2017: The Biggest Decline in Pay Television Subscriptions Ever

Megalith

Megalith

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A few years ago, Comcast was arguing that cutting the cord was mostly a media trend, but now, public filings of AT&T, Comcast, Dish, Charter, and Verizon are proving otherwise: based on the author’s estimates, along with data showing that in the third quarter alone there have been close to 470,000 cancellations, it is predicted that 2017 cable TV cancellations will surpass somewhere between 1.8 and 1.9 million people.

A more notable trend, and probably the one that scares cable television companies the most, is the “cord never” concept: younger generations aren’t even bothering to sign up for their own cable television packages when the move out. Instead, they rely far more on mobile entertainment and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. So what is cable to do? Comcast is already pushing a standalone “streaming only” offering, which as we reported earlier in the month, is basically charging consumers $14 a month for what is already available over an antenna. Not exactly innovation.
 
My promotion just ended with Directv, and went from $80 to $130+ a month.

I was waiting to the end of the contract so I could avoid the fee to cancel. As much as I actually watch tv I could just go without...
 
Did my part, dropped to internet only a few months ago. I never used the tv, girlfriend just watched some news and family feud. Now the antenna takes care of that just fine, and I'm paying $50 less per month. THIS is the huge part these companies refuse to accept, a lot of consumers need to cut their bills, these sky high cable bills were unsustainable.
 
The difference between internet and cable TV bundled and separate internet and a streaming service is only about $10, which is about what I value having a local DVR as apposed to a cloud DVR. Really the only thing I use TV for is sports (mostly just NHL and F1).
 
People are paying to get advertised to. More shows are showing up on blu ray/ download. What incentive do people have to keep paying these sky high costs to cable companies.

I've given up on hollywood and the boobtoob for awhile now and I feel like i'm not missing much if anything at all.
 
Of course, when you look at these numbers, keep in mind that the third quarter had a few bits of completely minor inclement weather (I think they called them Irma and Harvey) that might have driven large chunks of cable subscribers into temporary residences.
 
The reason for me is there's nothing on TV. Rick and Morty is over and I've been watching those episodes off the internet. Along with Dragon Ball Super which is not aired on TV with subtitles immediately, makes TV garbage to watch. I get most of my entertainment from YouTube nowadays.
 
Jaquile said:
Of course, when you look at these numbers, keep in mind that the third quarter had a few bits of completely minor inclement weather (I think they called them Irma and Harvey) that might have driven large chunks of cable subscribers into temporary residences.
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Don't know if the cable service would cancel them, they'd either just put the account in suspension (does it count as a cancellation?) or keep billing until they're told otherwise.
 
Don’t worry, they will keep pushing up the rates for internet only customers in an attempt to get people back into TV bundles. Right now I have just internet, however for $5 more I could get TV and phone service.
 
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Antenna + DVR (anyone have any recommendations for Linux? MythTV?), Netflix, Hulu = my tv setup. I sometimes have Starz or HBO Go if a new show is out I want to watch.
I got rid of cable in 2009 - haven't missed it at all.
 
TV channels nobody cares for, constant bombarding with commercials, then add ddata caps... Increases in monthly subscriptions....
Broadband might not be a utility (yet), but with all these crappy changes, it might need to become a utility and receive the protections that utilities need.
 
Dan_D said:
Like General Motors, they don't understand the changing times. Those companies try to operate off business models that are decades old that have been rendered obsolete by new technologies.
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In my line of work, I see a lot of those return boxes for the Direct TV, Dish Network hardware.
People sign up for the lower rate 2 year offers, and just cancel when those offers expire.
Why don't they extend those offers???
They must not be in the business to make money, I guess.
 
Dumping Comcast TV and internet has saved me $65/month. I'll take it, since I now have better fiber internet and DirecTV Now. I never used the DVR once in the 14 years I had it.
 
yea, that might mean ok over the air TV programming may return
 
Commander Shepard said:
Dumping Comcast TV and internet has saved me $65/month. I'll take it, since I now have better fiber internet and DirecTV Now. I never used the DVR once in the 14 years I had it.
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I have to ask why not? Hell I never watched a show that wasn't though the DVR. if nothing else just to skip commercials. Let the show record for the first 10 - 15 minutes. The start watching it from there, allowed me to skip the commercials for the entire show. I know many others that do the same.
 
Exavior said:
I have to ask why not? Hell I never watched a show that wasn't though the DVR. if nothing else just to skip commercials. Let the show record for the first 10 - 15 minutes. The start watching it from there, allowed me to skip the commercials for the entire show. I know many others that do the same.
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I haven't followed a traditional network show (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) since Lost ended in 2010. Anything I watch now is on-demand, streamed and/or downloaded.
 
I recently went back to cable. Bill for internet $70, bill for internet and cable $50 with the same speed between them. Cable box has been on three times. Twice to setup and once to see I didn't get a channel I thought I had. It hasn't been on since. When the rate goes off promotion I'll be internet only again.
 
steakman1971 said:
Antenna + DVR (anyone have any recommendations for Linux? MythTV?), Netflix, Hulu = my tv setup. I sometimes have Starz or HBO Go if a new show is out I want to watch.
I got rid of cable in 2009 - haven't missed it at all.
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TvHeadEnd for Linux is really get for broadcast TV. I use it with Plex, Kodi, and Emby.
 
Dan_D said:
Like General Motors, they don't understand the changing times. Those companies try to operate off business models that are decades old that have been rendered obsolete by new technologies.
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Car companies are ignoring a massive issue with used car sales. For $14k, why would I buy a junk Chevy Sonic when I could buy a used Luxury car like a Lexus? This isn't a GM thing, as all car companies are now dealing with this issue. GM is just the worst at updating their cars with the latest technology and gadgets in their cars. It has gotten to the point where we don't need non luxury cars anymore. All mid ranged cars are $30k, and most Americans don't make that much a year. So why do we have $30K+ valued cars in the market? I really doubt that these cars really cost that much when in a few years most of those cars lose significant value. Especially Mercedes and BMW type cars where their value plummets.
 
You have to watch that bill like a hawk, these guys are all thieves. With Optimum, ripped apart the triple pay package, cancelled phone and tv kept internet. Returned their box, can't watch TV. Months later, inspect the bill - sure enough, paying for TV. Called up and they said "oh that entitles you to streaming tv over internet." Told them didn't want that at that time, don't want it now. Of course, no refund for the extra I paid them for 6 months...Second wonderful feature to Optimum, you bill may stay at one level but will never stay there for long. This was the reason why I ultimately gave up on their cable portion of the package. Now when collapsng the internet into the lowest possible speed, lowers the rating but now the cable modem that I had been paying 5 bucks a month is now suddenly 10 bucks a month. Said that the bill was promotional for those items (although when there was a promotion bill was careful to mention it - never was mentioned with the cable modem). Unfortunately locked into using these thieves as there is no one else other than FioS and I dropped them when they didn't show up to repair the connection...
 
I still want to watch Football, so switched to Hulu with live TV, and I have been pretty happy. It is $43 a month after Washington's taxes, and I get enough cable channels to keep me and the family happy. If I don't like it I can just log in to my account and lower it to the $8 a month plan or cancel it anytime. Plus the app works on just about anything, so there are no cable box fees. It isn't perfect, but works for me. After the Super Bowl or whenever the Hawks get knocked out of the playoffs I will probably be dropping it down.
 
DukenukemX said:
Car companies are ignoring a massive issue with used car sales. For $14k, why would I buy a junk Chevy Sonic when I could buy a used Luxury car like a Lexus? This isn't a GM thing, as all car companies are now dealing with this issue. GM is just the worst at updating their cars with the latest technology and gadgets in their cars. It has gotten to the point where we don't need non luxury cars anymore. All mid ranged cars are $30k, and most Americans don't make that much a year. So why do we have $30K+ valued cars in the market? I really doubt that these cars really cost that much when in a few years most of those cars lose significant value. Especially Mercedes and BMW type cars where their value plummets.
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You're forgetting something very important, there's a reason the value of those vehicles(BMW, Mercedes, etc.) plummet. You'll notice the value of those vehicles falls off a cliff 6 months before the warranty is up.

I can get a front shock/strut from the local autozone for a 2014 toyota camry for $90. I can get one for a 2014 BMW 328i for $140.
Toyota brake caliper? $60. BMW brake caliper? $130.

I could go on and on comparing parts, but there's a secondary issue. Labor. Not everyone has the time/knowledge/tools/space to do their own work. You could buy certified used and then make sure to get the extended warranty on the luxury vehicle, but then there goes most of your cost savings.

I could even take it to the extreme of buying an older(2005-2008-ish?) bentley continental for under $50k, even though a '14 model still runs $100k and up. But if something goes run, how fucked would I be for parts and labor? Sure, I'll have saved an assload of money by comparison to a newer one and drove around in pretty decent comfort for a couple years... but when the tranny craps out and I have to cough up $20k... no.
 
Commander Shepard said:
I haven't followed a traditional network show (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc) since Lost ended in 2010. Anything I watch now is on-demand, streamed and/or downloaded.
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So what you are really saying is that you are paying for tv service for no reason as you don't actually use it. That is much different from saying that you don't use your DVR.

Merc1138 said:
You're forgetting something very important, there's a reason the value of those vehicles(BMW, Mercedes, etc.) plummet. You'll notice the value of those vehicles falls off a cliff 6 months before the warranty is up.

I can get a front shock/strut from the local autozone for a 2014 toyota camry for $90. I can get one for a 2014 BMW 328i for $140.
Toyota brake caliper? $60. BMW brake caliper? $130.

I could go on and on comparing parts, but there's a secondary issue. Labor. Not everyone has the time/knowledge/tools/space to do their own work. You could buy certified used and then make sure to get the extended warranty on the luxury vehicle, but then there goes most of your cost savings.

I could even take it to the extreme of buying an older(2005-2008-ish?) bentley continental for under $50k, even though a '14 model still runs $100k and up. But if something goes run, how fucked would I be for parts and labor? Sure, I'll have saved an assload of money by comparison to a newer one and drove around in pretty decent comfort for a couple years... but when the tranny craps out and I have to cough up $20k... no.
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However if more people were buying the BMW parts would the price end up coming down a little? However yes parts are a fuckton more expensive so the person you are replying to is crazy in their line of thought.
 
[21CW]killerofall said:
The difference between internet and cable TV bundled and separate internet and a streaming service is only about $10, which is about what I value having a local DVR as apposed to a cloud DVR. Really the only thing I use TV for is sports (mostly just NHL and F1).
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Not when you factor in those fun hidden fees like a $10 HD fee, a 15$ DVR fee, 7-10$ for broadcast fee, 5$ for regional sports fee.. Etc
 
Chaos Machine said:
Not when you factor in those fun hidden fees like a $10 HD fee, a 15$ DVR fee, 7-10$ for broadcast fee, 5$ for regional sports fee.. Etc
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Perhaps I should have clarified that FOR ME it would have been $10 cheaper. Your millage may very. The $10 cheaper for me was comparing my out of pocket cost, taking into account all fees and taxes on the cable end (as I haven't actually paid a streaming service bill so I don't know exactly what their taxes would be, I bet somewhere between $2-5 a month). I pay $6.99 fee for renting a box, a $11.99 fee for having DVR service, and $11.32 for taxes and other fees (no HD fee), but I took all that into account when estimating my total savings. If I dropped TV, my internet price would go up $10, so I have to take that into account as well (internet has no taxes and fees). Also note that my internet has no data cap, regardless if it is bundled or standalone (although the most I could pull would be ~1.4TB a day at maximum speed).
 
Exavior said:
However if more people were buying the BMW parts would the price end up coming down a little? However yes parts are a fuckton more expensive so the person you are replying to is crazy in their line of thought.
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Doubtful.

Remember that we're talking about used cars. You can't buy more used cars than what is already on the market. Volkswagen doesn't give much of a crap about the seconday BMW market either, outside of their dealerships and certified used cars sales to an extent. The only real way to increase the market for aftermarket parts to the point of non OE vendors making cheap parts(which are potentially problematic themselves) is to have customers need more parts... think about that for a moment, that's the opposite of what any auto manufacturer would generally want.

Driving down after warranty maintenance costs so us plebs can drive around cheap used BMWs without as much worry isn't particularly great for BMW either. Sure, they could sell it by the reliability aspect due to having so many older vehicles on the road, but do their customers buying new want just a slightly newer drive of what the plebs are driving for $80k vs $20k? Doubtful.

If VW wanted to sell cars to us plebs... they'd be selling us Volkswagens, not BMW/Audi/Lambo/etc.

I wouldn't say the person is crazy, just uninformed. I had a co-worker a few years back that wound up with a porsche boxster just out of warranty. He thought he got an amazing deal on a new daily driver and I warned him it was going to bite him in the ass(we're talking just under $20k for the car). Within 6 months he's bitching about $800 water pump replacement jobs, $1500+ in suspension work, $500+ on brakes, and it was in the shop for a solid 3 weeks at one point due to some electrical issue I can't remember the details for. All over a freakin' boxster(non S). Side note, 9 months after he got that money pit back into decent condition... his wife wouldn't let him hardly touch the thing because he had a newborn(and she certainly wasn't going to let him drive that with his kid, but that's an entire separate issue) so it's spent about the last 4 years garaged and likely needs a bunch more money thrown at it due to not being driven for years.
 
exlink said:
Incoming stricter data caps to keep people off streaming services in 3...2...1...
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Comcast already implemented their 1tb a month data cap. It is really bad when you have several people streaming non stop so you are forced to buy their unlimited plan for $50 extra. FUCK comcast.
 
ElBerryKM13 said:
Comcast already implemented their 1tb a month data cap. It is really bad when you have several people streaming non stop so you are forced to buy their unlimited plan for $50 extra. FUCK comcast.
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I can imagine. I hit about 600-800GB/month with my internet usage alone. Comcast actually had a 300GB data cap in some markets before they went nationwide with it and increased it to 1TB. Some other ISPs STILL have 300GB data caps.
 
I ditched my satellite over 5 years ago. Now all I have is internet and a cell. Never going back, bell and rogers can suck my balls.
 
The cable companies charge a fortune and then they 5 and ten dollar you to death. One thing for sure is the cable companies don't share a dime of wealth with their employees.
 
ithaqua_1969 said:
lowers the rating but now the cable modem that I had been paying 5 bucks a month is now suddenly 10 bucks a month. Said that the bill was promotional for those items (although when there was a promotion bill was careful to mention it - never was mentioned with the cable modem). Unfortunately locked into using these thieves as there is no one else other than FioS and I dropped them when they didn't show up to repair the connection...
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Optimum raised the modem rental fee across the board recently from $5 to $10. It has nothign to do with promitional pricing or screwing with you individually. It has massively affected the price of used/refurbed modems and availability of new "approved" modems in general.
 
But, but, how will they ever afford a new store, or 2, on every city block? Also, how will they ever afford to buy up all those sports arenas and/or advertise on EVERY 3rd billboard in the city?
 
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