By Glen Gardner/CEO Glen Gardner and Associates
If you are considering sinking a lot of money into cable TV, consider this; A recent Price Waterhouse survey found that nearly three-quarters of the cable companies' customers don't want to buy the product the way they sell it. That may have been all well and good 10 years ago when there were few choices and the main competition sold the product the same exact way. What the consumer doesn't like is "bundling."
Both cable and Dish bundle the programming package proving the consumer with a ton of choice and a ton of cost. The latest research indicates most consumers would rather purchase only what they consume on a regular basis. Before video streaming, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Redbox Stream, Roku and others, the consumer had little choice than to belly up to the bar and buy it all.
That is all changing in a hurry. The movement is referred to as "cutting the cord" and more Americans are doing it every day. They are sick of paying for a bunch of programming they just don't consume. They are using the Internet to pick and choose what they want to watch and pay for it that way. In the process they are saving hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars a year.
To some extent the cable companies seem to be whistling by the graveyard. They say the last time they faced a major challenge in the 90's they did just fine, thank you. The competition in the 90's was Dish and that is bundled exactly the same way cable is. This new form of competition is a whole new beast. It's unbundled and exactly what the consumer says they want.
The technology to cut the cable is still a bit exotic and geek-centric, but it's quickly becoming more consumer-friendly. Remember trying to program that first VCR?
For $40 you can purchase a computer the size of a cigarette lighter that plugs into any HDMI input on a TV or monitor. These units are WiFi and Bluetooth equipped and operate on the Android platform. They turn your TV or monitor into a big tablet for 40 bucks. Not only are cable companies quaking in their boots, but PC manufacturers are none too pleased that for $40 dollars you can have a full functioning Email, music and video computer. If you don't believe me, just do a Google search on "Android Dongle" or "Android mini computer."
Fragmentation, cutting the cord, time shifting and DVR make buying cable advertising a minefield these days. Sam Goody's is gone, the Amazon guy owns what's left of newspaper and the last VCR repair shop in my town closed this year. Cable as we know it, may be next.
