The cable bundle broke because the way we watch TV changed. 10 years ago, I wanted to watch each episode of each show the week it aired. When streaming first started, the selection was slim and poor. Most of the good shows and movies were only available on DVD months afterwards. I made great use of Blockbuster, and then Netflix's DVD sub…
The cable bundle broke because the way we watch TV changed. 10 years ago, I wanted to watch each episode of each show the week it aired. When streaming first started, the selection was slim and poor. Most of the good shows and movies were only available on DVD months afterwards. I made great use of Blockbuster, and then Netflix's DVD subscription service (may it rest in peace.) But cable wasn't too expensive and you go so many channels, plus the DVR and it was great. Now, the only thing I want to watch live is sports. There's not a single show currently on the air that isn't streaming SOMEWHERE. And even if you have cable, there are still all those shows that are streaming only across 20 different services and IT'S JUST TOO MUCH DAMN TV! Maybe I'm old and my attention span isn't what it used to be, but I can't remember all the plots and characters in a 22 show season spread out from September to May. I actually prefer to binge everything.
Now, all I want to watch live is sports, which is hard without cable! I watch the Georgia Bulldogs and their games this season will be on ESPN+, regular ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2, the SEC network, CBS, and possibly some other option I'm not aware of. I looked at Philo, but they don't get the local affiliates. Right now I have Hulu with live TV, but they just announced a rate increase of over $30 a month. I'm looking at all the streaming options and think I'll go with YouTube. Direct TV is $99 a month to get all the sports channels.
So, I'm totally on the side of ESPN. Without them, your cable bundle is worthless. If I didn't watch sports, it would be so much simpler. You keep saying cable was great because we got so many channels, but now I don't NEED that many channels. If I really wanted to save money, I could just churn through the different services: watch all the new episodes of The Crown and Stranger Things, then cancel Netflix. Watch The Mandalorian, whatever new movies and Marvel shows came out and cancel Disney. Watch Only Murders, the ABC shows, etc. cancel Hulu. Even if you're a huge TV fan and actually watch all that, you don't need every streaming service every month. ESPN could easily start a stand alone streaming service and people would flock to it. But that would be the final nail in the cable coffin.
The cable bundle broke because the way we watch TV changed. 10 years ago, I wanted to watch each episode of each show the week it aired. When streaming first started, the selection was slim and poor. Most of the good shows and movies were only available on DVD months afterwards. I made great use of Blockbuster, and then Netflix's DVD subscription service (may it rest in peace.) But cable wasn't too expensive and you go so many channels, plus the DVR and it was great. Now, the only thing I want to watch live is sports. There's not a single show currently on the air that isn't streaming SOMEWHERE. And even if you have cable, there are still all those shows that are streaming only across 20 different services and IT'S JUST TOO MUCH DAMN TV! Maybe I'm old and my attention span isn't what it used to be, but I can't remember all the plots and characters in a 22 show season spread out from September to May. I actually prefer to binge everything.
Now, all I want to watch live is sports, which is hard without cable! I watch the Georgia Bulldogs and their games this season will be on ESPN+, regular ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2, the SEC network, CBS, and possibly some other option I'm not aware of. I looked at Philo, but they don't get the local affiliates. Right now I have Hulu with live TV, but they just announced a rate increase of over $30 a month. I'm looking at all the streaming options and think I'll go with YouTube. Direct TV is $99 a month to get all the sports channels.
So, I'm totally on the side of ESPN. Without them, your cable bundle is worthless. If I didn't watch sports, it would be so much simpler. You keep saying cable was great because we got so many channels, but now I don't NEED that many channels. If I really wanted to save money, I could just churn through the different services: watch all the new episodes of The Crown and Stranger Things, then cancel Netflix. Watch The Mandalorian, whatever new movies and Marvel shows came out and cancel Disney. Watch Only Murders, the ABC shows, etc. cancel Hulu. Even if you're a huge TV fan and actually watch all that, you don't need every streaming service every month. ESPN could easily start a stand alone streaming service and people would flock to it. But that would be the final nail in the cable coffin.