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Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

businessinsider.com

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Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#21

Post by surge »

macNchz wrote: post #13
nlawalker wrote: post #8

A question for those who have done more thinking on this than I have: I see cable TV going the way of the dedicated phone line - a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit, which will be the internet connection. The overall cost of a subscription will remain roughly the same, but the cost will be allocated to the internet connection: much like mobile carriers are now basically free v…

I have Time Warner internet-only service in NYC and they are constantly trying to sell me cable as a $10/month addon to my $35 50mbit internet package. I imagine it's a pretty limited set of channels, but they're very much already using that sales tactic.

Right, and now you'll need a special box just to receive antenna TV over normal analog channel range which they'll rent to you for a fee (and they are notorious for providing slow boxes that take 3-5 seconds to flip to the next channel or pause for long seconds to display a menu, or need to be rebooted constantly). I had the $10 a month TV, but once I found out they were requiring the box, I just cancelled it, I was basically paying them to avoid using an antenna, but now I'll just get an antenna.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#22

Post by dkersten »

nlawalker wrote: post #8

A question for those who have done more thinking on this than I have: I see cable TV going the way of the dedicated phone line - a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit, which will be the internet connection. The overall cost of a subscription will remain roughly the same, but the cost will be allocated to the internet connection: much like mobile carriers are now basically free v…

a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit, which will be the internet connection.

Its already like that with my internet provider. I couldn't even unbundle the phone (even though I don't use it). I didn't bother with the TV add-on as Netflix exceeds my TV-watching needs, but its not much above the cost of internet.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#23

Post by surge »

ssharp wrote: post #15
sageabilly wrote: post #6

Even among my less technologically advanced friends and family there's maybe only a handful of people who still watch shows regularly on cable television. My in-laws watch TV shows but they record them and skip over the ads. Pretty much the only thing that I know of that anyone watches on cable and still sits through ads is live sports. Watching cable networks flail around and completely fail to understand that their…

I'd love to "flail around" while still having two billion in annual profits.

They're flailing because they're not showing growth and share holders hate that. If they show a 2% loss in subscribers or subscriber growth stagnates, that's enough for them to freak out, despite their profits.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#24

Post by surge »

Itaxpica wrote: post #16
ssharp wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I had Hulu Plus, it was actually worse than cable because it forced you to sit through commercials. If I recorded the show on cable, I could fast forward through them at least.

Hulu Plus recently added an option where you can pay a bit extra (like two bucks a month) to make it ad free. It makes it a way more pleasant experience.

Only on certain shows, Hulu is still owned by networks that don't "get it".

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#25

Post by timjahn »

jimmar wrote: post #17

I can count on one hand the number of times my children have sat down and watched network TV. They are 4 and 7 years old. With ~15 minutes of commercials per hour, I've probably saved them from watching thousands of commercials, which I think is a good thing.

Same. They don't even really know what commercials are.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#27

Post by chrisseaton »

sageabilly wrote: post #6

Even among my less technologically advanced friends and family there's maybe only a handful of people who still watch shows regularly on cable television. My in-laws watch TV shows but they record them and skip over the ads. Pretty much the only thing that I know of that anyone watches on cable and still sits through ads is live sports. Watching cable networks flail around and completely fail to understand that their…

But don't the cable companies own Hulu? So they have realised the change is coming, and have already adapted.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#28

Post by clentaminator »

Aside from ads, freedom of choice with respect to just what you watch seem to be the other key motivator.

With the capability of streaming and on-demand services, why would any consumer put up with having to choose any channel with a fixed programming schedule? I almost certainly don't want to watch what you're trying to sell.

No other industry seems to operate in this manner. When it comes to books, games, music, etc, consumers choose specific products. With cable TV you don't get that granularity of choice. Netflix just brings the traditional TV model into alignment with seemingly everything else.

Anecdotally, cable prices seem to rise but the new channels that are sold to me as a benefit are the exact opposite of what I watch. More sports channels? Despite me having never tuned into a single one? If you're going to profile me, at least make an effort to do it well.

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#29

Post by gtk40 »

macNchz wrote: post #13
nlawalker wrote: post #8

A question for those who have done more thinking on this than I have: I see cable TV going the way of the dedicated phone line - a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit, which will be the internet connection. The overall cost of a subscription will remain roughly the same, but the cost will be allocated to the internet connection: much like mobile carriers are now basically free v…

I have Time Warner internet-only service in NYC and they are constantly trying to sell me cable as a $10/month addon to my $35 50mbit internet package. I imagine it's a pretty limited set of channels, but they're very much already using that sales tactic.

Same thing with Charter for me. They constantly try to sell me a $7/month addon that will give access to over-the-air channels through cable. I got that with a >$10 HD antenna, so I'm not sure what the value would be. (and I've barely used that...)

Re: Cable companies have started showing fewer ads because of Netflix

#30

Post by forgottenpass »

nlawalker wrote: post #8

A question for those who have done more thinking on this than I have: I see cable TV going the way of the dedicated phone line - a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit, which will be the internet connection. The overall cost of a subscription will remain roughly the same, but the cost will be allocated to the internet connection: much like mobile carriers are now basically free v…

I see cable TV going the way of the dedicated phone line - a bundled benefit you get for a very small fee on top of the primary benefit

In my region, it's already cheaper to get a package with cable TV than just internet. I have friends that don't even take the cable set of of the shipping box. I assume Comcast's per subscriber cost to cable channels is lower than the ads revenue from artificially inflating subscriber numbers.

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