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Post by Hey Man on Mar 19, 2015 15:09:53 GMT -5
How much longer do you give TV as we know it and cable before they become extinct. Do you think networks will actually go out of business or is there too much corporation money behind them like Disney with ABC. When will kids not even know what cable is?
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Post by lugnut on Mar 19, 2015 17:22:23 GMT -5
How much longer do you give TV as we know it and cable before they become extinct. Do you think networks will actually go out of business or is there too much corporation money behind them like Disney with ABC. When will kids not even know what cable is? No time soon. Cable companies will stay healthy by making it just as cheap to get Internet as it is to get some kind of Internet + Cable bundle package (apparently lots already do - someone was saying the other day on Hoffman how either Comcast or Time-Warner raised his internet price to $70 after he cancelled his cable, whereas with TV service he'd only been paying $80 for all of it. Major networks will be fine as more and more people do "cut the cord," though, as these people usually install an antenna of some kind when they decide to. I honestly think we could see a resurgence of the broadcast networks over the next few years, not the extinction. If anyone's in trouble it would be Dish Network and DirecTV - They've got rural customers who can't get cable locked up, but that's about it. I think their prices are generally cheaper for more channels than most cable providers, but most people in the city don't seem to bother with satellite when they get their internet through the cable company anyway. (You *can* get internet access via satellite, but it's expensive and kind of weird in how it all works, which isn't that great). They'll be the ones who suffer most, I think, because a lot of these rural-area folks *can* get high-speed internet nowadays even if they still can't get cable. On the other hand, all three options are probably just mine until the Boomers die off. My folks (not quite 60 yet) have a high-speed connection and my Netflix password, but they hardly ever use it. They know how to, but they're too familiar with the old ways to really make the jump. My mom still subscribes to TV Guide, for fuck's sake. Now eventually most of these channels will have to make some kind of transition into the digital world or risk death and/or mockery for being the last man standing on the old way, but I don't see "conventional" TV going anywhere soon. There's gonna be a million different attempts in a million different formats (paid, free but ad-supported, trapped-for-a-year like Amazon, etc.) and a bunch will fail or retool, but it'll take at least 10-15 years I think before we see said "conventional" viewing go away or drop dramatically to a point where it's no longer profitable at all. |
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Post by Hey Man on Mar 19, 2015 18:18:38 GMT -5
How much longer do you give TV as we know it and cable before they become extinct. Do you think networks will actually go out of business or is there too much corporation money behind them like Disney with ABC. When will kids not even know what cable is? No time soon. Cable companies will stay healthy by making it just as cheap to get Internet as it is to get some kind of Internet + Cable bundle package (apparently lots already do - someone was saying the other day on Hoffman how either Comcast or Time-Warner raised his internet price to $70 after he cancelled his cable, whereas with TV service he'd only been paying $80 for all of it. Major networks will be fine as more and more people do "cut the cord," though, as these people usually install an antenna of some kind when they decide to. I honestly think we could see a resurgence of the broadcast networks over the next few years, not the extinction. If anyone's in trouble it would be Dish Network and DirecTV - They've got rural customers who can't get cable locked up, but that's about it. I think their prices are generally cheaper for more channels than most cable providers, but most people in the city don't seem to bother with satellite when they get their internet through the cable company anyway. (You *can* get internet access via satellite, but it's expensive and kind of weird in how it all works, which isn't that great). They'll be the ones who suffer most, I think, because a lot of these rural-area folks *can* get high-speed internet nowadays even if they still can't get cable. On the other hand, all three options are probably just mine until the Boomers die off. My folks (not quite 60 yet) have a high-speed connection and my Netflix password, but they hardly ever use it. They know how to, but they're too familiar with the old ways to really make the jump. My mom still subscribes to TV Guide, for fuck's sake. Now eventually most of these channels will have to make some kind of transition into the digital world or risk death and/or mockery for being the last man standing on the old way, but I don't see "conventional" TV going anywhere soon. There's gonna be a million different attempts in a million different formats (paid, free but ad-supported, trapped-for-a-year like Amazon, etc.) and a bunch will fail or retool, but it'll take at least 10-15 years I think before we see said "conventional" viewing go away or drop dramatically to a point where it's no longer profitable at all. It's funny because I always read these comments from people who say that they cut their cable 5 years ago and they are convinced with cable companies and networks are dying with people choosing other means to watch TV. I realize that Netflix and other streaming options are taking a piece of the pie, but I don't think TV as we know it will die anytime soon - the networks and cable channels will be here decades from now. What might not be here are smaller cable channels that just can't compete anymore. Even if we have a nuclear blast that wipes out civilization, someone who is still alive will be able to watch Miss Congeniality 2 on TBS. |
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Post by B5Erik on Apr 2, 2015 14:11:58 GMT -5
Cable will merge with the internet as eventually you'll log on to a network's website to watch their programming on demand. It's already here, but the quality is inconsistent. That will change as time goes by and TV's are all equipped with browsers.
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Post by lugnut on Apr 4, 2015 15:00:08 GMT -5
Cable will merge with the internet as eventually you'll log on to a network's website to watch their programming on demand. It's already here, but the quality is inconsistent. That will change as time goes by and TV's are all equipped with browsers. I really can't think of a major network that doesn't have some kind of streaming option. Some are only on certain platforms, some have a tiny selection of content, but most are coming along pretty nicely in one form or the other. But yeah, the cable companies won't be going away, we'll just be paying them for internet instead and they likely won't get the incentives from the cable channels they used to get - unless Viacom or someone decides to pressure a bunch of them to increase their speeds for the sake of benefitting their own streaming channels or something like that. |
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Post by Hey Man on Apr 4, 2015 19:32:35 GMT -5
Cable will merge with the internet as eventually you'll log on to a network's website to watch their programming on demand. It's already here, but the quality is inconsistent. That will change as time goes by and TV's are all equipped with browsers. I really can't think of a major network that doesn't have some kind of streaming option. Some are only on certain platforms, some have a tiny selection of content, but most are coming along pretty nicely in one form or the other. But yeah, the cable companies won't be going away, we'll just be paying them for internet instead and they likely won't get the incentives from the cable channels they used to get - unless Viacom or someone decides to pressure a bunch of them to increase their speeds for the sake of benefitting their own streaming channels or something like that. Obviously cable companies won't go away, because their parent companies have a bottomless pit of money behind them and they can afford to alter their business to reflect whatever the new hip trend with consuming entertainment. But for the those that have already pulled the cable cord, I assume they are happy with the alternative options and will cable ever be able to compete with that? In Canada, the two major cable companies came out with their own versions of Netflix to try to compete. It's not a bad service - great content for 4 bucks of month like full seasons of HBO and Showtime shows and a slew of network shows as well. But as good as it is, I think Canadians would just prefer the American version of Netflix. |
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Post by lugnut on Apr 4, 2015 19:55:19 GMT -5
I really can't think of a major network that doesn't have some kind of streaming option. Some are only on certain platforms, some have a tiny selection of content, but most are coming along pretty nicely in one form or the other. But yeah, the cable companies won't be going away, we'll just be paying them for internet instead and they likely won't get the incentives from the cable channels they used to get - unless Viacom or someone decides to pressure a bunch of them to increase their speeds for the sake of benefitting their own streaming channels or something like that. Obviously cable companies won't go away, because their parent companies have a bottomless pit of money behind them and they can afford to alter their business to reflect whatever the new hip trend with consuming entertainment. But for the those that have already pulled the cable cord, I assume they are happy with the alternative options and will cable ever be able to compete with that? In Canada, the two major cable companies came out with their own versions of Netflix to try to compete. It's not a bad service - great content for 4 bucks of month like full seasons of HBO and Showtime shows and a slew of network shows as well. But as good as it is, I think Canadians would just prefer the American version of Netflix. Depends on if they keep making the prices on internet/cable bundles so close that keeping cable TV is almost just as cheap or cheaper. I mentioned earlier the guy at Hoffman who would only save $10 if he dropped his cable TV channels because his internet price would go up - and so not long after I had my wife check our cable package and found that it's the same thing - we'd only be paying about 5-10 bucks less if we dropped it, because the internet cost would increase. At that kind of price, you might as well keep it if you ever use it at all (and we only have an 'extended basic' package, not one that includes HBO or the other movie channels). I've also heard of people who would actually be paying more for just internet than they currently pay for internet+TV if they were to drop the TV part, crazy as that seems. And I dunno, I've always heard Canadian Netflix does indeed suck, but if you get HBO/Showtime/etc for $4/mo with what you've got, then you're doing better than us. If you want HBO or Showtime currently you need the subscription or someone's password, or settle for older HBO and Showtime shows via Netflix at $7.99/mo for Showtime and HBO for like $120 a year at Amazon Prime (no monthly option). And you won't get any new seasons/episodes there, you'll need HBO Go or Showtime Anytime if you want those. Same for network shows - if you want the new episodes, you'll need another $7.99/mo subscription for Hulu Plus... assuming it's not a show on a network that has an exclusive contract with SlingTV at $19.99 a month... You get the picture. The US streaming situation is a fuckin' mess right now, and for every Oscar-winning classic on US Netflix that isn't on Canada Netflix, there's 26 Tyler Perry movies and Bollywood flicks. |
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Post by Hey Man on Apr 4, 2015 20:09:46 GMT -5
Obviously cable companies won't go away, because their parent companies have a bottomless pit of money behind them and they can afford to alter their business to reflect whatever the new hip trend with consuming entertainment. But for the those that have already pulled the cable cord, I assume they are happy with the alternative options and will cable ever be able to compete with that? In Canada, the two major cable companies came out with their own versions of Netflix to try to compete. It's not a bad service - great content for 4 bucks of month like full seasons of HBO and Showtime shows and a slew of network shows as well. But as good as it is, I think Canadians would just prefer the American version of Netflix. Depends on if they keep making the prices on internet/cable bundles so close that keeping cable TV is almost just as cheap or cheaper. I mentioned earlier the guy at Hoffman who would only save $10 if he dropped his cable TV channels because his internet price would go up - and so not long after I had my wife check our cable package and found that it's the same thing - we'd only be paying about 5-10 bucks less if we dropped it, because the internet cost would increase. At that kind of price, you might as well keep it if you ever use it at all (and we only have an 'extended basic' package, not one that includes HBO or the other movie channels). I've also heard of people who would actually be paying more for just internet than they currently pay for internet+TV if they were to drop the TV part, crazy as that seems. And I dunno, I've always heard Canadian Netflix does indeed suck, but if you get HBO/Showtime/etc for $4/mo with what you've got, then you're doing better than us. If you want HBO or Showtime currently you need the subscription or someone's password, or settle for older HBO and Showtime shows via Netflix at $7.99/mo for Showtime and HBO for like $120 a year at Amazon Prime (no monthly option). And you won't get any new seasons/episodes there, you'll need HBO Go or Showtime Anytime if you want those. Same for network shows - if you want the new episodes, you'll need another $7.99/mo subscription for Hulu Plus... assuming it's not a show on a network that has an exclusive contract with SlingTV at $19.99 a month... You get the picture. The US streaming situation is a fuckin' mess right now, and for every Oscar-winning classic on US Netflix that isn't on Canada Netflix, there's 26 Tyler Perry movies and Bollywood flicks. Let me clarify - it's not HBO or Showtime full service with all the brand new shows and movies - it's just the library of older shows. So if you want to watch full seasons of The Sopranos and The Wire for example - you can do that, but you can't watch the new upcoming season of Game Of Thrones. Check out the shows we get for 4 bucks here. www.cravetv.ca/ |
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Post by lugnut on Apr 4, 2015 20:35:40 GMT -5
Depends on if they keep making the prices on internet/cable bundles so close that keeping cable TV is almost just as cheap or cheaper. I mentioned earlier the guy at Hoffman who would only save $10 if he dropped his cable TV channels because his internet price would go up - and so not long after I had my wife check our cable package and found that it's the same thing - we'd only be paying about 5-10 bucks less if we dropped it, because the internet cost would increase. At that kind of price, you might as well keep it if you ever use it at all (and we only have an 'extended basic' package, not one that includes HBO or the other movie channels). I've also heard of people who would actually be paying more for just internet than they currently pay for internet+TV if they were to drop the TV part, crazy as that seems. And I dunno, I've always heard Canadian Netflix does indeed suck, but if you get HBO/Showtime/etc for $4/mo with what you've got, then you're doing better than us. If you want HBO or Showtime currently you need the subscription or someone's password, or settle for older HBO and Showtime shows via Netflix at $7.99/mo for Showtime and HBO for like $120 a year at Amazon Prime (no monthly option). And you won't get any new seasons/episodes there, you'll need HBO Go or Showtime Anytime if you want those. Same for network shows - if you want the new episodes, you'll need another $7.99/mo subscription for Hulu Plus... assuming it's not a show on a network that has an exclusive contract with SlingTV at $19.99 a month... You get the picture. The US streaming situation is a fuckin' mess right now, and for every Oscar-winning classic on US Netflix that isn't on Canada Netflix, there's 26 Tyler Perry movies and Bollywood flicks. Let me clarify - it's not HBO or Showtime full service with all the brand new shows and movies - it's just the library of older shows. So if you want to watch full seasons of The Sopranos and The Wire for example - you can do that, but you can't watch the new upcoming season of Game Of Thrones. Check out the shows we get for 4 bucks here. www.cravetv.ca/Still looks like a pretty good deal. The HBO and Showtime archives actually include more content than is available on HBO Go and Showtime Anytime (the premium services that offer new episodes). For instance, I spotted Mr. Show among HBO's offerings, which is weirdly absent from HBO Go. Plus all the network shows there look to be the stuff that's mostly semi-exclusive to Hulu Plus here (ie, Netflix may have three seasons of Some FX Show but Hulu will have all five). I'm not sure how $4.99 translates to America dollars these days, but it's a lot of content under one roof that would be all scattered out amongst various services in the US. |
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Post by Hey Man on Apr 4, 2015 20:45:45 GMT -5
Let me clarify - it's not HBO or Showtime full service with all the brand new shows and movies - it's just the library of older shows. So if you want to watch full seasons of The Sopranos and The Wire for example - you can do that, but you can't watch the new upcoming season of Game Of Thrones. Check out the shows we get for 4 bucks here. www.cravetv.ca/Still looks like a pretty good deal. The HBO and Showtime archives actually include more content than is available on HBO Go and Showtime Anytime (the premium services that offer new episodes). For instance, I spotted Mr. Show among HBO's offerings, which is weirdly absent from HBO Go. Plus all the network shows there look to be the stuff that's mostly semi-exclusive to Hulu Plus here (ie, Netflix may have three seasons of Some FX Show but Hulu will have all five). I'm not sure how $4.99 translates to America dollars these days, but it's a lot of content under one roof that would be all scattered out amongst various services in the US. Is there no service in the US that has HBO and Showtime older library of shows - except for HBO and Showtime themselves. Does Netflix in the US carry those shows or are there direct competition with HBO and Showtime? |
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Post by lugnut on Apr 4, 2015 23:31:58 GMT -5
Still looks like a pretty good deal. The HBO and Showtime archives actually include more content than is available on HBO Go and Showtime Anytime (the premium services that offer new episodes). For instance, I spotted Mr. Show among HBO's offerings, which is weirdly absent from HBO Go. Plus all the network shows there look to be the stuff that's mostly semi-exclusive to Hulu Plus here (ie, Netflix may have three seasons of Some FX Show but Hulu will have all five). I'm not sure how $4.99 translates to America dollars these days, but it's a lot of content under one roof that would be all scattered out amongst various services in the US. Is there no service in the US that has HBO and Showtime older library of shows - except for HBO and Showtime themselves. Does Netflix in the US carry those shows or are there direct competition with HBO and Showtime? Netflix has the older Showtime stuff, but HBO's stuff is locked up with Amazon, and I think even then I think they only offer the biggest shows. For instance, HBO Go will have a selection of past series that's similar to what that Canadian site offers, but I think Amazon's deal with them only covers the "big" shows like Sopranos and Sex and the City and such. I'm not sure if the Showtime stuff is exclusive to Netflix only or if it's also available on Amazon/Hulu/etc, but the HBO stuff is definitely exclusive to Amazon alone (plus HBO Go). |
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Post by Cducharme on Apr 5, 2015 6:21:45 GMT -5
Plus the Amazon hbo is sd only
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Post by lugnut on Apr 5, 2015 7:21:39 GMT -5
Plus the Amazon hbo is sd only Wow, really? Amazon must have been pretty desperate to nail down a big exclusive for them to have even accepted what seems to be such a half-ass deal from HBO's side. |
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Post by Cducharme on Apr 5, 2015 7:27:35 GMT -5
Yeah at least some of the stuff that's on both is SD like Deadwood or true blood.
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