Cable lost 500,000+ subscribers in Q3, thanks to the Web

[Emil]

Last quarter was the first time ever that US pay-for TV subscription rates declined, and in Q3 2010, cable lost over 518,300 subscribers in total, according to GigaOm. Four of the five biggest cable companies lost customers: Comcast had more than half of the losses at 275,000, Time Warner took a 155,000 subscriber hit, Charter Communications lost 63,800, and Cablevision waved goodbye to 24,500 customers. The third largest cable provider, Cox Communications, is privately held and therefore doesn't have to announce its subscriber numbers publicly. The number is thus likely even bigger if we could include Cox plus all the smaller cable companies.

Now, we normally wouldn't cover cable TV news, but more than half a million users ditching their cable companies is significant. The reason for such staggering losses is simple: the Internet is taking over. Cable is falling on the wayside as services like Netflix and Hulu continue to expand their offerings.

Cable companies are blaming the poor numbers on the weak economy but instead of embracing the Web, they're merely raising prices for remaining customers. Talk about digging yourself into a hole. In fact, Comcast admitted that its average customer revenue rose by 10 percent year over year to $136 per month. Charter's similarly jumped by nine percent to $126 monthly fee. Cablevision's price didn't increase, but monthly revenue per customer still amounted to a huge $149 per month.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/41013-cable-lost-500000-subscribers-in-q3-thanks-to-the-web.html

 

[taea00]

What with Hulu, Netflix, and broadcasters putting all of their shows directly on the web, I'm thinking about ditching my cable too. I pay $50 for cable in a package deal and there's never anything on. I find myself watching things I can easily get online. The only thing nice is the DVR which allows me to record those shows I can't get easily streaming.

 

[LinkedKube]

This is true, between cable, internet and phone service all from comcast we really only use the internet.

 

[tonylukac]

Then don't forget the analog to digital conversion. We get free over the air broadcasts instead of having an expensive standalone internet connection to stream. My dry loop dsl is $20 a month, and I'm told the slowest standalone comcast internet is $70 a month in my neighborhood.

 

[poertner_1274]

They just lost another customer yesterday. I have hated Charter for quite some time. Although I didn't drop everything I just switched to DirecTV.

 

[mccartercar]

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls.
Step right up and see the greatest show on earth.
Watch as the almighty power of the people wielding the weapon of technology to defeat the cumbersome giants.

 

[ZipZpZowie]

Well what do you expect? It's pretty easy to watch tv shows on a web site. Unfortunately I've noticed that some are not carring the whole show anymore and are only showing short clips.

 

[KG363]

I ditched Comcast last year... for AT&T Uverse. I <3 ATT Uverse

 

[Guest]

Not surprising, internet is going to be the way of TV entertainment in the near future. I don't watch much TV but there's a few shows I do like on certain channels. If I can pick my channels individually instead of a package then I would still be a cable subscriber. I don't like paying for a package with a bunch of useless channels I don't watch, so instead I turn to the internet to download my favorite show, paying for bandwidth (rapidshare) turns out to be much much cheaper than cable for I the things I want to watch.

 

[gwailo247]

When you consider how much crap an average cable viewer is subsiding its ridiculous. I say make it all a la carte. I'll subscribe to History Channel and a few more, and occasionally pay to watch a sport event or something else. I'd only watch about 10 channels out of the 200 offered.

 

[Timonius]

Ditched Cable about 10 years ago. Never going back to that vomit.

 

[Tekkaraiden]

I haven't had cable in 5 years as I got tired of paying a lot for very little content. The kicker is I'd actually be quite happy to pay $15 - $20 a month to get the shows I actually want.

 

[Scshadow]

Well, they never lost me. I have never and will never buy cable. Hulu is fine for me.

 

[Guest]

I think the thing is clear and simple. The internet is the only massive communication medium where you can share, express, search, watch, hear, read and download what you want and not what others want. That's the big difference and that's why the internet ****ing rules, no more sheeps.

 

[speeedy6]

And I was one of them. I got an antenna so now I get a few channels over the air in HD for free and anything else I go online for.

Still lacking in the sports area though. Any suggestions on a good place to watch sports online, specifically hockey live????

 

[hassaan]

I think they should go to a more hulu or youtube type service. Or better yet take up google tv. But I would like to be able to play any show whenever I want. Of course after it has aired.

 

[sMILEY4ever]

Is it really the Web? I think not. Piracy? Maybe. Anything else? Maybe.

 

[Puiu]

over 100$ for cable? that's just wrong. i can get cable+internet(5+mpbs)+phone for about 15$. and 20mps internet connections are dirt cheap: 15-20$. i feel so lucky right now

 

[anguis]

As soon as there is some COMPLETE sports package available online, I must retain my cable subscription. I rarely watch TV, but when I do, 95% of the time it is sports.

 

[Vrmithrax]

Ironically, I'm a cable subscriber, but only for internet - and I use Hulu, Netflix, etc. for my media. I honestly think I'm probably the ideal future consumer for cable, but right now it's just way too overpriced. I'm only using it because my other options in this area suck. I had AT&T DSL, and it was flaky and slow in this area (which is metropolitan, but a relatively new residential region). My only option to get decent streaming was cable, unfortunately. I'm paying double what I paid for DSL, but getting 4 times the speed, so I guess I can't complain too much! Still, there's no way I'd drop an extra $50 or more a month for the analog or digital cable options that I can add on. And for phone, I've used Skype for years, with no issues (provided my internet stays up).

 

[dkbrannan]

Puiu I wish I was in your state! I cant get anything faster than 4mbs and thats even throttled through a 'phone line'! BS that my iSP is really the only option I have for faster speeds. TV I have more than 1 and have been considering the swap. I need my time away from a PC / Notebook / Phone internet and I am vacaying by TV channels of entertainment on demand.

 

[dkbrannan]

Puiu I wish I was in your state! I cant get anything faster than 4mbs and thats even throttled through a 'phone line'! BS that my iSP is really the only option I have for faster speeds. TV I have more than 1 and have been considering the swap. I need my time away from a PC / Notebook / Phone internet and I am vacaying by TV channels of entertainment on demand.

 

[compu4]

When will they learn? Paying $50+ per month for a cable package simply isn't reasonable, especially when you can watch most of the shows from major networks online for free.

 

[acc202121]

I never subscribed to cable, never saw the value in it, especially when in Australia you get about 14 free to air HD Tv channels. But am not surprised and am sure this is only the beginning. The whole world is going global and internet is the driver, so the localized broadcasting companies need to change with times.

 

[Guest]

Cable is the Evkil vomit spew of the Devils wayward daughter! or some such opinion.
What I don't understand is why the cable company's allow something like HuLu to show the shows for free? Or even to let Hulu plus undercut them? If internet is the way of the future, then you'd think the cable company's would do everything to strangle it (to protect their existing revenue). Yet it seems that shows are available for free, or cheap, legally. If shows are being gotten illegally then cableco's can simply apply std legal remedys. Its a different situation here in the uk, most people get their TV OTA free, for the cost of the licence fee (£141 per annum). ANd we are about to be unleashed with YouView a revoultionary mishmash of Tv and Web **endorsed** by the leading broadcasters, sometime Q2 2011.