Viewers pull plug on cable TV; Largest subscriber decline in 30 years...
Ubiquitous
The number of people subscribing to US cable television services has suffered
its biggest decline in 30 years as younger, tech-savvy viewers lead an exodus
to web-based operations, such as Hulu and Netflix.
The total number of subscribers to TV services provided by cable, satellite
and telco operators fell by 119,000 in the third quarter, compared with a gain
of 346,000 in the third quarter of 2009, according to SNL Kagan, a research
company.
Although television services offered by telecoms and satellite providers added
subscribers over the period, cable operators were hard hit, with subscriber
numbers falling by 741,000 – the largest decline in 30 years.
The figures suggest that “cord-cutting” – one of the pay-television industry’s
biggest fears – is becoming a reality as viewers drift to web-based platforms.
Online TV services are stepping up their efforts to reach new viewers and
become profitable: Hulu, which is owned by News Corp, Walt Disney and NBC
Universal, has slashed the cost of its online subscription service by 20 per
cent to $7.99 per month and offers a vast array of film and TV programming.
Jason Kilar, Hulu’s chief executive, has maintained that Hulu, which is
exploring an initial public offering, complements pay-television services.
Yet the data suggest that the growth of Hulu and Netflix, the DVD subscription
company which began testing a $7.99 per month streaming-only service last
month, has become problematic for cable operators.
Ian Olgeirson, senior analyst at SNL Kagan, said it was becoming “increasingly
difficult” to dismiss the impact of web-based services on the pay-TV industry,
“particularly after seeing declines during the period of the year that tends
to produce the largest subscriber gains due to seasonal shifts back to
television viewing and subscription packages”.
Hulu’s revenues are increasing sharply: the company is projected to generate
more than $240m in 2010, up from $108m in 2009. It has extended the number of
devices that can access its subscription service to include Sony’s PlayStation
3 console and will add internet-connected devices, including Vizio, LG
Electronics and Panasonic Blu-ray players, in the next few months.
Devices such as Apple’s iPad also appear to be accelerating the move away from
traditional multichannel television.
Research from The Diffusion Group, a technology research company, found that
more than a third of iPad users were likely to cancel their pay-TV
subscriptions in the next six months.
The cable industry has launched a vigorous defence against cord-cutting:
companies such as Comcast, which has agreed to buy NBC Universal, are backing
“TV Everywhere”, which gives subscribers access to channels and programming
online, and via their cable box.
whosbest54
says...
<snip, posting the article text is likely a copywrite violation>
The url for this article is:
<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3986a1c-f28c-11df-a2f3-00144feab49a.html#axzz15eoTeZWF>
The web services are likely one factor affecting declining cable subscription
numbers. But I don't think they're the only one and may not be the main one. The
economy - people have less to spend on TV subscriptions - and the digital TV
conversion are likely factors as well. If one can receive local digital channels
then that can provide a better picture than analog cable and in some markets, more
channels than lifeline type basic analog services. Some of the satellite and phone
company TV packages can be a better value than cable, at least for temporary
introductory package prices, which can sometimes last for a year or more.
whosbest54
--
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Ian J. Ball
wrote:
> In article <r8udneH_KYa2vXjRnZ2dnUVZ_gOdn...@giganews.com>, web...@polaris.net
> says...
>
> <snip, posting the article text is likely a copywrite violation>
>
> The url for this article is:
>
Yes - Ubi is very bad with citations/attributions. It's one of his
most deplorable qualities.