
Cable TV Decline: Cord-cutting is accelerating - e15ctr0n
https://bgr.com/2015/12/11/cable-tv-decline-cord-cutting/
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mikegioia
I cancelled all TV from my FiOS bill last month and I couldn't be happier.
$175 was being flushed down the toilet every month.

The biggest thing, that no news article really captures, is that even if you
sign up for a $50/mo TV package, the actual price is closer to $100/mo when
you include taxes, fees, DVR rentals (!), etc. No thank you!

Like another commenter said, I think a hurdle for the average person is living
without TV shows on a fixed schedule. Most people are used to leaving the TV
on, or mindlessly flipping channels until anything satisfies you. I could not
hope more to move away from that world, and I think that people are finally
starting to do that.

~~~
gearhart
Are any other non-Americans here as genuinely shocked as I am by the idea of
paying $175 a month for TV?

~~~
joezydeco
To explain to non-Americans: $175 for "TV" doesn't mean just the typical
channels you would receive over an antenna or clear satellite.

$175 is typically the largest premium package, which includes about 100-200
specialty/sports channels plus about 20-30 movie channels.

~~~
theandrewbailey
And with that, you get over 1000 channels, but almost none of them have
anything interesting on.

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izacus
Don't worry, Comcast and company will quickly fix this by making any kind of
streaming prohibitively expensive on their internet connections.

~~~
massysett
I often see this sentiment; does anybody actually have anything to back it up?
The underlying thought seems to be that TV packages must be more profitable
for multichannel operators than Internet. Is that true? Your cable operator
has to split the TV bill with content providers. Comcast acts as ESPN's bill
collector (good deal for ESPN, they don't get the hatred from the rising
bills.) With Internet there is no bill to split. I once read that Internet is
more profitable for Comcast than TV.

~~~
HelloMcFly
Why else institute 300GB data caps when there is no problem with congestion,
and make incremental charges for exceeding those data caps at $10 per GB? Why
else roll-out their own streaming service that doesn't count against those
caps, and allow other major players to pay them for that access? They're
positioning themselves to continue to cash-in on those wishing to access
television-like content.

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slantaclaus
They'll blame technology, but for me at least, it was the "worst in the world"
customer service from time Warner cable. Also, the desperation that they
employ trying to prevent you from cancelling is enough to ensure I'll never go
back.

~~~
Someone1234
This is what I never understood about this "make it hard to quit" strategy. If
you make it EASY to quit then people won't think twice about returning, if you
make it super hard then people will do everything they can to avoid re-
subscripting to avoid going through that again.

To give an example:

\- LogMeIn & SiriusXM Satellite Radio: Both make cancelling a huge pain in the
butt. You have to call in, they bug you, and it take forever. Both I've
considered re-subscribing to, and both I decided to go with a competitor
(TeamViewer, and Play Music Unlimited respectively).

\- Hulu+: I quit and rejoin Hulu several times a year. But they make it so
easy to quit, I don't think twice about joining.

I think this whole "make it hard to quit" strategy is part of a bigger problem
with businesses: short-term-ism. Meaning businesses only dwell on one quarter
at a time, and ignore their own future. Often times with the management/CEO
coming in, burning down a company's long term for short term profit, getting
personally rewarded, and then jumping ship before the long term issues become
evident.

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impostervt
Just cut the cord this weekend, after we realized we're paying $170/month for
cable, and only watch about 8 shows. Was also paying monthly for Tivo. Already
had Netflix & Amazon Prime. Subscribed to Hulu (eats the savings of canceling
Tivo) and may add a few others. Still feels weird to not be able to turn on
live TV in the background (haven't gotten the HD Antenna working yet). Only
downside so far is - it was nice turning on the Tivo and having a small number
of shows to watch that it had recorded for us. Now my wife and I have to think
- what do we want to watch? Did it come on yet this week? And is it on Hulu or
Netflix or Amazon or...

~~~
csydas
> Still feels weird to not be able to turn on live TV in the background

I think that even older generations are starting to realize that the cable
bill is pretty much paying for a white noise generator at this point -
computers and phones/tablets have so much to occupy attention and time that
all it's going to take is a person saying aloud "Why am I paying $X to not
watch TV?"

~~~
impostervt
What's funny is my parents, in their 60s, cut the cord about 2 years ago -
long before me. My father is technically savvy compared to most his age, but
for them saving money was far more important.

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SixSigma
I've been TV free for about 10 years now (although I subscribe to Eurosport).
I now find it strange when I go to someone's house and the TV is blaring away.
The ads are just the worst, almost physically painful to experience.

I don't think it's too hyperbolic, even if it's a bit of a cliche, to liken TV
to other addictive things. It's just too stimulating. Walk into a bar with a
TV and you kind of find yourself watching it for no good reason. Watching a
sport you don't like, with teams you don't support with the sounds off.

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VLM
"TV viewers between the ages of 18 and 31 are signing up for cable in ever
decreasing numbers"

The rationalization in the article was strange nonsense, but combined with
long term economic trends

[http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-
millennials-l...](http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/07/29/more-millennials-
living-with-family-despite-improved-job-market/)

If "grandpa" had a factory job paying $50/hr and "dad" got $25/hr in a cubicle
and the kid living at home gets a couple bucks an hour as a bartender, you can
express the staggering increase in the cost of cable in hours of labor per
month. So in grandpa's generation, he only had to work an afternoon to pay for
cable, but his grandkids would basically have to put in an entire part time
work week to pay for cable, and I'm sure they'd rather eat or pay the rent..

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charlieflowers
Just this weekend I helped my mother change TV providers. She went to dish
network from at&t uverse.

My original thought was to move internet from uverse to xfinity. But xfinity's
web site was so sneaky about up front fees that I abandoned them and kept her
internet with uverse.

Cable companies are blatant scammers. The industry deserves to die.

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JustSomeNobody
Once it gets bad enough, internet prices with skyrocket to compensate. or
they'll link internet data caps to prices of cable tiers or some other such
nonsense.

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josefresco
Just got this in my email, here's what I pay in Massachusetts for
Comcast/Xfinity:

====================

Xfinity TV

Digital Starter $69.95

HD Technology Fee $9.95

DVR Service $10.00

Additional Outlet $9.95

Additional Outlet $2.99

Additional Outlet $2.99

Xfinity Internet

Performance $53.95

Modem Rental $10.00

Taxes, Surcharges and Fees $11.69

====================

The fact that I pay extra for a DVR/and HD made sense in 2005, not so much in
2015.

~~~
matwood
You should call and badger comcast for a deal. I'm on a deal now for less than
$200/month for nearly every channel x1, 2 room dvr, and 120Mb inet, and a
phone line (yes, my wife still uses a fax machine).

The problem with the starter (unless you can get a $99 deal) is that you have
to add HD and DVR. So you think you're on the cheap plan, but it makes more
sense to move up where those are included if you need them. Comcast website is
deliberately obtuse and dealing with them is pain, but it can be done.
Tweeting at them seems to get the best response and can get you a personal
service person who seems to have the power to fix things.

With that said, when this deal is up I'll evaluate again if I can cut the cord
and still get shows I want to watch without much hassle and decent internet.

~~~
josefresco
Do you work for Comcast? In all seriousness, spending more to get _a lot_ more
isn't what I'm looking for. Verizon (my wireless provider) also tries the same
sales tactic - as the higher paid plans have a batter _rate_ for data.

~~~
matwood
No, but you want HD and DVR which are not really basics. I was just pointing
out that it makes more sense to spend the same money or a little more and get
a package including those. The other option is drop those and use an antenna
for great HD and then watch shows online after they come on. It is all about
level of effort and what your time is worth.

Comcast is a huge pita company, but it is either them, DTV, or nothing for my
area. So until I can cord cut completely, I want to at least get some value.
For now instead of just complaining into the void I look for solutions, and if
I must keep Comcast I might as well make it worthwhile from a value stand
point. It is fine if you don't like the solution, but I was throwing it out
there so you would check the other plans.

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neves
I cancelled Cable TV altogether. I don't want my children to see ads. Now I
just have Netflix. When I want to watch the news (usually during elections) I
plug an antenna.

~~~
PatentTroll
In addition to OTA, I've found CBS has CBSN - a 24/7 news channel available on
roku. I found their coverage of the Paris attacks to be pretty good, easily on
par with what I'd be watching on CNN or something. That and Democracy Now feed
my "cable news" need just fine. But mostly, I've learned to live without 24/7
"news" coverage and I'm happier for it.

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rm_-rf_slash
Aside from sports there is no reason at all to pay for cable. Most paid
services can get you the same content without also having to watch ads.

It just seems absurd to me that a business model can exist in the Internet age
where you pay to see ads and still have no control over your content aside
from switching channels.

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petke
I'm an old movie addict and have never had cable. The cost to value ratio
never made much sense to me. Even back in 98 there was ways to get movies for
free or cheap on the internet. Back then it was zero day ftp's and today its
streaming sites like netflix. I wish cable died already.

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rs999gti
I really like Cinemax, HBO, and Showtime original series. How do I cord cut
without having to subscribe to these premium channels?

~~~
larrydag
This looks like a decent one-stop guide. [http://www.theverge.com/a/online-tv-
stream-price-guide](http://www.theverge.com/a/online-tv-stream-price-guide)

~~~
rs999gti
Great guide. Now what about TV for a household with older parents?

They already have a hard enough time using the FIOS cable boxes to navigate
TV. Is there an interface for Internet based TV that is easy enough for non-
Tech people like my parents and my significant other?

~~~
larrydag
My folks really like Apple TV. Seems to be a good GUI.

