Much to the chagrin of traditional cable TV providers, the age of the casual TV customer has arrived
The stranglehold cable TV companies have had on consumers since the inception of television may soon be coming to an inglorious end thanks to technology.
Case in point, Apple TV and its streaming service. Originally, the Apple TV device was a simple and elegant solution to do without cable TV by using it to access online streaming services such as Netflix, Vimeo, HBO and other sports and entertainment providers.
Now, Apple is packaging a channel lineup for Apple TV that includes broadcasters like ESPN, ABC, CBS and FOX. In total, about 25 TV channels will be included in said package at a significantly discounted price compared to traditional cable TV services.
This will be a game-changer for sure and a potential cable TV killer. For those of us subscribed to cable TV, yes, you do have access to hundreds of channels 24/7 but statistics have shown the vast majority of subscribers don’t actually use all of the channels they’re forced to accept and pay for in cable TV providers’ bundled packages.
This is an industry ripe for disruption and Apple is on the cusp of doing precisely that.
Expect cable TV providers to dive into the streaming TV pick-and-pay service, too. In order to survive, they’ll have little choice but to evolve to match disruptive services like Apple TV and Sling if they have any hope of retaining the revenue they once had a monopoly on.
As a cable TV subscriber, have you ever noticed the longer you are a customer of one particular provider, the more you are punished financially for your loyalty? Think about it. Your cable TV bill doesn’t go down over time, it continues to inch upward.
That’s not a smart or sustainable business model for any company, particularly in the modern age, and yet cable TV companies seem impervious to that fact. Sadly, so too do a lot of consumers but that will undoubtedly continue to change.
This is why we see cable companies scrambling to develop and tack on alternative services like home monitoring systems and increased broadband to counter the revenue they’re losing as more people cut the cable TV cord once and for all.
Apple TV, Sling, Amazon Prime and similar providers will still retain the upper hand over traditional cable TV providers with respect to live streaming. After all, the former don’t charge set-up or disconnection fees and there’s no difficult installation practices or charges you have to pony up for.
Much to the chagrin of traditional cable TV providers, the age of the casual TV customer has arrived. As consumers change the channel on how and what they access in the name of home entertainment, the old-school network will only continue to shrink.
Alvarez Technology Group is the leading IT consulting firm for computer and business IT support throughout Monterey, Salinas, and the Bay Area. Give us a call at 866-784-8326 or email us at [email protected].
