[jonKranked]

pay cable tv in the US experienced a decline of subscribers for the first time EVER. Wonder if it's just the economy alone to blame...

http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/05/big-cable-loses-500-000-subscribers-in-q3-we-neglect-to-send-fl/

 

[dante]

We ditched ours ~8mo ago, and have replaced the $85/month we were paying for it with:

HULU.com
Netflix.com
ESPN3.com
finalgear.com
channelsurfing.net
cyclingtorrents.nz (for the Tour coverage)

and over-the-air channels. Honestly don't miss it at all. I do wonder, however, how about the subscribers for Verizon's FIOS, AT&T's U-Verse, and the satellite companies? Did they shed customers too, or did they just pick up the slack from the cable guys?

 

[IH8Rice]

we pay a ton of money for cable for the 3 rooms we have tv's in. Dish finally became a viable option for us when they finally picked up FX and Fox again.
ive hesitated in the past before with satellite service since IMO the picture quality isnt as good as cable's and service can be interrupted with heavy rain/snow/storms, but with new customer prices being more than half of what we are paying with Comcast, i will be calling them soon to figure out our prices.

 

[jonKranked]

one thing pointed out in the article is that if more people drop their subscriptions, cable co's will raise prices to make up the difference financially, which will in turn drive more customers away. Anyone think this is realistic? I think cable finally realizes they have actual competition, but that their ace in the hole (for now) is that a lot of them still own the distribution rights for the shows they air and people want to watch online. Which begs the question - how long until we start seeing shows (and more importantly hit shows) that have no network affiliation and are online only? (I know funding is an issue, but what if a company like say, facebook or google started investing in TV shows?)

 

[ridiculous]

I really should get rid of my cable subscriptions. Fios is great but its pricey for the amount I use it. I guess I continue to justify it by downloading loads of things at retarded fast speeds but really that just means I need the internet and thats it.

I want a pay per view dvr of sorts.

 

[jonKranked]

the only reason I still have cable TV is because of my Liz (my gf). She wants it. if it were up to me, cable TV would be long gone. I'd build a good spec'd media PC type thing with the money I'd be saving by not having a cable subscription

 

[binary visions]

Is there a good solution for live sports? If I had a way to get a good selection of live HD sports, I'd probably lean away from cable.

I'm leery of streaming HD content. It drives me nuts to have stuttering or pauses.

 

[IH8Rice]

Anyone think this is realistic? I think cable finally realizes they have actual competition, but that their ace in the hole (for now) is that a lot of them still own the distribution rights for the shows they air and people want to watch online. Which begs the question - how long until we start seeing shows (and more importantly hit shows) that have no network affiliation and are online only? (I know funding is an issue, but what if a company like say, facebook or google started investing in TV shows?)

theyve always had competition with satellite providers. prices for both Dish and Directv have always been cheaper and customers always got better hardware and better customer service.
satellite has also had 99% of the channels that cable has had too.

online tv shows probably wont take off mainstream for a very long time. the ad revenue isnt a fraction of what you get from broadcast service and copyright issues will of course be a issue as well.

I'm leery of streaming HD content. It drives me nuts to have stuttering or pauses.

until that changes (which wont be for a while), i wouldnt even consider it for watching the majority of my shows on. buffering is a huge PITA for watching lengthy shows

 

[jonKranked]

steve, as far as I'm concerned for this topic, its really cable companies (including satellite) vs internet. Old school vs new, but I do agree with your point. My parents have satellite and it kinda sucks. THen again their equipment is MAD old and I've heard satellite has improved a lot in the last decade.

Live sports is definitely a big driver for cable vs internet, but bear in mind there is a segment of tv viewers that don't watch live sports (crazy concept, I know).

In terms of streaming, buffering can be an issue, but some services are relatively unaffected. In all the time I've been using Netflix streaming, I think I've had a buffer/stutter happen maybe 5 times. They obviously have seem to have it nailed down enough that they're rolling out more HD streaming options, as well as streaming 5.1 surround.

When I say internet TV, I'm not referring to only stuff available via browser. Hulu+ is now available for anyone with a PS3 (still a pay service, but only requires internet). Netflix's streaming is still growing, supposedly red box is gonna get in the game as well.