Comments on: Do Consumers Really Want Their Media in a Bundle?

By: RedCandle Research » Blog Archive » Social Media Audit – Online Video Distribution (Part 1)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:08:04 +0000

[...] http://gigaom.com/2009/08/12/do-consumers-really-want-their-media-in-a-bundle/ ↑ [...]

By: Marci Montgomery

Marci Montgomery — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:49:49 +0000

We were forced by Comcast to accept a bundle in order to have high-speed internet service at all. I’m not kidding, Comcast refuses to sell high-speed internet service to consumers unless you accept at least one other option. This infuriated me to no end. Ultimately, we chose the phone option, which was the cheapest. The irony is that we never use it. We’ve tried at one point to get away from Comcast and go with consumer-grade DSL from the phone company, but the performance was terrible. I don’t know what the next alternative is — a satellite dish maybe. All I want is fast Internet to the home, streaming Netflix through my son’s X-Box, and our iPhones. Maybe an AppleTV would be nice, but that’s it.

By: Do Consumers Really Want Their Media in a Bundle? | TVPuzzle

Do Consumers Really Want Their Media in a Bundle? | TVPuzzle — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:54:33 +0000

[...] Follow this link: Do Consumers Really Want Their Media in a Bundle? [...]

By: Stacey Higginbotham

Stacey Higginbotham — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:30:43 +0000

My guess is a sliding scale model would have a big impact on margins and would be hard when discussing services such as TV content as opposed to something more commoditized like texting packages.

By: CJ Millisock

CJ Millisock — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:08:48 +0000

Daniel Taylor is wrong. Nobody likes bundling. Period. People bundle cable because they have to.

By: Michael Chaney

Michael Chaney — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:50:39 +0000

It’s not the bundling of disparate service (TV, Internet, VoIP), that I have a problem with. I currently have a discounted combined billing “package” from AT&T that includes U-Verse TV, Internet, and iPhone service for just under $200 a month, and I’m completely happy with that. What I have a problem with is the bundling of service options that force me to pay for additional service items that I don’t want. like TV channel packages I care nothing about, or an SMS upgrade to 1500 a month (way more than I need) from 300 (less than any average use). I just want more control over my options such as a sliding internet speed scale, sliding SMS scale, and ala carte TV channels. At the very least I just want to feel like I’m not paying for service that I don’t need or use.

By: Jacob Varghese

Jacob Varghese — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:24:07 +0000

I would jump on an HBO or Showtime online subscription if they were no more than $10 per month each.

I dropped my digital cable+premium subscription when I realized I spent most of my time watching just a handful of channels.

I am content with Hulu, network site, itunes combo.

By: 9thpoint

9thpoint — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:12:19 +0000

I hate cable! I hate bundling! We don’t really have a choice. The real choice is to match our preferences to offerings. we don;t have that with cable so we end up paying for too much more than we need.

By: Terry Hayden

Terry Hayden — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:13:55 +0000

I don’t bundle! As of now I will never bundle. I don’t want all communications coming into and leaving my house in one provider’s hands. And yes this idea of bundling as a way to save money is wrong. People are either too lazy or too busy to care , and that is what the major players rely on. Hey just bundle with us and we will save you money on are already too high individual prices.

By: Hoby Van Hoose

Hoby Van Hoose — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:51:30 +0000

It’s not a paradox, spending is higher because A) bundles are more expensive yet marketed as saving money, B) bundles are shoved down our throats, and C) unbundled media takes some amount of technical knowledge and comfort (i.e. it’s harder) to purchase. And then there’s the broader digital divide..

So consequently, the money taken from our pockets by bundled media is a larger amount not because people prefer it but because it seems like the easiest or the only way to get it for most people.

Saying otherwise is like saying people prefer being poor because most people are.