IIRC, Netflix grew 30% last quarter, but had a 100% increase in costs. Also, Netflix paid $1B (that’s billion) for Epix. When the Starz deal comes due, they’ll wanting their $1B too. It gets better. The Netflix CDN (L3) is going to get reamed by Comcast over peering costs that will be passed to Netlfix. And if that’s not enough, the FCC net neutrality regulations are going to let the MSOs charge for highband width services (of which Netflix is the largest). The result ? Netflix will have to raise their prices. My guess is we see them at $25 by Christmas.

And Hulu.They pulled out of their IPO because they don’t have long term contracts for the content they offer. And notice how they are quietly creating their own content ? Why on earth would you try to become a production company unless you were about to run out of content ? Talk about expensive. My guess is that their programming is about to become pretty stale.

The open question here is Google and Apple.

Personally I cut the cord in 1995. I inherited a $80/month cable bill from my roommates, and when we got new subletters, I woke up one day and realized there’s a reason why they’ve got all the money and we’ve got none.

Anyhow, I find cable to be completely unwatchable. If I want something to entertain my son, most likely it’s a choice between the idiotic Spongebob Squarepants and the offensive teen sitcoms that Disney makes about the problems of rich kids who have clothes closets that are bigger than my house. The weather channel wants me to wait for “local on the 8′s” (yeah right) and there’s no option to opt out of paying for seditious crap like Fox News.

I’m very doubtful I will ever again become a satellite TV, cable or phone-line television subscriber…..they all charge way too much for what I am interested in…..which is rather specific & limited to 6-8 channels….usually found only within the more expensive block of channels (& I’m not including any of the premium movie channels.) [I'm hoping sometime that HBO & others offer subscriptions over the internet---but, am not holding my breath.]

Because if you have a family with children and multiple TV sets, and want to be able to watch live sports (beyond the small offerings that come over the air), and if you (and the other members of your family) are not willing/able to deal with the technical requirements and time required, the current cord-cutting technology simply will not meet your needs.

That’s pretty much what the Nielsen report is saying. Those who accuse them of bias might want to look at their own biases. (And yes, I’m speaking as one who recently cut the cord.)

Today, to replicate the Pay TV experience customers need to piece together multiple products and services–some not entirely legal as mentioned in the included Cord Cutters video. And while some will find that acceptable, most will not. For this to really take off it needs to become as easy as Pay TV. That’s going to require cooperation from the industry, including the programmers. Before that happens, the programmers will need to have a business model that does not cannibalize the monies they get from the MSOs. I have yet to see anyone publish such a business model.

I disagree. At this point, to know about cord cutting means that you’ve been considering cord cutting. The devices, the language, the necessities are all too tech-heavy for general knowledge sans interest. In a few years, perhaps that statement will apply, but I don’t buy it now.

I better call my cable company and sign-up for overpriced channels I will never watch.

Anybody have a bridge I can buy?

Keep in mind too that as people get older and have families, with multiple TVs throughout the house and very diverse interests (kids shows in the family room, live sports in the den, etc.) the complexity of cutting the cord multiplies. I’m pretty adept technically and have cut the cord (now that my kids are grown), but I can understand that families would be reluctant to give up the convenience of cable — even at the outrageous price.

I’m just saying it’s a fair point that those under 25 will put up with a lot more hassle, and invest a lot more time, than older people with families and other demands.