord for about 1 year already
We don't have landline phone. And, we bailed out of our cell phone contract, and have no monthly cell phone bills for about 1 year now. We went to prepaid cell through Verizon, and we make most of our calls through Gmail call phone. This saves about $150/mo.
All in all, that's about $225/month, or about $2700/year. While that may not be much to some, we feel the added savings adds flexibility to our purchasing habits.
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For years, they manged to get people to pay the high cost of their monopoly, but then others came along and built an open network that any company could connect to and use. Even they eventually manged to connect their own infrastructure to it as well. They didn't have a problem with it at first, it was just another way to milk more money from their monopoly. Then this "other" network became advanced enough to provide competing services.
What they don't get, however, is that now they have the choice between the paying 100% of the cost for their own monopoly infrastructure or just use their "last mile" network to connect users to the open internet. The internet option is far cheaper because the actual cost is shared by many other companies providing millions of other services. Yet, they refuse to let go of their expensive monopolies. The only way around them, of course, is to bypass their monopolies completely. Many towns have tried this, but they continue to beg and bribe politicians to stop it.
I don't feel one bit of sorrow for them at all. It's their own monopolistic practices that have got everyone in this mess in the first place. They have the chance to change their ways, but just won't. It's their choice, so they'll have to pay the consequences.
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Re:
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I never even had a cord too cut, and when I left home for college I left the TV in my bedroom behind. Damn, anyone remember when that was a big deal when you were a kid?
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I've noticed the box with the cable interface is left open at my house about every 6 months. Apparently the sole available cable provider cannot believe that I am not pirating cable and keeps coming by to check after 14 years. I wish he would learn to close the box.
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Satellite/Cable addiction
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Re: Satellite/Cable addiction
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Re: Re: Satellite/Cable addiction
We moved to a larger apartment in the same complex, and decided to upgrade the Internet to the "Lightning" service, which promises 40 mbps connections. My fat white heiny... I've never topped 12 mbps, which is only two above what I was supposed to be getting with the basic tier service. I know broadband speeds are never as advertised, but c'mon!
Back to the original point, though... we gladly pay $8/mo. for Hulu Plus, I get my sports fix through ESPN3 (Canadian football FTW)... we opted against Netflix due to the subpar on-demand movie offerings (and the TV shows mainly consisting of programs we'd already access via Hulu). There are also robust online offerings through The WB (their lineup suggests that AOL's old In2TV service was folded into them), Spike, Adult Swim and CBS. It's all the television I can handle, and my once-endless habit of torrenting has slowed to a trickle; I can count on one thumb the number of shows I've nicked off of TPB in the last two months.
Clearly this wouldn't work for everyone; if your favorite programs are different than my favorite programs, then the above might well leave you wanting. Thing is, I'd be more than happy to pay more than $8/mo. for a comprehensive on-demand resource. I'd also be willing to pay $10 a pop for downloadable, DRM-free films instead of DVDs, but such sensibilities always fall upon deaf ears. I suppose I can't really call myself a "cord cutter" so long as I live in these apartments, but it's stunning to truly reflect upon just how little of my entertainment is chosen by my remote control, when compared to my wireless mouse and keyboard.
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Innovative Technology
Although these 'buggy-whip' innovators are building on the established 'product' of Hollywood, MPAA, RIAA, etc, the companies producing & making this 'product' fail to see how well these other companies are marketing their [Hollywoods] wares.
Remember too, that the new fanged horseless carriages have flag bearing runners out in front, to warn pedestrians that they are coming; the various P2P, Torrent & streaming video sites fit well in this analogy, & yet Hollywood would prefer legal sanctions, & police action to shut them down, rather than welcoming new & innovative services that lead the way to where consumers want to go.
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No T.V.
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For those that dont understand
Cable came along and made TONS of promises(none fullfilled, as the TV corps changed the contracts)
MANY, of you have never seen TV without CABLE/SAT..
Many of you dont know what is required or even how to set it up..and SOME of you live in areas that RESTRICT outside building of ANYTHING.
The TV/CABLE/SAT corps looked around and found locations that had NO TV/Broadcast access, or at least very limited.
So they jumped into the market. Start cheap and RAISE prices.
The Mmovie/music industry WANTS a perpetual/vertual Product that they can use as MONEY.
They are fighting DISTRIBUTION more then ANYTHING ELSE.
They WANT control.
they dont see and WONT see...That 90% of what they have, SHOULD BE in the public domain. and that they HAVE TO CREATE. They arent CREATING much of anything NEW.
Lookup REMAKES on the net...There are TONS they are coming out with, and a FEW have already released. and I MEAN a few. They are going to remake 'rocky horror show'..
The problem the corps have at this time...seems to be WHAT they should have done 3-5 years back. USE THE NET.. They could have created there OWN MAIN sites to SHOW/distribute there shows. but THEY wont do anything without PROOF of concept.
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Cutting the cord
1. The price is going up with no real reason for it,
2. The quality of content is getting more and more abysmal,
3. Over the air (free) TV gives us more channels, much better channels, and is more responsive to our desires in many, many ways.
We are definitely going to cancel. For several years, we got channels we weren't supposed to have, but Comcast invaded our space and took them away - and we found we didn't miss them!
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Re: Cutting the cord
i wonder how many the big cities are getting, with good antenna/AND BOOSTER..
wHATS KEEN, IS THE local ADVERTS, AND NEWS,,
love THE INDEPENDENT CHANNELS..
Ya know,,
I dont think CABLE gets the hint..
They SHOULDNT NEED to pay corps to broadcast the channels. They should give the Ultimatum, "PAY US to get to your customers".. Standard LOCAL broadcast does it.
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Between Netflix and Hulu, I don't understand why anyone is paying $50+ a month for TV service, 33% or more of which is all advertising. Insanity.
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DVR Monopoly
1) Buy second hand VCRs which can only record 1 channel at a time
2)Buy a Hard Drive Digital DVD recorder that only records 1 channel at a time.
No one told me that the so-called replacement for the VCR wouldn't be sold IN NORTH AMERICA by the big consumer electronics companies, and that Satellite & Cable companies would have a monopoly on DVRs - using them to get customers. It seems like extortion to me. "Buy one of our TV packages OR say goodbye to recording TV shows"
The DVRs from satellite companies only work with satellite TV and the cable ones, if available, are about #20 per month ($240 yr). Even that is a lot for me on top of the monthly cable fee. My British Columbia disability income is only $10,687 per year!
VCR's had no user cost except blank tapes. I expected DVR's to be essentially like "digital VCRs".
Unfortunately most people don't care because they want satellite TV. THey don't even know there's a monopoly.
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Streaming TV
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