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Future of Cable TV

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November 14th, 2014 at 5:27:37 PM permalink

Pacomartin

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569

Quote: reno
The real surprise is that these numbers aren't even bigger. The average U.S. cable (or satellite) bill is about $90/month. It just boggles my mind that people are willing to blow $1100 per year on cable.

A combination of Netflix, Hulu Plus, & Amazon Prime is a comparative bargain of just $320 per year and could provide more entertainment than anyone has the time to watch.

They say the real reason to get cable is for the sports, but if so, wouldn't a $250 annual subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket combined with a $120 annual subscription to MLB.tv offer more sports than cable? (I might be wrong on that, so maybe an ESPN junkie can correct me.) Just combine those 2 subscriptions with a decent pair of rabbit ears to capture free local tv broadcasts for NCAA football and NCAA basketball.

My brother, the preacher, spent $1600 on a television, but he gets no cable TV . His argument is that he would rather get a nice TV than pay through the nose for TV service. He gets enough from Netflix, Amazon Prime, DVD's, and shows available on web browser.

November 14th, 2014 at 5:43:43 PM permalink

Evenbob

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25011

Quote: Pacomartin
My brother, the preacher, spent $1600 on a television, but he gets no cable TV . His argument is that he would rather get a nice TV than pay through the nose for TV service. He gets enough from Netflix, Amazon Prime, DVD's, and shows available on web browser.

People without cable always say that. But
put them some place where they can get
cable at a reasonable cost, they snap it
up. I don't watch it a lot, but need it
for things I want to see. Like football
and baseball and news and a few reality
shows.

If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.

November 14th, 2014 at 5:47:24 PM permalink

AZDuffman

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18193

Quote: Evenbob
People without cable always say that. But
put them some place where they can get
cable at a reasonable cost, they snap it
up. I don't watch it a lot, but need it
for things I want to see. Like football
and baseball and news and a few reality
shows.

Get it to $20 a month and I may be back. Don't make me pay for ESPN because no matter what I know it is costing me $7 a month and I never watch it. But in reality all I would watch is FNC and "Bar Rescue" at the rate I am going.

The President is a fink.

November 14th, 2014 at 6:59:30 PM permalink

Pacomartin

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569

Quote: Evenbob
People without cable always say that. But put them some place where they can get cable at a reasonable cost, they snap it up.

Our cable company gives us the Philadelphia OTA channels for just the cost of renting the decoder boxes ($10 per TV). Unfortunately we are blocked by two 1000' hills which means we can't put up a simple antenna and get ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/ Univision, etc. Although you can watch TV shows on the web the day after, you can't watch sports.

My other brother has a friend who works at ESPN. He said the company knows their years are numbered as a basic cable channel. As the most expensive channel in the lineup (by a large margin) they are the major target for people pushing for ala carte options. They are aware that inevitably the pressure will be on to make it an optional tier channel. They are just hanging on as long as they can because it is $7-$8 billion a year.

November 14th, 2014 at 9:57:57 PM permalink

reno

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384

Quote: Pacomartin
My other brother has a friend who works at ESPN. He said the company knows their years are numbered as a basic cable channel. As the most expensive channel in the lineup (by a large margin) they are the major target for people pushing for ala carte options. They are aware that inevitably the pressure will be on to make it an optional tier channel. They are just hanging on as long as they can because it is $7-$8 billion a year.

On average, out of the $90/month that Comcast, Time Warner, DirectTV receive from their customers, $28 of that goes to the content providers (ESPN, TNT, USA, TBS, etc). Most of the remaining $60 is profit.

November 15th, 2014 at 3:42:22 PM permalink

Evenbob

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25011

Quote: reno
On average, out of the $90/month that Comcast, Time Warner, DirectTV receive from their customers, $28 of that goes to the content providers (ESPN, TNT, USA, TBS, etc). Most of the remaining $60 is profit.

Not quite profit. They have all the overhead
of running a business, like thousands of
employees, thousands of miles of cable
and infrastructure. I'm guessing a very small
part of that 60 is actual profit.

If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.

November 15th, 2014 at 5:47:47 PM permalink
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831	Somehow they can always afford to repaint all those trucks with the latest corporate name and slogans, so they are making money somewhere.

November 15th, 2014 at 8:10:14 PM permalink
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011	Quote: Fleastiff Somehow they can always afford to repaint all those trucks with the latest corporate name and slogans, so they are making money somewhere. All part of the overhead. Any profit they make goes back into the company anyway. If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.

November 15th, 2014 at 8:38:47 PM permalink

Pacomartin

Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569

Quote: reno
On average, out of the $90/month that Comcast, Time Warner, DirectTV receive from their customers, $28 of that goes to the content providers (ESPN, TNT, USA, TBS, etc). Most of the remaining $60 is profit.

The article says $28 for a dozen networks.I think most of them pay much more

This chart 2009, was widely circulated.

WSJ updated numbers
$6.04 ESPN
$1.48 TNT
$1.22 NFL Network
$1.21 Disney Channel
$0.99 FOX News
$0.83 USA Network
$0.74 ESPN2
$0.72 TBS
$0.68 Fox Sports 1
$0.68 Nick/Nick at Nite
$0.63 CNN

When CBS began offering an "all access pass" to it's shows without football for $6 per month even though most of them are available on their free website the next day, I wondered who would buy the service?

November 16th, 2014 at 7:01:38 PM permalink
Pacomartin Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 1068 Posts: 12569	http://keepcbs.com/cbsnewyork CBS and Dish satellite are fighting

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