OPINION
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s Your Turn.
Can Cable TV Survive? That is the hot question.
What are consumers looking for, when it comes to getting what they want, and at what price? The idea of people watching only a handful of channels from their hundreds of cable channels for outrageous amounts of money is completely asinine. There have been adjustments to this, where you can sort of select only what you wish to see, but the monthly bill is still high, and isn’t going down, or away, anytime soon.
When it comes to the shows that people want to watch, it seems consumers who access the Internet are finding plenty to choose from using services like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.
I see it as a generational thing: I think cable TV lives and breathes off of people who are for the most part, non-Internet savvy. For example my dad doesn’t understand how to connect the Internet to a TV, and does not understand how to leverage wifi to his advantage. He is perfectly fine with his cable television. So, for the foreseeable future, the older generation (and I’m generalizing here) will go out with cable TV’s current pace. They may not like the monthly cost, but they also aren’t necessarily flocking to the Internet by cutting the cable cord.
To be fair, plenty of people of my dad’s generation may be feeling the need to adapt, but hardly to the degree of choosing a system that is fully run on the Internet — they just aren’t completely comfortable with that.
On the other hand, all the transportable access of options like Hulu or Netflix make it simple for my age group, and we see the possibilities for the future of televised entertainment. The idea of having the choice not to subscribe to a cable monopoly really changes the game, and I agree with it.
Unfortunately, for now, my family is a slave to cable TV, and the outrageous prices that go with it. Cable offers such a limited experience, and for me, the only reason to watch using cable is because of sports. Although I have been raised in a cable world, everything else makes logical sense to stream via online sources.
Meanwhile, almost everyone in my family still holds fast to the Comcast “triple-play,” idea, which means they continue to hold on to a landline even if they don’t really need it, because dumping the landline means the rest of their Comcast services — TV and Internet — will cost more. Even though I’ve told them numerous times that maybe it will be beneficial to just have Netflix, and connect the TV via the Web, they are resistant to change.
In the end, does it come down to willingness to change or cost efficiency? It’s food for thought, for sure.
Beg to differ? Agree to disagree and want to put it into words? Opinions welcome on all topics. Include a brief bio and photo. Submissions for The Soapbox should be sent to robidouxnews@gmail.com.
You’re one click away! Sign up for our free eNewsletter and never miss another thing.
Jake Pendleton, 21, is a student at Nashua Community College. Born in Beverly, Mass., and raised in Milford, he enjoys writing about his passions which include sports, music, movies and all forms of entertainment. He also enjoys filmmaking and photography. Jake posts regularly at indieball.wordpress.com, and will be doing an internship with Manchester Ink Link this semester. He can be reached at jpendoy21@yahoo.com.
