Not Since 1991 Has Cable TV Subscriber Numbers Been So Low

[IRuleMeParticipant]

Not Since 1991 Has Cable TV Subscriber Numbers Been So Low

If you are a cable TV executive, subscriber numbers are probably not your favorite subject to talk about right now.

With the exception of a few bumps here and there since cable TV subscribers hit their peak back in 2000 at 68,500,000, it has mostly been downhill from there. According to the FCC in December 2015 only 53,223,000 American households subscribed to a cable TV service. Since 2000 cable TV has slowly been losing ground to satellite and telecom providers and now cord cutting.

Not since 1991 have cable TV subscriber numbers been so low. What is even scarier is the numbers have fallen even more since December 2015, and the accurate count now may be lower than the 51,700,000 subscriber count in 1990.

When you consider the fact that in 1990 the United States only had 249.6 million people but in 2017 the population in the United States has jumped to 326.4 million people, the continued decline in cable TV subscribers looks even more shocking.

According to several different studies cord cutting now accounts for 20 to 25 million American households, making 2017 a great year for cord cutting and a bad year for cable TV executives.

Good. They’ve been ass raping customers for years. When I got cable back in 95, my dad was paying $60 a month for cable AND internet. I got Verizon a couple years ago and the bill was like $100 for both with the internet being the lowest speed. Then Frontier took over and by the time I cut my cable the bill was $130 a month. In two years time. Cable has always had people by the b~~~~. Zero “al la carte”, overpaying for channels you don’t watch, price always goes up, s~~~ty customer service…

[Anonymous 6]

I watch everything online now. You can get whatever you want for free if you know where to look

[PistolPeteParticipant 27143]

Excellent news and there are two reasons for this:

a) The computer offers what cable refused to offer–that is you pay for ONLY what you want to watch AND
b) The current entertainment content is SO over the top repulsively liberal/lefist/feminist that it makes a normal person watching it nauseous.

(I know–GreBo sent me three seasons of Sleepy hollow and one season of Black sails—Good God what a pile of feminist crap)

[KeymasterKeymaster]

IRuleMe wrote:

Good. They’ve been ass raping customers for years

In 2010, I had 400+ channels and I never watched much TV, but on this day, I started at channel # 1….. and went all the way up to +400.

There was nothing on.
400 channels and there was nothing worth watching.
Not even Discovery had anything on.

I didn’t think much of it until I saw “THE TALK” with Sharon Osborne – where a female panel and audience shrieked with laughter over a man who’s wife cut his penis off , and they laughed louder when one shouted “he deserved it”.

I called TIME Warner immediately to say “CANCEL IT NOW. RIGHT NOW.” When they asked me why, I told them directly. Then I wrote CBS a formal letter of complaint which was the first time I ever complained to any company or service. Turns out I was not alone , and Sharon Osborne got the boot.

I’m not even the type to send a steak back when it’s not perfect, and I’ll take a window seat on a plane without saying a word …. but it’s ridiculous that this crap is pumped into every home.

“TIME Warner” is history now and I’m thrilled to see it.

If you keep doing what you've always done... you're gonna keep getting what you always got.

[Anonymous 6]

PistolPete wrote:

Excellent news and there are two reasons for this:

a) The computer offers what cable refused to offer–that is you pay for ONLY what you want to watch AND
b) The current entertainment content is SO over the top repulsively liberal/lefist/feminist that it makes a normal person watching it nauseous.

(I know–GreBo sent me three seasons of Sleepy hollow and one season of Black sails—Good God what a pile of feminist crap)

Ohh you have seen nothing Pete, try watching Salem! I had to see the end, but witches and evil witchcraft fighting each other. Damn that show was dumb

[Anonymous 6]

Keymaster wrote:

IRuleMe wrote:

Good. They’ve been ass raping customers for years

In 2010, I had 400+ channels and I never watched much TV, but on this day, I started at channel # 1….. and went all the way up to +400.

There was nothing on.
400 channels and there was nothing worth watching.
Not even Discovery had anything on.

I didn’t think much of it until I saw “THE TALK” with Sharon Osborne – where a female panel and audience shrieked with laughter over a man who’s wife cut his penis off , and they laughed louder when one shouted “he deserved it”.

I called TIME Warner immediately to say “CANCEL IT NOW. RIGHT NOW.” When they asked me why, I told them directly. Then I wrote CBS a formal letter of complaint which was the first time I ever complained to any company or service. Turns out I was not alone , and Sharon Osborne got the boot.

I’m not even the type to send a steak back when it’s not perfect, and I’ll take a window seat on a plane without saying a word …. but it’s ridiculous that this crap is pumped into every home.

“TIME Warner” is history now and I’m thrilled to see it.

AT&T is considering buying Time Warner. It probably won’t change much, but its possible. With AT&T internet, they may move to a more internet based company and not worry much with cable. If I was AT&T, i’d buy Time Warner, and cut my losses of CNN.

[TaxGuyParticipant]

The Boss had it right about 25 years ago. The number of channels has changed, but the truth remains the same.

Order the good wine

[Anonymous 42]

The writing was on the wall when a guy like me decided to stop glitching satellite card ATRs and gave up watching all channels all the time, pay per view too, wide open to EVERYTHING being transmitted! It’s 99% GARBAGE!

I’m done with TV, back in Pandora’s Box it goes! Never to break that seal again!

Life without TV is much tastier and sweeter! No more polluting my head with television! I got the internet to do that if I so choose.

TV is not interactive, it’s a dictatorial device in far too many ways, it’s the hive’s central core! Fake news and everything!

[GregB0Participant]

PistolPete wrote:

The computer offers what cable refused to offer–that is you pay for ONLY what you want to watch AND

This does however allow the ISP’s to exert more control over cost for Internet service to provide a la cart programming. Without basic ISP service you have no programming. Not saying that cable is better, just pointing out that there is no free lunch with any entertainment venue.

Keymaster wrote:

There was nothing on.
400 channels and there was nothing worth watching.

Marx’s statement remains true today: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.” when you look at the entertainment industry as whole. Entertainment providers do not need a significant portion of the spectrum to find a profitable market share for their programming.

Anonymous wrote:

Life without TV is much tastier and sweeter!

Absolutely, right. You have books, music, enjoying nature, discussions with peers, and any number of other activities. Moderation …. everything in moderation.

PistolPete wrote:

I know–GreBo sent me three seasons of Sleepy hollow and one season of Black sails—Good God what a pile of feminist crap)

But it did get you through a month of having no computer access. 🙂

​"​My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.​" - Clarence Buddinton Kelland

[MarketWatcherParticipant]

GregB0 wrote:

But it did get you through a month of having no computer access

It was a hard month. LOL

I cut the cord in 2010 and went OTA broadcast only. Works great and no $130.00 a month bill. More resources for me!

[OldBillParticipant]

For many years one of my clients was a nationwide cable company whose name rhymes with “Bombast”. I worked on and off with them for over a decade until they closed a facility whose purpose was unique across their entire company a couple years back. I found the industry and customer perceptions of it absolutely fascinating. Here are a few facts you may find interesting too:

* – As early as 2002, they told me their only true competition was the internet. Not other cable companies, not broadcast TV, but the internet. They spent billions positioning themselves accordingly and their new set top box is actually a computing platform which acts like a browser and designed for long term upgrades instead of simple signal decoding box most of us are familiar with.

* – They only keep between 5 and 7 cents of every dollar you give them. The rest goes to content providers and taxes. Price increases are wholly mandated by content providers like ESPN and to a lesser extent by taxes. The Feds, your state, and your town or city all tax cable subscriptions.

* – “Bombast” would love to see ala carte pricing where you only pay for the channels you want because it would give them leverage against content providers like ESPN. Such pricing in the US is forbidden by federal law. Canada recently allowed ala carte pricing and the cable companies in the US are watching developments there very closely.

* – Your town or city sold your cable company their monopoly. While contracts vary in length, none are less than five years. Towns and cities get a nice piece of the subscription fee plus a s~~~ ton of free equipment, a couple “public access” channels, and other benefits like free cable/internet in police and fire stations, government offices, and even the homes of government officials.

* – There is a huge infrastructure gap between top tier cable firms and the mid tier ones. “Bombast” told me that they’d never bid on the cable monopoly held by the mid tier firm “NetroBlast” in a nearby city because the cost of updating the infrastructure worked out to ~ 150,000 USD per kilometer. They’d never recoup that outlay during the length of the monopoly.

* – The infrastructure gap means the “borders” between cable companies can only change by mergers and buy outs, something the FCC is increasingly loathe to allow. That means customers of mid tier firms get fewer options with older equipment. As I explained above, the top tier firms won’t bid on monopolies held by smaller firms, so the smaller firms feel no pressure to upgrade.

* – “Bombast” is considered a “success” compared to others in the same industry because they’ve been losing subscribers at a slower rate. That’s right, dying more slowly is viewed as a success!

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[IRuleMeParticipant]

Bill, I pay $25 a month for sling, and I get virtually every channel I want. All streamed to my firestick via internet connection. Sling is owned by Dish. Video quality is great, and I’m only paying for channels I want, with an “al la cart” option to individually purchase other channels, or spend an extra $20 and buy their other package. And with Sling, I can download the app onto my pc, laptop, kindle, or cell phone and take the service with me by simply logging into my account.

[OldBillParticipant]

IRuleMe wrote:

I pay $25 a month for sling, and I get…

That’s why “Bombast” saw the internet as their main competitor nearly two decades ago.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[narwhalParticipant]

For me, sports is the only thing keeping me on cable, and that’s not holding on to me nearly as strongly as before. The recent layoffs of ESPN show that cable cutting is having a big effect. IMO, if it wasn’t for these large multi year contracts in place, we would be seeing sporting events streamed now (legally). Someday soon, a tv/sports contract is going to be up, and a local team is going to decide it can make more money by streaming directly to the customer without having to deal with cable at all. That is going to what finally kills cable.

I also think we are far from getting the al la carte options people want. I don’t even want to pay for a specific channel at all, I only want to the pay for the shows and other content I want to watch. There is so few things I like to watch that even a channel level package is too much crap I don’t want to pay for.

Ok. Then do it.

[OldBillParticipant]

narwhal wrote:

For me, sports is the only thing keeping me on cable…

Sport is the only reason why my TV hasn’t been sold. It’s the reason why I tried to turn my TV on after a few months only to find that my remote was dead!

IMO, if it wasn’t for these large multi year contracts in place, we would be seeing sporting events streamed now (legally).

All of the “Big Four” sports in the US are already streamed legally. You can go to the web sites for MLB, the NFL, the NBA, etc. and watch streamed games during the season. What’s being streamed however is content produced by the networks and not content produced by the leagues. Watch the game and you’re watching the CBS, NBC, Fox, etc. production.

When the leagues begin producing game broadcasts themselves, that’s when the cable truly begins to die.

Someday soon, a tv/sports contract is going to be up, and a local team is going to decide it can make more money by streaming directly to the customer without having to deal with cable at all.

Local teams already do that. Some teams like the Yankees and Red Sox even own their own cable channels, but those channels still don’t broadcast every Yankee or Red Sox game because the league ultimately controls broadcast rights.

The various sports leagues control broadcasting rights to greater or lesser extents because that allows them to control team spending and thus maintain some level of competitive balance. While no individual team will be allowed to stream games, an entire league will most certainly make that jump. The only thing holding the leagues back are production costs.

I also think we are far from getting the al la carte options people want. I don’t even want to pay for a specific channel at all, I only want to the pay for the shows and other content I want to watch.

You’re failing to understand that paying for individual shows is the final step in ala carte pricing. It’s already working in the music industry where consumers buy single songs and not entire albums.

Again, being able to pay for a certain show on HBO instead of HBO as a channel is why “Bombast” identified the internet as their main competition nearly 20 years ago.

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[PistolPeteParticipant 27143]

I’m diabetic and as such I’m awake most of the night due to blood sugar issues. Many years ago when I had satellite I would lay awake and search the channels. I noticed a pattern. About 2 am every channel was some kind of paid program info-merchal, and ALL of then had a disclaimer dutifully recited:
“Time for the proceeding program has been paid for by the program supplier”.

Well now, the program was paid for by the supplier then what am I paying for? I called up the satellite provider and asked the following question: If the program I’m watching has been paid for by the program supplier, and then I’m paying you for the program doesn’t this mean the satellite company is being paid twice for the same program? (Hint–yes) But they couldn’t answer this thus I ordered them to disconnect me. when they asked why I said when you can answer my question I’ll answer yours.

[IRuleMeParticipant]

narwhal wrote:

For me, sports is the only thing keeping me on cable, and that’s not holding on to me nearly as strongly as before. The recent layoffs of ESPN show that cable cutting is having a big effect. IMO, if it wasn’t for these large multi year contracts in place, we would be seeing sporting events streamed now (legally). Someday soon, a tv/sports contract is going to be up, and a local team is going to decide it can make more money by streaming directly to the customer without having to deal with cable at all. That is going to what finally kills cable.

I also think we are far from getting the al la carte options people want. I don’t even want to pay for a specific channel at all, I only want to the pay for the shows and other content I want to watch. There is so few things I like to watch that even a channel level package is too much crap I don’t want to pay for.

Half of All Football Fans Have Watched Illegal Streams

The article isn’t talking about American football, but instead European football. But still, the info is quite telling. The issue of cable isn’t just an American or Canadian one. Companies are feeling the pinch in Europe too. Which is why they’ve tried to make streaming illegal and have come after box sellers selling stuff like firesticks and android boxes preloaded.

[OldBillParticipant]

IRuleMe wrote:

The issue of cable isn’t just an American or Canadian one.

True, but my posts deal with US cable industry only while mentioning Canada in passing.

I only know the facts about the US industry, so I will only state opinions about the US industry. Understand?

Do not date. Do not impregnate. Do not co-habitate. Above all, do not marry. Reclaim and never again surrender your personal sovereignty.

[Anonymous 7]

Good!

About 4 years ago my cable box went t~~~-up.
I go to the providers brick & mortar place and pick up a new box and remote.

E-Gads what a steaming pile of Samsung made s~~~, the new box and remote was. The remote would not change the channel if you pointed it at the box but would if you bounced the signal off the ceiling (pointed the remote at the ceiling instead of the cable box) and other crazyness.

The new box wasn’t ‘smart’ enough to change aspect ratio if the channel was HD vs. Non HD.

After a week of this mess, I took the box back and canceled my cable subscription. Haven’t missed it one bit.

I was sure as s~~~ not going to pay 80 bucks a month for S~~~ hardware, S~~~ software and S~~~ programing.

[DarkRyuParticipant 2354]

I pirate everything. No need for Netflix or cable or Amazon Prime or anything else. I have Netflix for my mother that lives with me as she’s incapable of downloading a torrent to save her life. I haven’t had cable in over 10 years, and even when I had cable I found myself using BearShare (LimeWire alternative back in the day) instead of watching cable. 100% of my TV nowadays is just watching old s~~~ that I downloaded 5+ years ago. I haven’t found anything worth keeping after I’ve pirated it in 5 years. Half the new (2012+) movies I can’t even get 20 minutes into until I want to shut them off. I peruse Netflix occasionally, but there’s nothing but absolute S~~~! I can’t imagine cable is any better. It was s~~~ty 10 years ago and I’m sure it’s a lot worse nowadays. Probably more commercials than shows now. I don’t need that s~~~.

[Author]

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