Customers Dropping Cable TV for Online Movies & TV Shows

CNN has a story about how more and more consumers are watching TV and movies online, More US Consumers Drop Cable, DVDs As Content Moves Online.

Mundt is one of a growing tide of consumers that over the last year or so have begun cutting their cable television subscriptions and shunning DVDs as more content becomes available online and faster broadband connections reach more parts of the country. Now, with the economy in a tailspin and consumers pinching budgets, the trend is picking up speed even though high-definition offerings and live events are still hard to come by.

No one knows how many people have cut their cable subscriptions, though some estimates have put the figure at about 1.1 million, or 1% of U.S. households with televisions. But already the trend is being blamed for shrinking performances at entertainment giants like Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Cable. Both companies blamed slipping revenue in part on the trend at earnings conferences last week.

I'm paying close to $100 per month for digital cable service and one HD box, but no HBO (cancelled after the Sopranos ended) or other premium channels. It's getting harder to pay this bill each month when we have Netflix (and Blockbuster Total Access), and more of the shows we like are online, for free.

Are you considering dropping cable TV?

Comments

[yuppiescum]

Unfortunately this isn't really an option for the sports fan yet. Though the leagues mostly offer online streaming, I doubt it's HD and half the time you can't even get your home announce team due to blackouts and all that shit.

[psipher]

Yes, I recently dropped HBO and Showtime in favor of Netflix. I'm currently experimenting with OTA antenna and watching programs online...so far it looks like I don't have a compelling reason to continue to pay $80/month to the cable company for content that is free (OTA) or part of another service that I'm paying for already (internet & Netflix).
Once the DTV transition is complete in June, I’ll more than likely drop cable.

[George]

I experimented with OTA and it worked beautifully. I simply plugged the 30-year old roof TV antenna with twin-lead into the 4-way splitter and all of the TVs fired up with nice OTA HD TV. I'll still need a good HD DVR solution. TiVo is the easy solution, but it comes with monthly fees as well. Then, I'll need some easy way to get the online content to the TVs. There's the tough part. Its got to be easy enough so that the young kids can get to cartoons and Disney.

But getting rid of that $84 per month cable bill and their surly attitudes?? Heck, yeah.

[Baz]

Dropped it 6 years ago. Been on Netflix ever since.

[Del]

I dropped Dish a couple of years ago. Went with OTA, Media Center 2005 for DVR, two NTSC tuners and two Media Center Extenders.

I upgraded to Vista Media Center w/TV Pack 2008(to get sub-channels)for DVR, 1 Gig HD for recording, two ATSC tuners, XBox 360 and DMA2200.

Netflix WI is just the icing on the cake.

George, you might check this out:
http://www.dishnetwork.com/dtvpal/dvr.shtml

[Dan]

I recently cut my cable down to the $13/month basic package. I still get my broadband from the cable company, but by switching from their services I save roughly $85/month. Netflix, Hulu, Veoh, and others have replaced much of my viewing. I keep the basic cable service so I won't miss my sports and I don't have to fuss with antennae. I did try one antenna, but I was not able to get anything other than PBS (which I was able to get in HD OTA). I'm using half of the monthly savings to fund DVD purchases and future hardware purchases, such as building a boxee box.

[Fred]

Hulu + Netflix on the Xbox 360 take the place that TV would've. I refuse to pay $60/month to watch 80% commercials. They're putting up to 4 commercial breaks in a half hour program. That's rediculous. I feel insulted when watching TV. And the louder-than-the-show commercials make me vow never to buy their products. LAME.

[Del]

On the subject commercials, take a look at the Heroes Season 3 episodes. They are from 41-43 minutes, thats 19-17 minutes of commercials if you watched it live. That is almost a third of your time and if you have cable/dish you pay to get those commercials.

It's no wonder people are dropping cable/dish, who wants to waste a third of their life to watch something they don't need/want.

Sorry, I don't mean to rant.

[CopaceticOpus]

Even one minute of commercials is too much for me. I hate having a show interrupted, and thanks to Netflix I'm used to not enduring commercials.

I do regret missing sports broadcasts. However, they're just not worth the $60-$100 per month I would need to pay. Sports are the one case where I make an exception for commercials. Since there are so many commercials, sports should be offered as free online streams - but I'm not holding my breath.

[Kevin]

Nope, I watch too much sports

[piper]

I am in cow country and have Dish - CAN'T get cable or DSL!!! I have an sprint AIRCARD - I WISH I could watch instantly but that is impossible. I had SAT internet but that sucked big time since they would throttle you to dial up speeds just watching 1 you tube vid... Please someone feel sorry for me because I DO:( I'm very happy with Netflix and I hope they continue DVD's since I can't live stream ANYTHING!!

I'm sure there are others like me in the world - sigh.....

[Chris K]

I would have dropped DirecTV long ago in favor of Netflix, Hulu, OTA, and the occasional torrent, were it not for my love of auto racing. I need the Speed Channel for Formula 1, ALMS, Grand Am, and Le Mans. I could get F1 from British sources via torrent, but the other series just aren't online.

When they are, I'm gone. I'll get OTA DVR via Tivo, and watch cable series via Netflix.

[tsrblke]

I'm not sure I'd drop cable, I only have expanded basic anyway, and I kinda need them for the broadband internet. (Even AT&T the non cable provider in my area requires TV bundling, and the cost to bundle is basically the same as the cost to get Broadband alone.)

[Seth]

haha I actually just got cable for the first time in 3 years cause of the analog switch-over, but it's just bare-bones basic.

[kh]

I'm guessing this is the reason for Comcast's throttling and bandwidth caps. Eventually you'll be able to watch anything over the internet but it will still cost you $100 a month for the bandwidth.

[kh]

After reading my previous comment I realized that I should have said it's the amount of data transferred that's being capped (and that I expect we'll eventually have to pay for), not the bandwidth.

[Hunter McDaniel]

I was cable-free even before Netflix. I have a MythTV box to give me DVR capabilities. Can't be beat.

[ZeroCorpse]

I dropped it years ago. I've been getting all my entertainment from one of several options:

1. Broadcast over-the-air HDTV
2. Netflix DVD rentals
3. Netfilx Watch Instantly via Roku, Xbox 360 (rarely), and MacBook.
4. Direct streaming from network sites (Comedy Central, Adult Swim, etc.)
5. Hulu.com
6. Downloads from Amazon, iTunes, Xbox 360 marketplace, etc.
7. Used DVD purchases from Amazon, eBay, GameStop, etc.

I don't give a damn about sports, so for me this works. ANYTHING that's on TV or in theaters is available by one of these methods, and for FAR less than I paid for standard cable without premium channels.

It also frees me from the lousy customer service of Comcast and/or DirecTV, and lets me watch most content without having to sit through commercials every ten minutes.

I'll never go back to cable or satellite again.

[ZeroCorpse]

@ piper

Keep your chin up. The President is a strong believer in getting broadband to everyone in the country, eventually. The stonewalling by the cable/phone companies will come to an end soon, we hope.

There's no reason people in the boondocks shouldn't also have broadband. It's getting to be essential now, just like telephone access was in the 20th century.

It'll happen.

[Colleen]

We cancelled our satellite sub over a year ago, upgraded NetFlix to 5-at-a-time. That plus online streaming (Netflix, Hulu etc) has kept us more than happily entertained. There's only two of us and we have pretty compatible tastes, I imagine it would be harder with a larger household. But I don't even miss it anymore, except on the occasional insomnia night when I want to channel surf.

[Old Timer Too]

My cable bill is over $60 for no HD, no digital, and only basic+ service (which does not include the sci-fi channel and other "freebies" that I would like to have. I don't consider cable a viable option, even though I'm in a condo and do not have the ability to (currently) install a satellite dish (which I would if I could). In my opinion, cable (Comcast) needs to seriously rethink their pricing.

[Edward R Murrow]

Real men must have sports in HD, which means cable or satellite.

[Gir]

Cable and DBS companies (and the media providers responsible for most of their costs) will not drop prices till there is a major exodus of customers. Here's to hoping it will happen sooner rather than later.

[Becky]

I dropped Time-Warner Cable for Netflix back in 2004.

[David Grenier]

I only got cable for the first time two months ago. I resisted it for years but my wife kept bugging me. So we finally got the basic $13/month cable (but we have to rent the HD box from Verizon, so it's really $23 a month).

I can't stand watching TV on my computer, but I love watching DVDs of entire seasons of a good show on TV - so Netflix has always been a better option for us. Football I watch at a bar cheering along with tables full of friends. Movies I've always preferred on DVD (or VHS before that) when I control what and when I watch. The thousands of repetitive reality and "educational" shows on cable I could easily live without.

I've never understood the people who consider $100 a month for cable a necessity. I imagine that just like people who NEEDED gas-guzzing SUVs, they'll find that they can get by without them.

[Idaho Dad]

We dropped cable six years ago, relying on Netflix and OTA. I've never regretted it. We have more than enough entertainment options. There really isn't anything we can't see, except for inane talk shows and specialized sporting events. And who misses that?

[Idaho Dad]

Oh yeah, my friends who are paying nearly $100 for cable... I ask them which programs they watch. Turns out that 90% of their TV viewing is identical to what I watch through Netflix and online sites.

[Kodai]

No chance I'll drop cable. I work for the cable company and get free cable and internet.

[Darin]

We dropped cable tv completely, and actually got rid of our tv as well. We now use Netflix exclusively and watch network tv via Hulu and the network sites as well.

[trixare4kids]

I dropped cable TV years ago. I liked to wait until the DVD of a series came out anyway because I hate waiting for cliffhangers and I really, really detest having my shows be interrupted with commercials. I wish they'd get that. If they would just show me 2-5 minutes of commercials BEFORE the program started, instead of interrupting every 5 minutes, I would actually watch.

I get mine from the following sources:
Netflix, DVD Rental +Instant watch
Hulu
Surfthechannel
lastly, amazon or itunes if I can't find something in particular that I'm looking for.

I also bought a cheap HD tuner from woot.com for the MAC so I can get all the OTA HD Channels in my area -- which I mostly use just to watch the evening news.

[trixare4kids]

I also wanted to add that I got the Roku box for Netflix Instant Watch and I really like it. Highly recommended if you are sick of watching movies on your laptop.

[Dana]

I haven't had cable for four years...between Netflix, Hulu and Veoh...I'm all set.

[Parrish]

Time Warner is going bye-bye at the end of the month. Out digital antenna and converter work wonderfully, and we now have Netflix. Sixty dollars a month saved . . .

[Beth]

I actually canceled cable 100% in favor of Netflix & Hulu. Local stations come in via bunny ears & the new digital transition makes the picture very clear.

I also use PlayOn to stream Hulu (& Netflix w/o a Gold account) to my Xbox 360. It's just out of beta but it well worth the savings. I've lived without cable since Oct 08 & have never looked back.

[AmericaFirst]

I was one of the first subscribers to Roadrunner's broadband cable here in San Diego, and while I lament the loss of the usenet, I find that I don't need cable TV at all, never have. I get my entertainment through:
1. Netflix watch it now
2. Netflix movies
3. My local library system.
I put "holds" on titles not at my local
branch, and they send them over.
4. The occasional Hulu or similar
5. The occasional torrent, though I use
that much more for music.

[Netflix Kid]

we dropped cable for Netflix

[Nick]

Another best place to watch latest Hollywood movies online . Last night I was goggling some good Sci-Fi/Action movies to watch online and I found a great website which is a treasure of all latest movies in every genre. To all movie lovers here is the best website to watch latest & classic Hollywood flicks online for free. Latest movies are updated here daily and it has over 2000 plus new and old movies to watch online for free. Enjoy good movies every weekend. Visit: http://watch-movies.netau.net

[Randy]

Over the air tv looks great. More bandwidth per channel than cable or satellite. Over the air high definition video is awesome. Netflix is also great. Content is improving and so is streaming quality. If I were a pay tv investor, I would be worried.

[Brian]

We dropped cable for OTA and a $35 dsl connection over a year and a half ago. I built a DVR using the great free program GBPVR with 3 tuners (I also use this to tune my television). I just now discovered how to integrate Hulu Desktop into my DVR setup and can control the whole thing with a remote control from the comforts of my easy chair (it looks great on the 50" plasma). We also have a Netflix plan. We've widdled the entertainment budget down to about $50 month... about the same as just an internet connection with no service through the cable company. I am missing the sports stuff, but I have picked up the ability to stream live or recorded television to my netbook anywhere in the house via wi-fi. Next on the list is to move to prepaid cellphones now that our contract is now expired. There are too many good prepaid deals (virgin, boost, straight talk) that rival current contract plans. We'll end up saving close to $200 month with the cuts in cable and cell phones. That's no chump change.