Consumers Dropping Pay TV Services

IBD's Click ^ | 8/23/2010 | Patrick Seitz

[Slyscribe]

The number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom TV services in the U.S. fell for the first time ever in the second quarter, according to research firm SNL Kagan.

The U.S. multichannel TV market lost 216,000 customers last quarter, vs. a gain of 378,000 a year ago. The total number of subscribers to cable, satellite and telecom video fell to 100.1 million in the second quarter, SNL Kagan says.

[rbg81]

If it weren’t for Fox News, FX, and the Comedy Channel, I would drop it too. Netflix takes care of all movie needs very nicely.

[PATRIOT1876]

Note to State-run media:

You can only be out of touch with your customers for so long.

If you misread and insult them daily, they may stop watching.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Not surprising.
Folks in a financial pinch cut out the non essentials.

[alicewonders]

The ONLY reason I still have cable is because of the Food Network and Breaking Bad/Mad Men. Even my trusty favorite, Turner Classic Movies, has sucked lately. I’ve almost completely stopped watching FOX News too, except for when I can catch Glenn Beck or Red Eye on.

[TexasFreeper2009]

I recently cut my sat package down to from the most deluxe to the most basic, for that very reason. Netflix watch instantly completely eliminates the need for the premium packages. My bill went from $130 to $30.

Fox News and HGTV are the only reasons I didn't drop it altogether.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

This doesn’t surprise me. I have way more than I use in terms of a cable package and am about to cut way back. And my cable company—like pretty much every cable company—finds ways to up my bill by about $20 or $30 per month to rent equipment that is necessary for the service I am buying! Cable companies have been really tone deaf in this economy if they think they can keep screwing people like that and keep them as customers.

[catman67]

People are getting sick and tired of the bait-and-switch from cable TV.

The original promise of cable was that in exchange for a monthly fee, you woould get programs without commercial interruption.

Now, you get more commercials per episode than with broadscast TV (which is controlled by the FCC). It is beginning to seem that there are more commercials than program. They also pump up the volume

[STONEWALLS]

...we got the dish because I liked the Sopranos...now that they’re long gone, I’m wondering why I’m paying so much every month.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We got rid of HBO and Showtime a couple months ago.
Haven’t missed either one.

[greene66]

I’m inches away from dumping my dish, after 15 years of service. Over a hundred channels and hardly anything I care to watch. I wish there was a channel that ran exclusively old shows, like “The Fugitive,” “Rawhide,” “Sea Hunt,” and whatnot.

[Freeport]

Gee. I don’t know. Maybe it’s because of the absolute JUNK I get charged for that I don’t watch because it’s so bad or maybe it’s the COST of the JUNK or maybe it’s BOTH!

[Col Frank Slade]

We dropped all the movie channels - HBO, Showtime, etc - Just kept basic service for sports channels, A&E, HGTV & home improvement channels.

[Izzy Dunne]

SNL Kagan.

Saturday Night Live is doing market research now?

[Varda]

If it weren’t for live sports I’d drop cable completely. I find most of the channels not just useless but offensive. I can rent TV shows and movies. If they ever go to sports over the internet, the cable is history.

[smokingfrog]

People are starting to take Franzie seriously now.

[reagan_fanatic]

I dropped cable over a year ago and went to off-air TV. With the new digital subchannels, I have over 20 channels available, including a retro channel and a couple of movie channels.

I don’t miss cable (or the $70/mo charge) one tiny little bit.

[Peter from Rutland]

If it wasn’t for my wife and son I would have dropped cable tv service a LONG time ago.

[EDINVA]

Yeah, but it’s the state-run media only that those who drop cable will be getting. They are dropping cable/satellite because of the cost and in economic times, that becomes a luxury rather than a necessity.

I subscribe only to tv online. Lots cheaper for as much as I watch tv, which is rarely. But I can work/FReep on my computer and turn on the FNS shows I want.

[aegiscg47]

I agree, sports is about the only reason I have it now. The movie channels show the same films over and over, the thousands of infomercials that pass as "programming", and the trend of having to rehash what was in the last ten minutes when a show comes back from commercial is way past annoying.

I recall AMC was showing Tora Tora Tora and every 10 minutes there were commercials, so I looked at the run time and it was around 3 1/2 hours! I just turned it off and popped in my DVD of it and watched the rest in about half the time!