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New NY Times/CBS Poll: Will Pay TV See the Same Troubles as Newspapers?

Aug 23, 2010  •  Post A Comment

There’s concern in the television industry that consumers will start "cutting the cord" — canceling their pay TV service — in favor of watching shows online. A new poll sheds some light on this fear.

And the truth is that there’s not much evidence to suggest it’s actually happening, the New York Times reports.

For consumers who still want to watch their favorite shows on big-screen TVs instead of a computer screen, getting rid of the cable or satellite connection can prove complicated, the story says. And then there’s the issue of not being able to access every show through online services, such as HBO’s "True Blood."

Thus, about 88% of respondents to a New York Times/CBS News poll in August paid for traditional TV service, with only 15% considering getting rid of it in favor of Internet services such as Hulu, the story says.

But those under 45 years old were more likely than older respondents to say they had thought about replacing their pay TV connection, the article adds.

Even though the TV industry has so far avoided the fate of other types of media, such as newspapers and music, through efforts to make sure that some top shows such as "American Idol" and live sporting events can’t be legally watched online, consumers are becoming resistant to paying more, the story points out.

As previously reported, Cable companies such as Cablevision are testing services to watch TV shows on devices such as smartphones, while Verizon is planning an application to put live TV on the iPad.

In a separate article, the New York Times reports that Dish Network will this week debut
DishOnline.com, a portal that will allow customers to watch shows from Discovery, HGTV and MTV.

5 Comments

  1. “For consumers who still want to watch their favorite shows on big-screen TVs instead of a computer screen, getting rid of the cable or satellite connection can prove complicated.”
    Not at all. When Comcast wouldn’t replace the 33 year old corroded cable in our condo building after Hurricane Ike, I cut the cord. I bought a Phillips powered antenna, then a Gateway computer with a TV card and wireless internet connection already installed. I connected it to my big screen with an HDMI cable, plugged it in, started it up, and I was done. Other than the initial windows 7 setup, that was it.

  2. Sorry Scott, but for the average consumer that is complicated.

  3. Good post, thanks

  4. Great post. Hope you write more on the subject soon.

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