http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100621/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc2730
Nielsen sees no cord-cutting 'revolution'
A blog post I wrote back in April about the growing number of "cord-cutters" — TV viewers who are ditching their cable and satellite boxes in favor of over-the-air antennas and online streaming — got a gigantic response, with nearly 10,000 of you chiming in on the discussion. But according to the latest Nielsen company research, a lot more people are talking about cutting the cord than actually doing it.
The survey, presented last week during Nielsen's Consumer 360 conference, found that although the percentage of the U.S. population with broadband Internet but no cable rose to 3.9 percent in January 2009 from 3.2 percent in 2008, it held steady in January 2010.
Meanwhile, the percentage of those with both cable and broadband climbed, rising to 66.3 percent in January of this year, from 61.6 percent in 2009 and 54.8 percent in 2008.
Nielsen Senior Vice President Howard Shimmel says only small segments of the population, including young households and younger college grads, are shifting to online video — and they stream just 10 minutes a day. Meanwhile, the average American watches nearly twice as much TV as the cord-cutters do.
While industry watchers definitely do have their collective eye on the cord-cutters, Nielsen says, "the idea of a cord-cutting revolution appears to be purely fiction."
Well, maybe so — for now.
As much as I'd like to cut the cord myself, I've yet to kiss Time Warner Cable (and my $135 monthly bill) goodbye. My reasons are similar to those I read in the comments to my post in April: I'd be missing out on too many live sporting events, particularly the NFL (no Monday Night Football!), and there's still no way for me to get a true broadband Internet connection without a cable subscription. (Neither AT&T U-verse nor Verizon FiOS is an option in my neighborhood, while my priciest DSL options only deliver speeds no faster than 1.5 Mbps downstream.)
Here's a survey I'd like to see: the number of U.S. TV who want to cut the cord. I bet that would be an eye-opener. Another factor to consider: Our dependence on cable operators for broadband might be short-lived now that wireless carriers are rolling out 4G services.
Granted, it'll take years for the four big carriers to roll out their respective WiMax and LTE wireless services, and initially they won't be able to match the speed and performance of wired cable networks. (They may also introduce usage caps for heavy broadband users.)
Within five to 10 years, though, I can imagine 4G networks from the likes of Sprint and Verizon making perfectly good substitutes to cable modems, meaning you could just get your broadband from your wireless carrier — and ditch cable altogether.
And who knows, come 2015 or 2020, maybe the NFL will finally have grown tired of its exclusive deal with DirecTV.
So, how many of you haven't cut the cord yet, but would if you could?
• NielsenWire: Busting the cord-cutting myth
• Today in Tech: Nearly 800,000 households in U.S. 'cut the cord,' report says
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
