One of the big stories in tech reporting over the past year or so has been the move by some consumers to “cut the cord” from their subscription TV service and begin relying on the Internet for the delivery of video content. I catch up on a lot of shows myself by watching them online and this is definitely a convenient service.
While cord-cutting is definitely a trend that the entire media industry is watching, many of the articles and blog posts covering this say something like: “Tired of paying so much for cable? Cancel your subscription and turn to the Internet to serve your needs!” The direct implication of this is that you can get all the stuff you currently watch on cable television – or via DBS (DirecTV & DISH) or from the phone companies (AT&T’s U-verse & Verizon’s FiOS) – just by going online.
But all this coverage ignores the fact that you can’t do this. You can get some cable programming online, but not most of it.
Let’s focus in on a couple key elements.
From an October 29 article in the Washington Post:
[Cord-cutting] was a somewhat easy thing for us to do. We don’t watch that much TV in the first place, and most of what we do view is on the [over-the-air broadcast] networks anyway…
If you look at this post I wrote in November of last year, you’ll note the same thing: A lot of cord-cutting proponents don’t watch much television and what they do watch is from broadcast television (generally easy to find online).
From the New York Times on December 9:
…Boxee easily allows access to the Netflix streaming service, which offers up thousands of movies and television shows (just not always the most popular options).
Anyone who’s actually used Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” feature, as I have, knows that you can see older movies and some TV shows but not any of the current cable shows generating water-cooler discussion. And you don’t get any access to new hit movies.
This HuffPo post, while also proclaiming the wonders of cord-cutting, charges that major cable operators “have been pressuring TV programming networks to keep their shows off the Internet,” implying that they should be provided for free. Perhaps the writer may be unaware that cable programmers have a dual revenue stream: They get some money from advertisers (which is based on the number of homes they’re carried in) and some money from cable operators and other multichannel video providers (called carriage fees).
Online advertising revenue has not been as lucrative yet as television has been. And multichannel video providers would undoubtedly not want to pay as much for a product that is being given away for free online.
And is this really such a good deal for consumers? The Times notes:
If you watch premium-cable television shows, you can pay more than $40 for the season of a single show. But even that is less than one month of cable.
Wait. $40 for a season of a single show?
I’m paying Comcast about 100 bucks a month for video service, but it’s a very robust package that includes hundreds of viewing options, including multiple premium services. SNL Kagan reports that the average price for digital cable (which 67% of cable subscribers now take) is about $60 a month. I probably watch about three hours daily, for about 90 hours a month. The latest “Three Screens” report from Nielsen reports that Americans are watching an average of 31 hours and 19 minutes of live television per week or 125+ hours a month.
So, one cable show via iTunes for $40; two shows are $80. I happen to watch a lot more than two cable shows.
All this gives me a cost-cutting idea!
Anybody who knows me knows I don’t care about sports. Not professional, collegiate or amateur athletics. Given that situation, I guess I should cancel my subscription to Sports Illustrated, huh?
Yeah, I’m kidding, because I don’t have such a subscription. But it illustrates a good rule for some people: If you’re not interested in watching cable programming, you probably shouldn’t subscribe to cable television.
Online video viewing is small, but growing. The statistics are dwarfed by the amount of television delivered via traditional methods, and the number of video subscribers continues to grow. In all likelihood, those figures will shift over time. But it’s not there yet.
It’s ironic, because lots of people like cable TV precisely because of the programming. Back in the early Seventies, when I was a kid, we had cable for clear reception. By the Eighties, we had it for all the great new channels: Nickelodeon, MTV, A&E, CNN. If this service is of no value to you, then it’s wise to not subscribe. But you’re not going to duplicate the experience through your computer – not yet, anyway.
UPDATE: For more on the economics of buying programming “à la carte,” such as from iTunes or Amazon, see here and here. Bottom line: Buying individuals programs is a great cost savings, provided you watch very little TV.
Tags: cord-cutter, Cord-cutting
