[mythtv-users] US Pay-TV loses subscribers for the first time ever

jedi jedi at mishnet.org
Mon Aug 23 20:51:32 UTC 2010


On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 04:08:31PM -0400, Brian Long wrote:
> On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 4:04 PM, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
> > On Monday, August 23, 2010 01:47:25 pm Dan Wilga wrote:
> >> On 8/23/10 3:37 PM, Phil Bridges wrote:
> >> > On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 3:31 PM, Ross Campbell<ross.campbell at gmail.com>  wrote:
> >> >> "SNL Kagan, which tracks trends in the U.S. multichannel market --
> >> >> cable, telcos, satellite, etc. -- says the market had its "worst
> >> >> performance on record" in the second quarter of this year. Pay TV
> >> >> subscribers hit 100.1 million in Q2, down from 100.4 million in Q1."
> >> >
> >> > Couldn't this have something to do with the number of unemployed
> >> > people that have realized that pay TV is not a necessity?
> >>
> >> That, and the fact that lots of people are switching to Internet-only
> >> (Hulu et al) methods for receiving their entertainment.
> >
> > I know many people who have moved to Netflix "Watch Instantly", it's probably the easiest way for non-technical people to
> > get into some form of internet-delivered video. Many Blu-Ray players have this capability, and devices can be had for
> > under $100 that will allow it. Getting Hulu into your TV set is not something most people want to, or can, get working.
> >
> > When money gets tight pay-TV is one of the first things people get rid of, and Netflix is cheaper than going to the video
> > rental store, and you also get unlimited network streaming.
> >
> > Of course they will run up against the ISP's limits on downloads if they watch Netflix a lot.
> 
> I'd be one to admit that since Netflix "Watch Instantly" has supported
> the Wii, my MythTV frontends have seen less use.  At this time, I'm

    Netflix is interesting but the streaming selection is a bit spotty.
Depending on your interests it could be either very good or very bad and
I have observed both with users I have setup with streaming on the Wii.

    The snail delivered DVDs seem to be more interesting at this point.

    Anything that gets bundled with game consoles or cheap bluray players
has a lot of potential though.

> more likely to watch a movie on demand via Netflix than some TV show I
> recorded with MythTV.  Considering all the hardware outlay for a
> decent MythTV system, I was kind-of sad when I realized this.  I
> believe things will change when new seasons get rolling, but that's
> how it's been for the summer months.


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