Could High Cable Prices Cause Cord-Cutting? Say it isn't so.

DooKey

[H]F Junkie
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Let's chalk this one up to Captain Obvious because even a blind monkey could figure this one out, however, research company Kagan is confirming what all of us know by releasing information that shows costs are driving people to cut the cord from paid cable. They show that the average bill has increased by 74% since 2000 and combined with stagnant wages it is the major reason for so many cutting the cord. Also, analyst Amy Yong is predicting the cable companies are going to report 510K subscription loses in the first quarter of this year. I know I have confirmation bias, but this is really good news for us streamers because in the long run we made the right choice and we're reaping the benefits of the greed of cable companies. If it wasn't for them raising prices so much we wouldn't have so many affordable streaming choices today. The law of unintended consequences is hitting the cable companies hard.

Pay TV has become dramatically less affordable since 2000, research company Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence notes, with the average bill increasing in price by 74%, even adjusted for inflation.
 
Let's chalk this one up to Captain Obvious because even a blind monkey could figure this one out, however, research company Kagan is confirming what all of us know by releasing information that shows costs are driving people to cut the cord from paid cable. They show that the average bill has increased by 74% since 2000 and combined with stagnant wages it is the major reason for so many cutting the cord. Also, analyst Amy Yong is predicting the cable companies are going to report 510K subscription loses in the first quarter of this year. I know I have confirmation bias, but this is really good news for us streamers because in the long run we made the right choice and we're reaping the benefits of the greed of cable companies. If it wasn't for them raising prices so much we wouldn't have so many affordable streaming choices today. The law of unintended consequences is hitting the cable companies hard.

Pay TV has become dramatically less affordable since 2000, research company Kagan, S&P Global Market Intelligence notes, with the average bill increasing in price by 74%, even adjusted for inflation.

This has been an issue in Vietnam for the last 10 or so years. Every year there's 3-5 incidents where local residents near national oceanic gateway cables dive and cut these cables to be sold for scrap metal, which results in internet outages and unstable connectivity for weeks.

Sigh...
 
This has been an issue in Vietnam for the last 10 or so years. Every year there's 3-5 incidents where local residents near national oceanic gateway cables dive and cut these cables to be sold for scrap metal, which results in internet outages and unstable connectivity for weeks.

Sigh...

Cutting the cord means discontinuing the service in this case. It isn't a person literally cutting a cable cord. They are switching from paying for Cable TV that is literally delivered via wiring to their homes to an internet streaming service.

Sometimes English translates weirdly. :)

So what happens to the divers that cut the physical lines in Vietnam? Do they go to jail if caught? If so for how long? I got interested in scrap metal salvaging when I was reading about World War II ships getting salvaged for their metals because they were created before the Atomic bombing of Japan.
 
This has been an issue in Vietnam for the last 10 or so years. Every year there's 3-5 incidents where local residents near national oceanic gateway cables dive and cut these cables to be sold for scrap metal, which results in internet outages and unstable connectivity for weeks.

Sigh...

Same here. Seems the US is another country we can add to the list of cord cutters. (y)
 
I pay 180 bucks a month for Directtv and I don't watch tv. I don't know what is wrong with me. If I need entertainment at night I generally watch Twitch or Netflix. I should really cancel my tv package, not to mention the land line telephone that I unplugged 9 months ago and still pay for.
 
My uncle pays $200 a month for his FIOS TV and I'm going to try and reduce it for him and he doesn't use majority of the stuff he has. Plus I setup a Kodi box so hopefully in time I can convince him to cut the cord.
 
If any of the streaming services would just have a guide that mimicked the old set top box guide I'd be down. WAF is huge, the guides most services have are all show/content based and sometimes you just want a long list of channels with shows listed out in chronological order.

So we have FIOS with a cable box, wife is happy, and I have a homerunhd with a cable card and I record all shows on that to view on plex later. Plex does live TV also, guide sucks on that one too
 
You'd think by now they'd catch on and change their models a bit. Or are they secretly all investing in internet backbone companies so they can take over the internet when the time is right?
 
I pay less for multiple streaming services than I did with cable and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Even buying a few shows by season per year on Amazon being thrown into the mix doesn't change the fact that I'm not spending nearly as much on TV as I was a bit more than a year ago. I'm saving hundreds per year. The cable companies want to continue to operate on an outdated business model and their refusal to adapt will be the death of them if they don't change.
 
Cut the cords years back then reconnected with DirecTVNow from ATT--$35/month with the same old cable stuff--mostly commercials with a few bits and pieces of old programming. It does supply sports and connects to PC, mobile, etc. but still considering cutting it all off again! Realizing how little TV I actually watch and most of that OTA with rabbit ears for PBS and local news. Free TV as I remember it in the "old days".
 
If any of the streaming services would just have a guide that mimicked the old set top box guide I'd be down. WAF is huge, the guides most services have are all show/content based and sometimes you just want a long list of channels with shows listed out in chronological order.

So we have FIOS with a cable box, wife is happy, and I have a homerunhd with a cable card and I record all shows on that to view on plex later. Plex does live TV also, guide sucks on that one too


I'm using sling blue for fox sports north (milwaukee brewers and bucks)... seems ok for now (usually dvd quality)... but its 3x cheaper than cable .
 
It must be getting bad, as my cable only had a small increase this year.

For the past several years they had hit me with a huge increase, so I called and threaten to cancel so they would give me a discount.
Last couple years I had to do more than just threaten. Told them I was switching to satellite last year.

This year for the 1st time, they automatically gave me a "long term" customer discount. Not quite as good as last years discount, but close enough.
About time they started caring about their existing customers.

Still waiting for a service (cable or satellite) that lets me opt out and not pay for all the channels I don't watch, like ESPN.
 
You'd think by now they'd catch on and change their models a bit. Or are they secretly all investing in internet backbone companies so they can take over the internet when the time is right?
A lot of cable companies are already also ISPs (at least in my country the main providers all are). And due to bundling the price of individual services goes up as you peel them off one by one.

I'm in the process of finally cutting the cord now, will be saving over $100/mo (and that's from dropping a basic non-HD cable service). Fortunately the government requires ISPs to sublet their lines to indy providers so I managed to get 100Mb for less than I'd be paying for 50Mb from one of the big guys.
 
If any of the streaming services would just have a guide that mimicked the old set top box guide I'd be down. WAF is huge, the guides most services have are all show/content based and sometimes you just want a long list of channels with shows listed out in chronological order.

So we have FIOS with a cable box, wife is happy, and I have a homerunhd with a cable card and I record all shows on that to view on plex later. Plex does live TV also, guide sucks on that one too
But that doesn't make sense for the streaming services to do. You aren't tuning into a livestream that starts at a certain time(except live events like sports) and channels are non-existent. WAF is one thing, but this is a matter of catching up with the times. Yeah, she's going to need to come to grips with the fact that if she wants to watch a show, she needs to search for the show, and choose the episode to watch.
 
I don't pay much for cable. Probably about 120 dollars for some basic channels and stuff. The problem that I face is that cable is still cheaper than streaming for me at the time being. It remains to be seen for the future whether this is still true. Kids channels + HGTV for the wife + some car related channels and it's way more than streaming.
 
I don't pay much for cable. Probably about 120 dollars for some basic channels and stuff. The problem that I face is that cable is still cheaper than streaming for me at the time being. It remains to be seen for the future whether this is still true. Kids channels + HGTV for the wife + some car related channels and it's way more than streaming.

I have Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, CBS All Access, and Starz streaming services. All of that total isn't $100 a month. Streaming isn't more expensive than what you are paying for cable TV right now.
 
Cable cost is the same for me vs PSVue, so I stick with cable. The convenience of shit "just working" with no buffering/freezes/blackouts and actually being able to use a remote with a number pad still trumps the streaming services out there.

Also never have to worry about data caps.
 
A lot of cable companies are already also ISPs (at least in my country the main providers all are). And due to bundling the price of individual services goes up as you peel them off one by one.

I'm in the process of finally cutting the cord now, will be saving over $100/mo (and that's from dropping a basic non-HD cable service). Fortunately the government requires ISPs to sublet their lines to indy providers so I managed to get 100Mb for less than I'd be paying for 50Mb from one of the big guys.
I was more thinking of the fiber optic cables and related infrastructure running around the world...get control of those (of course it doesn't hurt to have a lock on the local last mile stuff too). I hope that's not happening, and they are just being business dinosaurs. I cut the cord in 2010, there was a short time to adjust, but really the best quality is still DVD and especially BD and so I spend the money I used to spend on satellite actually getting things I want (I probably miss out on a few things, HBO, Showtime, Sundance were useful for watching things I probably would never have thought of buying...but really I have a backlog of discs to rip as it is).
 
I don't even have an antennae for the free stuff, that's how much I enjoy the shit that's on TV. I do pay the $11/month for Netflix though so I have something to fall asleep to.
 
Back in the winter of '98, I was able to get cable TV with all the premium channels, cable modem service at 75mbps, and phone service for $122/mo after taxes and fees.

Today, I pay $105/for 300mbps internet, $177/mo for TV with the premium channels, and have ditched the phone service.

Once my TV contract expires next June, I'll be cancelling it and going back to streaming only.

There you have it...
 
Cable cost is the same for me vs PSVue, so I stick with cable. The convenience of shit "just working" with no buffering/freezes/blackouts and actually being able to use a remote with a number pad still trumps the streaming services out there.

Also never have to worry about data caps.
I am in exactly the same boat as you. My tv provider is also my internet provider so I won't save anything by unbundeling the tv and internet and getting PSview. All of the other streaming services are either shitty quality or don't have the channels I watch.
 
Cox tries to raise my cable bill by at least $20 every January. I’m really tired of doing the phone dance a couple times a year just to keep the prices down. I’m really hoping this is the last year I have to pay for cable TV.
 
Cut the cord in 2008 and haven't looked back.

10$ a month for netflix
30$ a month for Sling
4$ a month for MotorTrend on Demand
80$ a month for gigabit internet


Much cheaper than the uverse tv I was paying for previously.
 
I pay less for multiple streaming services than I did with cable and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. Even buying a few shows by season per year on Amazon being thrown into the mix doesn't change the fact that I'm not spending nearly as much on TV as I was a bit more than a year ago. I'm saving hundreds per year. The cable companies want to continue to operate on an outdated business model and their refusal to adapt will be the death of them if they don't change.

The degree to which you can save even without serious change is absurd. Most of the content in a cable package are bullshit channels made by one of the cable providers to create more ad slots and are just full of shit. I moved to driecttv NOW and it's still essentially cable, just streamed, but itnstead of 90% of the content being shit I don't care about ever, it's only about 25%.

They kept jacking my cable package until it was $137 a month. All I really gave up was showtime, and I'm paying $70 a month now. $800 a year back in my pocket and all I lost was the bullshit padding. Still evne have my local regional sports programming.
 
Cut the cords years back then reconnected with DirecTVNow from ATT--$35/month with the same old cable stuff--mostly commercials with a few bits and pieces of old programming. It does supply sports and connects to PC, mobile, etc. but still considering cutting it all off again! Realizing how little TV I actually watch and most of that OTA with rabbit ears for PBS and local news. Free TV as I remember it in the "old days".

If you kill your DirecTVNow account, you’ll get a 50% off for 2 months coupon with a week. I use the coupon code, get my two months, kill the sub again, get my new coupon code, and rinse/repeat. Eventually they’ll probably stop sending codes. :)
 
It is not so much a cost issue; it is the VALUE of the programming offered. The vast majority of programming is sh*t that few want to waste their time watching. And then the commercials forced on you also. Wait a minute, I thought this programming is PAID for. You quickly start to feel like a complete sucker that a slick talking salesmen took to cleaners.......
 
I went from xfinity $265/m to just internet for $59.95/m.
Have At&T cell Unlimited plan - which got me $15/m off of DirectTV Now so it is $20/m for what we typically watched anyway!!!!

so $80/m and its been good. Glad to be off of cable tv.

I do have OTA setup with the HDHomerun Connect Quatro - doing DVR, in my attic the antenna cord comes down and splits into my PC with a Hauppauge HD TV Tuner for the DVR service.... other leg goes into a booster that then all rooms plug into.

OTA is so nice but wife still needs the other channels. And I agree.. for $20/m I get FS1/ESPN/AMC and a few others..

with AT&T we get HBO for free and man there is never anything good on.

now we do not have Netflix, hulu, etc... I just want to start watching less of everything. Yes TV shows are great but they are filling our brains with useless stuff and keeping us on the couch. I have been up and bout fixing the fence, etc as I don't care as much about tv...

but that is me and works for me and my family...
 
I don't understand how people freak out about Netflix raising their price by a dollar or 2 and yet they will pay $150 a month for commercial ridden cable TV.
Yes, yes! Its mind boggling really... I mean i know this is about all the people cutting cable, but to me cable as it is is so bad, its just a horrendous value proposition.. it truly breaks my capacity to see reason in paying for it. To me cable as it is should have collapsed years ago, not bleed, collapsed. Maybe i could understand paying a fee, 10 to 30 dollars for all the channels ( i mean ALL) I might understand that, just might... But the rare times I've known what people pay its been over a hundred, cracking 200 depending on what services are mixed in, but shiiiit. When i stay in a hotel all i can think of is : people pay for this shit?!.
 
Still waiting for a service (cable or satellite) that lets me opt out and not pay for all the channels I don't watch, like ESPN.

I think Dish Network comes the closest in that department with their Flex Pack. I get a core package of popular channels with no sports channels. The thing that keeps me with Dish is the equipment. The Hopper 3 DVR supports OTA ( with external USB dongle ), so I can record from both satellite and OTA antenna. Still paying $92 a month but that is for the DVR, HBO, and Starz.
 
I think Dish Network comes the closest in that department with their Flex Pack. I get a core package of popular channels with no sports channels. The thing that keeps me with Dish is the equipment. The Hopper 3 DVR supports OTA ( with external USB dongle ), so I can record from both satellite and OTA antenna. Still paying $92 a month but that is for the DVR, HBO, and Starz.

I'm paying about $75/month for cable. No extra channels like HBO or Starz, just the basic + extended 120 channels (of which we watch around 10)
Includes $3/month for a cable card in my HTPC that lets us record 4 channels at once.
I get no over the air channels (bad hilly location), so an antenna does me no good.
 
Screw cable TV. Cut that cable near 5 years ago and have not looked back. Got sick and tired of being forced to pay high price for so many bullshit channels full of commercials just so sports fans can watch their games cheaply. Just internet, NetFlix and putting my tax dollars to use with DVDs from the library for me now.
 
I think Dish Network comes the closest in that department with their Flex Pack. I get a core package of popular channels with no sports channels. The thing that keeps me with Dish is the equipment. The Hopper 3 DVR supports OTA ( with external USB dongle ), so I can record from both satellite and OTA antenna. Still paying $92 a month but that is for the DVR, HBO, and Starz.
That's the thing that made me leave Dish. The kept obsoleting my good working equipment that I'd bought (never went in for leasing anything) and then giving me carp equipment in its place. But maybe they've improved the quality in the last eight years.

TLDR-- rant: I was the first in my area to get DIRECTV but switched to Dish when I moved because they carried Star Trek. But over time they got more and more customer hostile and started nickel and diming everything. Back in the good old days I used to get PBS over the air (unless there was a cloud between me and them), but since they went digital of course nothing thanks to the crap way it was done. Oh well one station vs. none isn't a big deal. Just wish SOMEONE would come up with a good way to get broadband to rural areas...keep hearing of all these great things that never happen--but the best I can do it 3/4g with one site serving a large area :(. I'd still mostly buy BD, but there's some things I'd stream where quality doesn't matter.

Edit: Haven't done that for awhile quoted the wrong post :( Don't mind me I'm getting old.
 
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It must be getting bad, as my cable only had a small increase this year.

For the past several years they had hit me with a huge increase, so I called and threaten to cancel so they would give me a discount.
Last couple years I had to do more than just threaten. Told them I was switching to satellite last year.

This year for the 1st time, they automatically gave me a "long term" customer discount. Not quite as good as last years discount, but close enough.
About time they started caring about their existing customers.

Still waiting for a service (cable or satellite) that lets me opt out and not pay for all the channels I don't watch, like ESPN.

It's ridiculous that everyone has to do that thru customer retention. Last year they denied me a discount and dude the cost is ridiculous w/o any sort of discount. I canceled my tv service right then and there. I kept internet of course.
 
I haven't had cable in about a year. Have Amazon prime video, Netflix, sling, and just picked up one of those 35 mile antennas. Much better selection than cable, lots of good shows and movies, most of which without commercials, and can have multiple people in household watching at once on different devices. Would cost at least double if I had cable.
 
Claim to be cord cutter to free self from death grip of cable company
Still has cable hookup for internet
 
I cut the cord a couple years ago. I'm Canadian so my options are bit different but my internet is $105/month for Telus 150 symmetrical fiber and unlimited data. $13.99/month for Netflix Ultra HD. CraveTV is $7.99/month. Amazon Prime is $79.00/year. CBC's App/Website is free (though technically funded by tax dollars). Can watch everything on my Apple TV directly or with a computer. I definitely use Netflix the most, the others I have specific shows I watch or am rewatching. And Prime has the shipping perks so it's cost as far as TV goes is probably more like $20/year.

As a family we miss sports, the food network, and hgtv. Occasionally we'll 'find' a sports stream for the super bowl, grey cup, stanley cup, etc. Unfortunately the pricing for streaming hockey is unrealistic and they black out your local teams. As if I want to pay $360/year to watch out of market games.... I'm sure for some fans that's an ok deal, but as a person who wants to watch maybe a couple games a month I'd much rather they had a $5-6 game price like a movie rental.

Update: I had another look at hockey and sportsnet now may actually be what I was looking for a few years ago. Unless I misunderstand it, for $24.99/month I'd get local sports games. Still somewhat expensive but comparable to a sports package with cable. https://www.snnow.ca/faq
 
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Here's how bad it is: here in Dallas, Charter has started offering a la carte programming: for $22/mo or so you can pick 10 channels from a lineup of about 40, plus you get the regular over the air channels.
 
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