http://www.examiner.com/technology-in-columbus/cable-tv-subscribers-leaving-droves-for-internet-tv
Cable TV subscribers leaving in droves for Internet TV
Cable TV companies lost over 500,000 subscribers in Q3 of 2010, according to a study published yesterday by GigaOM. The big cable TV companies accounted for most of that loss, with Comcast and Time Warner shedding 275,000 and 155,000 customers, respectively.
DirecTV and Dish Network not making up the cable TV subscriber loss
An even bigger loss in the second quarter resulted in over 200,000 of those former subscribers not signing up for any other television service, including satellite TV companies, DirecTV and Dish Network. It is widely assumed many of those former customers are now using internet TV services, like Netflix or Hulu.
GigaOM isn't surprised about Big Cable's loss of customers, as they mention that expecting customers to pay $125 to $150 a month with yearly rate hikes isn't a sustainable business model.
Cable TV companies become content providers
Comcast is trying to protect its profit mongering by acquiring content providers, most notably the NBC family of television networks. The nascent world of internet TV is also becoming a corporate battleground as Google and Apple, familiar foes in the mobile computing space, introduced competing internet TV products this year.
Communications giant, Verizon, hopes to expand the footprint of its own FiOS television service, which still remains unavailable in the local Columbus market.
With cable giants losing revenue from subscriber loss, expect those companies to try and leverage control of internet TV to keep their bank accounts robust. Continued acquisition of television content providers and control of wireless internet access is the future.
