People not cutting the TV cord

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supton

supton

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Found this in the inbox today. I know the anti-TV folks like a good bash thread, this at least has some numbers in it. http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2014/08/cultu...p;type=headline
Quote:
Fears of so-called "cord-cutting," where people drop their TV subscriptions and rely on online video services, was "surprisingly benign" in the second quarter, with just 305,000 households - less than one-tenth of a percent - quitting pay TV, according to financial advisory firm MoffettNathanson LLC.
Quote:
A Gallup poll in 1990 found 49 percent of people said they spent too much time watching television. Only 19 percent said they watched too little. Nine years ago when CBS began its annual survey, more people said they were cutting back on TV time. This year, Nielsen estimates the average American watches four hours, 50 minutes of TV a day.
Quote:
Television continues on firm footing financially, despite the rise of digital video outlets like Netflix and YouTube. The research firm eMarketer Inc. predicted TV ad spending will hit $78.6 billion in 2018, up from $66.4 billion last year.
 
Hello, You said, "....this at least has some numbers in it." I'm all for an introduction but there were essentially NO NUMBERS in that small, ridiculously brief, entirely conversational article. This doesn't mean you have to hate me now. Just recognize that the article simply mentioned that some people think script writing and direction have gotten better. The gal who threw her husband's TV off the deck now watches more TV now thinks TV viewing is like reading a book.....c'mon now. It was a shallow, fluff article. Trade magazines are full of them. Kira
 
Originally Posted By: Kira
Hello, You said, "....this at least has some numbers in it." I'm all for an introduction but there were essentially NO NUMBERS in that small, ridiculously brief, entirely conversational article. This doesn't mean you have to hate me now. Just recognize that the article simply mentioned that some people think script writing and direction have gotten better. The gal who threw her husband's TV off the deck now watches more TV now thinks TV viewing is like reading a book.....c'mon now. It was a shallow, fluff article. Trade magazines are full of them. Kira
Fair enough; I simply saw some numbers that I thought were interesting. I don't generally go looking for this stuff. I had no idea that TV advertising was in the billions of dollars.
 
Since 2012 the number of cable subscriptions in the US has declined. Fast or slow is the only question at this point, and if it truly is 300,000 a quarter or a million a year and increasing it won't be a decade before cable tv is a thing of the past. As someone who gave it up a year ago for hulu/netflix it seems like an absurd waste of 100 bucks a month, basically for Monday and Thursday night football.
 
Originally Posted By: morepwr
The average person watches 4 hours and 50 minutes a day? Really? I watch maybe an hour if that.
I do about 45min right before bed. Wife likes to unwind with the TV on. Lately I've been surfing the web while the TV is on; wifey was laughing at me the other night, as I had one earbud in so I could listen to a youtube vid (probably about tire mounting). Once in a while I might turn on the TV while doing dishes. Personally I'm starting to like watching shows that I've seen before. I can just look up once in a while for the bits I wanted to see. And if I look away, I don't worried about missing some important part of the story. On edit: I wonder how much of that nearly 5 hours is dedicated, stare-at-tv-like-a-zombie watching. My wife will turn on the TV and "watch" the weather channel for hours on end. She just wants the background noise. Since we cut the cable it's often TV shows that she has seen several times already. Again, for the background noise.
 
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Haven't had cable for 6 years and counting. We subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon... and still come out WAY ahead versus cable. Comcast provides our internet and is constantly trying to get us to add cable... to which I say "no, thank you".
 
I get 2-3 junk mails per week from our former satellite provider. Unfortunately they provide our DSL/phone so they have my address. For a while I thought I would be ok with $20/month for the local channels. I'd prefer $10 but I could go as high as $20. These days even that seems like too much. I get two channels off the TV antenna and rarely watch them.
 
We cut the TV cord about 12 years ago here when we added onto the house. It hasn't be connected since. Don't miss it one bit. Internet, movies, video games. I can still get my daily junk intake if I really wanted.
 
I was a TV cutter since 2000 but in 2008 lured back in with lack of decent cell service at new home, high speed internet and cable for $99/month for two years. 2000-2008 I was able to pilfer reception based TV since I had the cable internet offering($42). I simply plugged in the cable to TV and found they had no filter for TV anyway. Apparently now they have a some sort of device now to stop that. I depend on quality phone and high speed internet for my lively hood. They make it very $$$$ to not couple the packages so I just get the TV part.
 
What about those who never had a chord? I watched cable or satellite tv at my parents house way back when, as well as previous roommate's cable that I did not pay for, but never have I had a cable or sat tv subscription in my name. I pay for decently fast internet (~50Mbps,) Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime (though Amazon Prime is for more than just streaming.) To be honest, we only really watch tv when I'm working 40.0 (and go) hour weeks in the winter, since the cold, dark days coincide with new things to watch. We usually transition from 1-3 hours/week of streaming in the summer or during busy work periods to 5-15 hours/week during slow winter weeks. I think I spend more time than that browsing BITOG while taking a quick break or a poop anywhere.
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Found this in the inbox today. I know the anti-TV folks like a good bash thread, this at least has some numbers in it.
Uh, many people who "cut the cord" aren't anti-TV, they're against paying big cable bills for tons of stuff they don't watch. I got rid of cable like 5 years ago and I've never looked back. I pay for a couple online services that add up to way less than cable. I can watch pretty much anything I'd want to online, on-demand. The only thing cable cutting takes away is mindlessly flipping channels through dozens of things you don't want to watch. I don't miss that.
 
Cable TV is going the way of paper newspapers, in 10 years it will be gone. I suspect the NBA, NFL, NASCAR etc will eventually realize they can make more money streaming their games and charging accordingly.
 
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Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I suspect the NBA, NFL, NASCAR etc will eventually realize they can make more money streaming their games and charging accordingly.
Yes; I think the business model is changing rapidly. We cord-cutters will have to be mindful of the little $5/month subscriptions that are bound to become available, so we don't become like the boiled frog... I tell folks with cable, who are afraid that there's less to watch on Netflix or Hulu, that there's so much more programming available on-demand than they could possibly watch. I watch a lot of PBS stuff on Netflix ("Secrets of [insert historical British landmark here]" is one of my favorites right now). And I watch it when it fits my schedule, I don't waste time with commercials, and I'm not tied to one device (like a TV with a cable box). Our 5- and 8-year old kids watch and enjoy older sitcoms, like Major Dad, Brady Bunch, etc. You know...the stuff from the so-called "good old days".
 
Originally Posted By: ClutchDisc
I have much better things to do with my time than...
I can't count how many times I've heard that said in reference to internet discussion forums... wink
 
I'm one of those 300,000! And sure glad to be saving that $100 a month! I just bought a trailer hitch for my car with the money I saved in July.
 
While we were on our way to Texas last week we stopped over in Emporia Kansas for the night. As we were in the motel room I turned on the television and flipped through the channels. The experience reaffirmed my decision not to watch television. As I scrolled through the channels the shows and commercials that I saw were just downright stupid. There may have been some content worth seeing, but wading through all the garbage to find it simply wasn't worth my time. After about 10 minutes I turned the television off, picked up my book, and relaxed. I guess I can't be one of those "cord cutters" since I've never had a cord to cut. But seeing the amount of money some folks are willing to spend in order to be "entertained", I certainly am glad that I never became one of the mindless television watchers.
 
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