Without sports, Americans TV
watchers are cutting the cord
Quartz,
by
Adam Epstein
Original Article
Posted By: AltaD,
7/25/2020 10:26:14 AM
The coronavirus pandemic has been great for streaming services as consumers quarantine at home and watch more video. The same can’t be said for regular TV.
AT&T reported it lost another 886,000 cable and satellite TV subscribers in the second quarter of 2020. The telecommunications giant—the second largest TV provider in the US behind only Comcast—lost about the same number of TV subscribers in the previous quarter. Its total subscriber base has eroded 18% in the last year alone.
If sports were still on TV, AT&T and other providers may have been able to temporarily slow down the acceleration of cord-cutting. But without sports, expensive TV bundles don’t offer consumers enough value.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Starboard_side 7/25/2020 10:43:00 AM (No. 490204)
What they've likely learned is people can't afford something that they don't deem as being of valued benefit.
And, by being forced to pay for every channel on their package, they are supporting stations, programs, people, whom they may not want to support.
After all, even with crappy ratings many programs remain on the air, simply because they will see a certain amount of money coming from the price each station charges, and is passed along to each customer paying for cable. This includes CNN, TBN, MTV, etc... every one of those channels receives a certain amount per cable subscriber.
Let people buy what they want, and leave off what they don't want to pay for.
18 people like this.
I can't do streaming where I live, my available internet really isn't fast enough. But, a while back I got sick of the $150 Dish Network bill and cut it down to its most basic package, The Flex package. For less than $50 a month I get a little TV I can watch and my wife gets her Heartland package with Lifetime, Hallmark, Up and that stuff. If we could stream stuff effectively we wouldn't have even that small package.
12 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Condor44 7/25/2020 10:58:34 AM (No. 490216)
I live in South America, and I cut the cord on our local cable tv since I got sick of their programming. By doing research on the internet I found a free service that live streams all th us news programs ( I only watch Fox and OAN, but there are programs like nat geo, HBO, and about 25 more that I get at no cost.Do some research, you won't be sorry.
8 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 7/25/2020 11:27:50 AM (No. 490264)
I cut the cable at my lake cabin. We are only there for a few days each month and it was over $200 per month and all I wanted was a handful of channels. The cable companies need to go a la carte....select the few you want and only pay for them. Actually the streaming services will force this sooner or later but the cable outfits will hang on as long as they can.
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
padiva 7/25/2020 11:36:47 AM (No. 490276)
I've been TV free for 10 years. Life is great!
10 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Italiano 7/25/2020 11:41:12 AM (No. 490278)
I tuned in to the San Diego Padres / Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday afternoon, just to see. I almost threw up during the pre-game BLM phony social justice pander-fest, but was at least relieved to see that the Padres (with one pitiful exception) did not kneel, and all stood for the National Anthem. Still, I only lasted one inning. I think I'm done.
15 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
LC Chihuahua 7/25/2020 11:49:31 AM (No. 490293)
Several years ago, my Time Warner Cable/Internet bill was $200/mo. Went through an exercise , got rid of a bunch of channels, and bill was reduced to $150/mo. Almost immediately, it started rising. Spectrum bought out TW. Currently it is at $220/mo. I shutoff everything when away from home. Have to. Its a significant amount of money. I can see myself going through another repeat exercise to reduce my bill.
Sports is only part of the problem. Cable is too freakin' expensive.
10 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Bluefindad 7/25/2020 11:50:52 AM (No. 490294)
Gave up watching sports long ago. Unfortunately, most services include sports channels in all their packages, forcing me to pay for something I never use.
6 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
cold porridge 7/25/2020 11:56:29 AM (No. 490298)
Don't forget about free over the air TV. Most areas of the country can get crystal clear reception with a good antenna. Each location has specific needs as far as the strength and type of antenna needed, but there is good free TV out there. I hope that with more people leaving satellite and cable, more people with be leaving main stream news also, but sadly those are also available through local over the air broadcasts, I stream OAN and what little amount of FOX I get, I stream it from youtube.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
zzzghy 7/25/2020 12:05:09 PM (No. 490308)
Professional athletics in America are committing voluntary suicide.
Why?
It's certainly not because of the chinese snot virus hustle. The cat's already out of the bag on that one.
MLB: Mostly Little Babies.
NFL: Not For Long.
NBA: Nobody Bothers Anymore.
NHL: No Hope Left.
PGA: People Going Away.
I purchased a roof antenna a couple years ago because I hate paying so much for Spectrum's crappy service but was self-restrained from installing it because at the time I enjoyed the global access to sporting events.
Well, I no longer give two rats farting in hell about any of that now so I'm finally cutting the cord. Spectrum can blow it out their blowhole. I'm gone.
People crack me up. They eventually ruin everything.
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
hotcorner 7/25/2020 12:26:47 PM (No. 490333)
I hate having to support the liberal communists with my money. These stations like MSNBC and CNN would never make it if WE HAD CHOICE.
4 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
less is more 7/25/2020 12:29:27 PM (No. 490336)
I turned in my cable boxes yesterday. I'm now going with an air antenna and Sling for $30 a month.
9 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
VirtuDawg 7/25/2020 1:12:13 PM (No. 490363)
TV is a colossal waste of time. Especially cable/satellite TV, where you pay big bucks for the "service" yet are exposed to hours of commercials.
Read more. Do small home improvement/landscaping projects. Take online courses. Exercise. Volunteer in your communities.
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
BillW. 7/25/2020 1:24:54 PM (No. 490373)
Those clowns are as free to pompously kneel during the National Anthem as we are to turn them off. I hope its worth a pretty darn lucrative career to you. --Vets for Trump 2020
9 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Strike3 7/25/2020 1:58:12 PM (No. 490395)
It's more likely "because of sports" in many households. Pro players used to be heroes to many people and the topic of Monday morning workplace discussions every week during their respective seasons. Now they are dirt.
5 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 7/25/2020 1:58:40 PM (No. 490397)
Even the streaming services don't offer a la carte You have to get their packages too.
2 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
snowoutlaw 7/25/2020 3:28:31 PM (No. 490447)
I cut my Spectrum TV cord in June. My Internet is now 100% via-satellite, no cords. Streaming is fine, using the free streaming services like Pluto, Tubi etc. The via-satellite internet is available pretty much everywhere even on airlines, if you have used internet on Jetblue or American you have used it. Next year it is going world wide.
2 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
BigGeorgeTX 7/25/2020 3:58:19 PM (No. 490466)
Best thing I ever did. The extra $2000 comes in handy when you're retired.
5 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Venturer 7/25/2020 4:08:29 PM (No. 490472)
I agree with most everyone. I now pay $120 a month for cell phones and $180 a month for cable internet and TV.
It's a rip off.
I only watch 5 channels who am I paying for those I don't watch.?
Because that is the way it is set up.
2 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
red1066 7/25/2020 4:31:05 PM (No. 490487)
Even with sports return, I'm not all the inclined to watch. The last straw was a BLM on the pitchers mound, and patches on the sleeves of the players. If golf starts putting BLM the flags or greens, then I'm done with the last sport that still hasn't caved to the Marxists.
1 person likes this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
franq 7/25/2020 5:24:27 PM (No. 490525)
We ditched it in the Fall of 2009. No regrets. ~$10k saved.
2 people like this.
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