Cable TV Is on Life Support, but a New Bundle Is Coming Alive (2024)

FAQs

How much longer will cable TV be around? ›

Now, about five million people abandon cable TV every year — leaving about 75 million Americans in the traditional TV ecosystem, according to analyst estimates. Most analysts believe that 40 million to 60 million Americans will continue to subscribe to some form of traditional cable in the years to come.

Bundling scores of networks together has endured in large part because the programmers and distributors both made huge profits from new channels, rising numbers of subscribers and steadily higher cable bills. Plus, until recently, it would have been a logistical nightmare for distributors to sell channels individually.

Cable TV companies might have no choice but to unbundle packages as they face growing competition from streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Traditional advertising models become antiquated when media companies shift to subscription-based models.

Rising cable costs and the thousands of options for shows and movies on various streaming services have been key factors in the popularity of cord-cutting. As long as streaming subscriptions are more affordable than cable for the average household, it makes sense to move away from cable.

Cable companies are replacing ancient cable boxes with these tiny new gadgets. The clunky old cable box doesn't make sense anymore. Big, ugly, and heavy, they seem to have about as much place working with a modern TV as a DVD player.

A smart TV or streaming device – If your TV can connect to the internet, it is a Smart TV and can stream. For TVs that cannot connect to the internet, you can use a streaming device like Roku, Fire Stick TV, or Chromecast with Google TV, among many other options.

Consumers are no longer willing to pay for a plethora of channels that they don't watch. This antiquated cable model has become usurped by streaming options of getting only what you want to watch, and even those consumers that are still with cable are requesting more targeted, smaller bundles.

You can watch cable channels with a streaming player using cable alternative services or access select channels available in your area for free with an HDTV antenna. A streaming player is a great place to start saving money over cable—all you need is a TV and high-speed internet.

Watching live sports on cable was the main reason that has kept Americans from getting rid of cable as of 2022, according to 19.5 percent of respondents to a survey. Second common factor was watching live entertainment events, such as the award shows, with around 11.7 percent of people interviewed.

If you're tired of paying for cable TV and have been wanting to cut the cord, here's how to do it. Install an over-the-air antenna to receive local TV stations (like News 6) and connect your Smart TV to your wifi router. We purchased: Over-the-air TV antenna.

Is it better to bundle internet and TV? ›

Yes, with some ISPs, you can save money by combining your TV and internet services. The savings is usually about $10 to $20 a month.

There are many reasons why you could be having trouble receiving a certain TV channel. The signal could be affected by different types of interference including but not limited to, communications signals, LTE/Cellular, Microwave feeds, weather conditions, physical obstructions or reflections etc.

The decline in viewing on most cable networks continued in 2023. The falloff comes from the prevalence of cord cutting coupled with premium content and subsequently viewers leaving cable television for streaming platforms.

Televisions: 4-6 years

Time to failure is typically 8-11 years or about 50,000 hours of use.

Year-over-year, broadcast viewership slid 5.4% and cable TV dropped 12.5%.

The number of U.S. households that subscribe to cable TV went from around 47% in 2019 to 42% in 2022. All things considered, this trend is not stopping anytime soon.