Cutting the Cable TV Cord: A Growing Trend
According to one report by SNL Kagan, 12 million households, roughly 10% of cable viewers, are expected to "cut the cable TV cord" (cancel cable, satellite or telco video service) by 2015.
Mike Freeman , writing for SignON San Diego, believes the cable and satellite companies fear legions of their subscribers might come to the conclusion that instead of paying $50 or $60 a month they could obtain "pretty good stuff" online. In the second quarter of 2010, satellite, cable and telephone company TV providers saw a decline in overall subscribers for the first time.
Frank Barbieri, writing in TechCrunch in August of 2011, gave one example of why that might be:
"With a new wave of CTV content applications, the pricing and access advantage of cable television
may dissipate. Imagine downloading a TNT program application directly from Turner rather than
paying a cable company for access to Turner content. … Turner could pocket 100% of any subscription
fee and advertising revenue rather than having to share with a distribution partner."
These people that download this content rather then watching it on television are called "cord cutters" and this website is a resource of information for those that would like to become one.
Benefits of Cutting the Cable TV Cord:
Save $100 or more per month
Less time flipping through channels you don't care about
Spend less time watching commercials!
So How does Cord Cutting Work?
Basically you are going to get your video entertainment from two sources:
OTA: Over the air. Free broadcasts using an antenna.
OTT: "Over the top". Video content you get from the internet.
Internet content itself includes free material like Hulu and Youtube as well
as paid content like ESPN3, HULU+ and Netflix Instant. Netflix instant is only
$7.99 per month and is rapidly becoming the leading provider of OTT
content for cord cutters.
Web video to TVs, such as Apple TV, Roku, Western Digital, Logitech and Google TV, which was embedded in certain Sony televisions.
A Basic Cord Cutting Plan: Internet Streaming + Netflix + Off Air
There are many variations, but here is one basic 4 step plan to get you
started:
1. Purchase and install an outdoor TV antenna.
2. Order your streaming device , e.g. ROKU, AppleTV, Boxee
3. Order Netflix basic streaming service for $7.99 per month.
4. Cancel your CableTV/Satellite service
