Cable TV subscribers down for the first time

in movies on 2014-03-20 09:23 (#3GG)

The Cord Cutting movement , in which people choose to do away with cable TV packages in lieu of entertainment provided over the Internet, seems to be picking up the pace. In 2013, the number of American cable TV subscribers dropped for the first time ever, and by the impressive amount of 105,000. A recent report by the Leichtman Research Group finds that the top nine cable companies lost about 1.8 million video subscribers in 2013 (more than they lost in 2012), while other providers gained some users, for a total (net) loss. 2013 was the first year numbers dropped.

Just a blip on the radar? Or the beginning of something more?

First time cable subscriber (Score: 4, Insightful)

by rocks@pipedot.org on 2014-03-20 12:19 (#Q0)

I believe a large proportion of the general populations wants to watch TV and movies in general. The main thing is we want to watch what we want, when we want, at a fair price relative to income.

If cable companies can compete, subscriptions will stay up. If not, they will drop. What I find interesting is that as internet subscriptions rise in cost without cable added, and basic cable subscriptions drop when added to internet, the value proposition of a cable subscription can rise, especially for live sports, which is why I just got into my first cable subscription.