Cutting the Cable Cord
Nigel C. Stewart
IT 103-004

Title Page Introduction Alternatives to Cable Why Drop Cable? Legal and Ethical Issues Security Issues Social Issues Conclusion Works Cited

 

Alternatives to Cable

A second change that contributed to the shift was the increasing availability of high speed internet.  This allowed in home streaming of content to become more prevalent.   With high speed internet, streaming media could be as clear as broadcast and cable video.  TV channels like MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN could now host video on their own websites to bring in more eyes to their content.  Subscription companies like Netflix and Hulu, as well as on-demand services like iTunes and Amazon could now open up their streaming catalogues to paid customers.  Sites like YouTube became extremely popular and valuable.

The streaming video increase almost single-handedly led to the final big paradigm shift in home entertainment: internet integration into entertainment systems.  Laptops, gaming consoles (like Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3), and digital media players (Roku, Apple TV and Blu-Ray players ) could bring streaming media to TV sets via the aforementioned subscription services and websites.  Newer ‘smart’ TVs are internet-ready without the need for an additional player.  These new technologies slowly began to replace cable boxes around the U.S.  According to Consumer Reports, 11% of streaming video service subscribers moved to a lower priced pa-TV tier with fewer channels.  An additional 15% of them dropped some or all premium TV channels (2014).