A Sea Of Red

Make no mistake: The big cable, satellite, and telco carriers are still sitting pretty with more than 100 million TV subscribers. Nevertheless, a new report claims that more and more viewers are "cutting the cord" in favor of watching their favorite shows via over-the-air antennas (remember those?), Netflix, or the Web.

TechCrunch has the scoop on a new report from the Toronto-based Convergence Consulting Group, and though the figures may not be a "serious threat" to the big cable and satellite carriers yet, the trend might eventually spell trouble for the like of Cablevision, Comcast, DirecTV, and Time Warner Cable.

To wit: Nearly 800,000 households in the U.S. have "cut the cord," dumping their cable, satellite, or telco TV providers (such as AT&T U-verse or Verizon FiOS) and turning instead to Web-based videos (like Hulu), downloadable shows (iTunes), by-mail subscription services (Netflix), or even good ol' over-the-air antennas for their favorite shows, according to the report.

Now, as TechCrunch points out, the estimated 800,000 cord cutters represent less than 1 percent of the 100 million U.S. households (give or take) currently subscribing to a cable/satellite/telco TV carrier, so it's not like we're talking a mass exodus here. But by the end of 2011, the report guesstimates, the number of cord-cutting households in the U.S. will double to about 1.6 million, and if the trend continues, well...


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/2010 ... adg_tc1598

We are seriously close to making the move ourselves. I can't think of any reason to stick with a cable company for anything other than as an ISP. U-verse is incredible but it is getting tougher to justify the monthly expense.

Every year, we turn off our cable/satellite service. When we do, we realize how much more family time we have. I keep up with the news primarily on the internet. The only thing that I would miss is HD sports. We have not watched any "shows" regularly for over 5 years. An active remote control is a life waster, IMO.

Let me guess, football season is what brings it back on each year.

Sly Fox wrote:Let me guess, football season is what brings it back on each year.

It is usually football season or the Olympics.

Ive been cable or Satellite free for 4 years now i believe. I do MLB.tv for my baseball fix ( which is actually cheaper than buying a baseball package over DTV) and i use an antenna for all my football. If something is on cable i absolutly have to watch, ill go to the bar because with all the savings ive got the $$$ to do that.

I could see doing this if I had good over-the-air reception and high-speed internet. If I didn't have [free] cable right now, I wouldn't be able to watch anything on NBC. The FCC really ruined things with this mandated switch to digital. Even with the stations I get, I can go from a crystal-clear HD signal to nothing if a jet flies over, the wind picks up or a squirrel climbs a tree in my yard.

I'm just glad cable is provided to me, because I certainly can't afford it these days.

mrmacphisto wrote:I could see doing this if I had good over-the-air reception and high-speed internet. If I didn't have [free] cable right now, I wouldn't be able to watch anything on NBC. The FCC really ruined things with this mandated switch to digital. Even with the stations I get, I can go from a crystal-clear HD signal to nothing if a jet flies over, the wind picks up or a squirrel climbs a tree in my yard.

I'm just glad cable is provided to me, because I certainly can't afford it these days.

Now granted ive heard of trees interferring with an antenna signal...but a jet...i don't think i buy that one.

Rocketfan wrote:

mrmacphisto wrote:I could see doing this if I had good over-the-air reception and high-speed internet. If I didn't have [free] cable right now, I wouldn't be able to watch anything on NBC. The FCC really ruined things with this mandated switch to digital. Even with the stations I get, I can go from a crystal-clear HD signal to nothing if a jet flies over, the wind picks up or a squirrel climbs a tree in my yard.

I'm just glad cable is provided to me, because I certainly can't afford it these days.

Now granted ive heard of trees interferring with an antenna signal...but a jet...i don't think i buy that one.

All I know is I'll hear a jet fly over and the signal will die. It happens consistently. Granted, I can't prove that there's a connection, but it's enough to make me believe there is one.

mrmacphisto wrote:

Rocketfan wrote:

mrmacphisto wrote:I could see doing this if I had good over-the-air reception and high-speed internet. If I didn't have [free] cable right now, I wouldn't be able to watch anything on NBC. The FCC really ruined things with this mandated switch to digital. Even with the stations I get, I can go from a crystal-clear HD signal to nothing if a jet flies over, the wind picks up or a squirrel climbs a tree in my yard.

I'm just glad cable is provided to me, because I certainly can't afford it these days.

Now granted ive heard of trees interferring with an antenna signal...but a jet...i don't think i buy that one.

All I know is I'll hear a jet fly over and the signal will die. It happens consistently. Granted, I can't prove that there's a connection, but it's enough to make me believe there is one.

Absolutely true - we are 3 miles from the Lynchburg Airport and most stations will temporarily break up when a plane flies by.

I get stations breaking up if somebody walks by the right spot in the room. Some kids almost got thrown out the window during the first round of the tourney this year.

LUconn wrote:I get stations breaking up if somebody walks by the right spot in the room. Some kids almost got thrown out the window during the first round of the tourney this year.

True fact. I hate DTV most of the time. I'll spend hours sometimes trying to lock onto a reliable signal.

The roof antenna on this house does a fantastic job with reception. TVfool.com is a great tool for deciding what to get and where to aim it. Zero complaints about DTV here.

Combine it with an HD Homerun (or three) and a Windows Media Center box, and there's a lot of amazing HD content always waiting.

I also supplement that with a Roku set top box. Netflix streaming in HD, MLB.tv in HD, Amazon on demand videos, Pandora, Flickr, Facebook Photos and Revision 3 shows on demand. $100 for the Roku and $9 a month for Netflix. Best deal in entertainment, in my opinion.

Sounds like your house is the place to be many nights Scorcho