Cable and satellite subscriptions combined for their biggest decline ever during the second quarter, a historic plunge that an analyst attributed to a “toxic mix” of factors, Bloomberg reports.
Subscriptions among the top six publicly traded cable and satellite companies fell by 580,000 during the quarter, fueled by rising prices for cable and satellite subs and the availability of lower-cost alternatives. With the economy still dragging, consumers are opting to cancel their cable and satellite service in favor of cheaper options such as Netflix and Hulu, the story notes.
“For younger demographics, where in many cohorts unemployment is north of 30 percent, and especially for those with limited or no interest in sports, the pay-TV equation is almost inarguably getting less attractive," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.
Let’s not forget to add another reason: the pitiful state of most cable and satellite companies consumer service departments. I was once told by Comcast that they didn’t care if half our building went to satellite.
How recent? Many horror stories about Comcast are ancient. Just today I had to guys to fix my cablecard and later I talked twice to Comcast about other but related issues. I was 100 percent satisfied. Comcast is much, much better than 4 years ago. They get it.
CableVision sure doesen’t. Just dropped them and they could not care less.
Sorry Doug, but Comcast doesn’t get it. I’ve called them four times in the past week about the same billing issue and only one time did I get someone willing and able to help. The first three calls I spent upwards of 20 minutes (each) talking to inept, rude, or just plain dumb customer service people. The day ESPN moves to a full webcasting is the day I cancel Comcast for good.