Gizmodo Completely Misses The Point Of Cord Cutting
from the missing-the-forest-for-the-trees dept
Roughly every month or so I'll see a story proclaiming that cord cutting is a bad idea because you need to subscribe to multiple services to mirror the same overall volume of content you receive from pay TV. There are a few problems with that logic, first being that cord cutters aren't looking to precisely duplicate cable TV. They're looking to get away from paying a small fortune for hundreds of unwatched channels, including an ocean of religious programming, infomercials, whatever the Weather Channel is up to these days, and C-grade channels focused on inherently inane prattle.Writers of these pieces always seem to forget that broadcasters dictate the pricing of content on both platforms, so any surprise that the pricing of television remains somewhat high (when you pile on multiple streaming services) is just kind of silly. All told, "cord cutting is really expensive when I subscribe to every streaming service in the known universe" is just a weird narrative that just keeps bubbling up across various media outlets despite not really making much sense.
The latest example is a recent piece over at Gizmodo by Matt Novak that proudly proclaims that "cord cutting isn't a bargain any more" when you sign up for a pile of different streaming services:
"So, let’s see, if you pay for Hulu Plus (which is now just Hulu, since they’re dropping their free tier) that sets you back about $8 per month. And if you go subscription free that’s $12 per month. And Netflix is another $10. And HBO Now is another $15. And obviously you’re going to get the new commercial free CBS, so that’s $10 per month. What are we up to? About $47 before tax? And then you toss on your high-speed internet bill, which you’re probably paying to the cable company anyway. Yeah, this whole cordcutter thing sounds like it liberated consumers alright, doesn’t it?And that's it. Pretty much Gizmodo's entire argument is that because the author had to pay $47 for four streaming services, cord cutting isn't a bargain and can't be taken seriously. But compared to traditional cable, that's not really a bad deal. Novak also appears to ignore that countless people save a significant amount of money when they decide to trim back their programming lineup or cut the cord entirely. As such, it was entertaining to watch users over at Reddit quickly and repeatedly point out how much money they've saved by moving on from traditional cable:
So............................................. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"
The cable industry has a long, proud history of advertising one rate, then socking consumers with a significantly higher bill thanks to hardware rental costs and various other fees. That's something correctly pointed out by Jared Newman, who apparently found Gizmodo's narrative as tiring as I did:
"Cable TV might seem cheap when you first sign up, but that’s only because you’re getting a short-term promotional deal, and the advertised price rarely factors in hardware rental and other hidden costs, such as regional sports fees and broadcast retransmission fees. Keeping your payments down requires constant vigilance, and you’ll never actually pay the advertised rate anyway."There's also a weird tendency among TV beat writers to act as if piracy doesn't exist just because it's not formally sanctioned by the United Nations or Homeland Security as a legal and accepted way to obtain content. But reality doesn't work that way. You don't get to magically eliminate discussing piracy as an avenue for consumer cost savings when discussing the pay TV landscape just because it's naughty. Many cord cutters pirate because the cable industry refuses to give them the flexibility and pricing they want. That doesn't somehow mean piracy isn't a legitimate competitor for consumer affections and shouldn't be discussed when analyzing cost savings.
If there's a problem with the streaming model, it's one that Gizmodo almost accidentally stumbles into. Namely that broadcaster licensing has increasingly fractured streaming content availability, forcing users to hunt and peck between multiple services to find the content they're looking for, something that's only going to increase as broadcasters exclusively offer their own content via their own services. That's incredibly confusing for the consumer, especially given the frequency with which content disappears as licensing periods expire. Ultimately this confusion will only make piracy more attractive.
And yes, consumers in the future will likely have to pay even more as more and more ISPs turn to usage caps to simultaneously cash in on a lack of competition while protecting legacy TV revenues. But that's not somehow the fault of cord cutting as a concept. Cord cutting may not be for everybody (especially sports viewers), but it's a very organic response to an aggressively inflexible pay TV sector that absolutely refuses to compete on price despite the obvious writing on the wall. So yes, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ indeed.
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Filed Under: broadband, bundles, cable tv, cord cutting, options, streaming, tv
Companies: amazon, comcast, hulu, netflix
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Also missing
Paying is de facto optional, and hidden fees and other anti-consumer actions make the option even less attractive.
"Head in sand" is not a business model, all attempts by incumbents to the contrary notwithstanding.
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Re: Also missing
We're saving around $100/month at least without Dish being in the house. I think our monthly bill was around $120. Plus Internet, plus Netflix.
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Until the TV industry catches onto that, they will suffer declining viewers, as fewer and fewer people are prepared to be tied to their schedule.
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As for them catching on? There are a lot of sites they'd have to go after. Have fun playing whack-a-mole. It's going to be a constant battle, but honestly the end-user doesn't have to do too much in Kodi to find the shows. The current ones are out there in droves. The older ones may take a bit of hunting, but the majority of those are out there as well.
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And broadcast
So there's a big savings for all broadcast shows I may wish to watch and record. For other shows that are cable only, buying a season pass on iTunes or Amazon or Google is still cheaper than the entire season would be in cable costs (about $70/mo). - I figured that even subscribing to a season pass for the shows I watch would still only cost me about 2 months of cable for the entire season.
This is keeping everything strictly legal and legit. The Gawker article is total click bait wtf.
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Re:
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I can watch when I want, how I want. No more "That is on tuesdays at 8 if I want to see it" and if I want, i can binge watch Game of thrones for 2 seasons in a row!
And no goddamn commercial breaks. Cable TV was INSANE when I last was in the US.
Legacy TV is dying, and basically nothing they do will be able to stop it.
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Life without cable, first month - $180
Life without cable, every month after - $100
Too bad Amazon didn't think to charge you monthly fees for their hardware, otherwise I might have to actually think about cutting the cable.
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Plus...
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Re: Plus...
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Scenario is all wrong
Plus, why would we "obviously" get the CBS subscription? If I could cut the cord I imagine I wouldn't want to watch CBS anymore.
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Re: Scenario is all wrong
My guess on CBS is because of Trek next year. I'd rather just wait to buy it then spend all of that money on a subscription for a single show.
But really, why actually require Gizmodo to put research and thought into a post? Why ask them to do math or consider their user's best interests? Actually review something in depth? I don't anymore. The author won't get paid extra for research or a good post. That is not Giz's business model. So I don't expect more. Heck they barely are a tech blog anymore.
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Re: Scenario is all wrong
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Why is it naughty? Most estimates reckon around 1/3 of the population do it regularly or semi-regularly. Seems to me to be pretty normal behaviour.
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Cost Not the Entire Story
By subscribing to outlets that make content I appreciate, I fund future content I have a better than average chance of also appreciating.
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Re: Cost Not the Entire Story
I figured that if I kept giving them money, EVENTUALLY they would make awesome movies.
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When i got my House I dropped the TV stuff, in fact I went with someone else for Internet as it was cheap. I also mounted up a nice large directional antenna for my TV.
These days, I use that Antenna for most of my TV programs. I'm getting ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, Fox, PBS all in HD and 5.1 surround. Along with channels like MeTV, AntennaTV, etc. I also have Netflix and Amazon Prime, but since I had them before cutting the cord, I really don't consider them a extra cost. Of course I use PLEX and have ripped most of my movies and put them on my NAS.
I already have no crap to watch then I have time. I have Comcast again and I had to get a Bundle with included HBO, which I don't have time to watch, some basic cable channels which I don't watch and I don't have a connection to my TV's for their TV service anyway. HBO I can use the HBOGo App. It was cheaper to get this dumb bundle them Internet only. This is how they're trying to keep people locked into some type of TV service instead of just being a dumb Internet pipe.
I still get most of my TV from the Antenna. All recorded with a Tivo Roamio. Where I can watch that content anywhere and skip all the commercials. If you're just going to sign up for every service under the sun, why cut the cord? One thing is for sure, I'll NEVER pay $6 or any amount for CBS All Access crap.
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I wonder
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Novak's credibility as a journalist
Here is a real statistic. My D-TiVo has been on the fritz for about a month. I've been using the Leaf 30mi OTA antenna (one time cost of $40 a year or two ago) and I receive plenty of free content. We already get Amazon TV as a result of our Prime membership. Add in the DVDs that I already own and Netflix for 0.33/day and I'm set.
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Hidden Costs
I've had Comcast service now for nearly a year and a half, and the cost of that modem has paid for itself in money saved in rental fees. I'm at the point where I'm finally making money back on the modem. Evidently Comcast decided this wouldn't do, and last month I was billed $10 for a modem rental fee. Comcast decided suddenly that they owned my modem (honest, I went to one of the service centers and talked to the people there who showed me on their computer where the modem I purchased, was labeled "Comcast Owned" when they put in the S/N from my modem). Fortunately, I was able, thanks to Amazon, to pull up a receipt showing I had purchased the modem. They did, without media intervention, adjust my bill. However, they also told me that I will probably have to do this every month from now on because even though I bought it, they still own it.
Unfortunately, I'm stuck with them. They are 1 of two options, the other of which has internet speeds so slow as to be useless in this age. But, I totally plan to get rid of my bundle and just keep the internet and stream all the other content. And it will still be cheaper than what I pay now. This business with the modem issue pushed me over the edge, and I just can't give them any more money. (I have to have internet access for work, so I can't drop them completely). I'm sure my story is not unique, but it is yet another reason why people are cutting the cord. Who wants the hassles?
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Re: Hidden Costs
I finally got it to stop by calling the tech side (not billing) and telling them to fix the issue. The reason it kept coming back was because the billing side would just adjust the bill, not actually fix the issue. Tech side did something that finally said it was my own modem.
You can maybe try the same thing. It has been several years, but if I remember right they have specific blocks of mac addresses for their modems, so claiming yours is one of theirs is unlikely. If they keep on adding it on, try the BBB. Then they are at least forced to respond.
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Re: Hidden Costs
My parents refused to pay for television and I inherited that from them.
I recently moved and I am now a Comcast subscriber.
BUT I have their teleworker internet only. I pay $39 a month for internet that is 4 times faster than my previous century link that cost more. $39 includes their modem and because it is "business class" they are no additional fees and if it is out for more than 30 minutes they owe me money under the SLA.
If you can get it it is a pretty decent deal.
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Is there a name for these?
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FALSE NARRATIVE
The truth is with pay TV at any given moment in time you only have access to a couple hundred programs. Most of which are already in progress. Most of which are so bad payments would need to be processed in reverse. With Streaming on my media player I have hundreds of channels each of which has hundreds of shows many of them entire series. Almost all of them are waiting to start from the beginning on my schedule and resume exactly where I left off and several of the channels have no commercials. That's why I take my streaming media player when I travel. I don't care when the hotel has cable, I want WiFi that works with media players. I want a better experience with a bigger program selection at every given moment in time.
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Cost?
Cord cutter naysayers never consider the fact that I can watch Netflix or Hulu anywhere I can get a connection and at any time I want. I'm not glued to one or two rooms of my home.
I only subscribe to internet from my local cable company. To get the level of net I currently have and add cable i add 80 bucks to my bill, I subscribe to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. I can assure you that does not cost me 80 bucks and I never run out of things to watch.
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Playstation VUE
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It's gawker...
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My cost after cutting
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I could subscribe to Netflix, Shomi and Crave for $30 a month... and that's about it. Amazon Prime isn't an option for me. HBO Go isn't an option for me. Hulu isn't an option for me. I can't even get Youtube Red. Then there's
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understanding...
1. HOW MANY channels can you get with an Antenna and booster?? which will run you about $100 one time price??
I live in a Farming area, and I get 22 channels..5 of them religious. 6 independent channels that show, Selections of Many channels(NOT NBC, CBS, FOX, ...,), then we get the Area channels, like NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS 4 channels.. AND I get a good selection of Older programs I dont MIND WATCHING...
2. LOCAL NEWS and events...YOU CANT get on national TV distribution. For some reason the mentality of MOST people is that IF you see it on TV, its happening NEAR YOU..Dont believe it)
3. IF' I could pay $1 per channel THAT I COULD SELECT on Cable/sat...I WOULD. And it MIGHT cost me about $20 per month.
4. the PRICES cable/sat PAY to send a signal, seems to be MOSTLY in the Lower PENNIES per channel(they might inflate that just to prove me WRONG) but the FEW channels that cost $0.75 to OVER $1..ARE FEW.. but when you ATT 200+ channels at $0.10 each it ADDS UP.. Throwing in TONS of Crap channels just gives them a REASON to charge you, and say, ITS CHEAP.. LOTS OF CHEAP channels, just very little content you WANT..
Problems with Cutting the cord..
YOU NEED ABIT of basic knowledge, but you will LEARN something about radio signals..
1. HIGHER is better..
2. Low freq signals are NEAT, and expand and spread nicely.
3. A booster helps with color and getting the 1 signal you WANT..
4. a Clear signal isnt ALWAYS easy to get..and the OLD analog was better..
5. There are FEW professionals in this anymore...IF you want one, FIND a RADIO operator, Short wave/HAM/CB..they will give you FREE knowledge, and MIGHT install it for you..
6. DONT CLIMB THINGS TO INSTALL ANTENNA'S UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING...YOU CAN DIE(in many way) IF YOU DO IT WRONG...like hitting a power line with a METAL POLE..Falling OFF the ROOF/WALL/LADDER..
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Expensive
For me.. 200mbps internet, KODI (ha), VOD TV services/Live TV online (UK channels) - £35 per month (46.35 US Dollar).. i only pay for the internet.
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Pay to not view
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I moved and went with broadcast, and try to limit my TV to 2 hours a day.
I wanted to see Homeland, and have watched 4 seasons free, checked out at the local library. I had to wait for it to come out on DVD, and then the Library had a wait list of weeks or months. So what? Also found a pretty good HBO movie at the Library, Pu-239.
I think it terms of allotting a limited amount of time to watching TV for entertainment. Most people think in terms of what specific shows they want, make that *have* to watch.
You don't have to watch anything!
*Sometime in the last decade someone inquired as to why the Fox News Channel did not report retractions or corrections, like most all other major news outlets (print and media) do. The Fox News Channel's explanation was along the lines of: Fox News is not a news outlet, but is an opinion and commentary outlet. Or something like that.
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Analog TV need 30dbc SNR to demodulation.
Be clever and dont be fool.
Best detector equipment is from Agilent,
not military/goverment.
http://www.programvb.com/2017/03/4-channel-frequency-mbc-4-hd-tv.html
http://www.p rogramvb.com/2017/03/4-2017-channel-frequency-mbc.html
http://www.programvb.com/2017/03/1-channel-fre quency-mbc1-hd-tv.html
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