Does Everyone Really Have Cable TV?

Recently I saw that the BCS games were moving from Fox to ESPN. In commenting on this move, Sports Business Radio made a statement that caught my attention:

But for all of the people who are griping today about the fact these games won't be aired on free TV starting in 2011 I have three words for you - GET OVER IT.

I mean really. How many people out there don't have cable? Even basic cable with ESPN. The days of free TV and cable TV being different are over. If you don't have cable/satellite TV you are definitely in the minority.

Really? The way they write this makes it sound like three people out there don't have cable TV. So I went googling and found out the answer (basically) to their question -- 20 million fewer homes get ESPN than receive the major broadcast networks.

Ok, so it's a bit more than SBR seems to think. But this led me to start thinking -- is having cable TV a "basic service" in today's home? Does "everyone" have it (or will "everyone" soon have it)?

Then I got curious -- what does the average person spend on cable TV each year (PDF)? It's not a trivial amount:

Cable customers report spending $58 monthly—down $1 from 2005—while satellite subscribers report spending $61 per month for service—up $3 from a year ago.

In other words, the average cable subscriber forks over almost $700. Think it's a good deal? Oftentimes it's not. Why? Because many people don't actually watch that much TV and as a result, cable TV becomes as expensive as going to a movie when viewed on a per-hour-watched cost basis.

We're currently looking at basic cable (we currently have no cable TV, just rabbit ears) as part of a TV, phone, internet deal. It's pretty clear that we can get more phone time and a faster internet connect versus our current set up by bundling these two together. However, we're deciding whether or not to add the cable as part of the package. On the plus side, we'd get ESPN and similar channels. On the down side, do we really watch that much TV -- and do we want the extra expense?

Decisions, decisions.

Comments

[Alice]

Interesting. I have been thinking about canceling my cable tv come this January. I have Sunday Ticket so I am waiting till then. I love tv too but I really don't think it is worth the money anymore. I have an hdtv tuner and indoor antenna and get all the local channels just fine for free and they look great and I'm thinking of supplementing it with a Roku box. Anything else I need to see I can probably find online.

[Kate]

We do not have cable. Why spend a lot of money every month so you have more options on a useless waste of time. We do have an idiot box, which I'm guessing we use more for viewing DVDs than for watching actual television, though DD does like Saturday morning cartoons and the occasional other show, and DH watches football and the occasional PBS show (biography, history, and the like). I honestly don't remember when I've watched a television show, and I don't think I'm going to lay on my death bed regretting that I didn't watch more television, so I'd rather not have the temptation enter my home. We did get a bundled phone/cable modem package (I do have a hard time to saying "no" to a fast Internet connection) but we said "no" to cable TV.

If we "need" to see something on cable (like a football game not broadcast on a network station), we have nearby relatives with cable. And there is another benefit to cable besides saving money: when you actually stay in a hotel room with cable (happens maybe once a year for me, tops), watching TV is real treat!

Guess I'm pretty strongly anti-cable, huh? :)

[CherryBlossom]

Just get the high speed cable or fiber optic internet (about $40-45/month) then get VOIP telephone service from a secondary provider. I have seen the VOIP for less than $10/month with free long distance in the US and Canada (Viatalk w/ multi year contract). I have also seen the VOIP with free long distance to Europe for $25/month (Vonage).

http://www.voipreview.org/

I had cable for a bit but most of the shows were trash. They make you watch commercials just so you can find out what Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are up too. Not worth it.

I found that HBO was too much of a time killer. Sit down for dinner (15 minutes) and end up staying till the movie is over. Then you sit there wondering where your evening went.

[Kevin M]

I've been thinking more and more recently about canceling our satellite service lately. We currently spend about $65/month, but that will go up to $75 in Jan when a promo ends. We watch a couple shows on satellite, but mostly it was so I could watch hockey. However, with a toddler in the house, time is rare when I actually have a 2 1/2 hour block of time to sit and watch it. So I'm thinking it may not be worth it to spend $900 a year.

Honestly, I think I'd miss the TIVO portion of the receiver more than the satellite channels.

[CherryBlossom]

Here is another good site on VOIP.

http://www.voip-info.org/

Try googling VIOP and you'll find more sites like this.

And more opinion on cable TV:

The news channels spent at least 15 minutes of every hour talking about celebrities. Blah, that is not news.

Some of the more interesting channels like Discovery, Scifi, History also had the most commercials.

Every channel has their own brand of reality tv.

I only found one show that I like in 2 years of cable. That was "The Deadliest Catch" about Alaska crab fishermen. One of the few 'reality' shows that was actually based on reality and not some contrived gimmick.

[Geoff]

We just cancelled out cable last week. The only thing I'll miss are some sports (Red Sox, USC Football specifically) that are not usually on broadcast. But the price just wasn't worth it anymore and we have over 300 dvds in our queue for blockbuster online, that we want to watch at some point. I prefer watching shows on DVD anyway.

I agree with you - we do not have cable and neither do most people in our circle of friends. But they make it sound like everyone has cable. Then why are they selling so many digital converter boxes? We get 7-8 channels, often in HD. We are pretty disappointed about the BCS games - I'm hoping many of them are on the ESPN-owned ABC, but probably not. There are some shows that I enjoy watching when I do have access to cable, but overall I don't miss it.

[cb]

A recent study showed that happy people watch less tv. I am thinking of only having the tv in the den instead of the main living/hanging out area.

I bought a $30 HD antenna that picks up 15 HD channels-4 PBS channels, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX and a few spanish channels (I live in Miami). I also have a Blockbuster plan for watching blu-ray movies and cable/tv series. That's $20/month and will likely be running through my Playstation soon.

[Green Panda]

We have the most basic cable package, just for decent reception for network TV. It costs us $10/month and we get 20 channels. We didn't get a 'bundle' because it would be a waste. If we could pay for the channels we want,a la carte, then we'd go for it.

[GD]

We only subscribe to the barebone basic ($14 a month)- not even the expanded basic that includes ESPN. When it's moved over cable, I won't miss it. I am a big fan of college football (Texas Longhorns!), just to iterate my point of view.

There are other activities that I can do instead of watching BCS games. These games are played on the happiest season after all, and I still have my family to enjoy.

[Justin Yost]

Hulu.com for the win, no need for even a tv here.

[FMF]

Cherry --

I like "Deadliest Catch" too -- but only watch it when I have access to cable, which isn't that often.

[rwh]

I would give up our satellite TV but I'm too weak.

[MaxPowers]

The best cost savings tool: a Vista Media Center PC: It records TV like a Tivo, you can watch movies and TV shows from netflix, Hulu, and Itunes. Plus it stores all your music, pictures, and you can play games on the bigscreen. You can even add a blu-ray drive to it for $100 or an HDTV card to record all your network programs. If you don't like Vista and want to tinker: mythTv and Sage are good too.

Monthly costs: High speed internet and Netflix are optional.

[asithi]

No cable here. People seem really surprise that we do not have cable service. But I do not watching much TV and when I want to see a movie, I have netflix. From the conversations of some of my friends, it seems like they spend more time watching mindless reality shows anyway on cable. Who needs more of that?

[JEM]

I have been married and out on my own for 6 years and we have no cable. We don't have time for TV anyway.

[Slinky]

We've been considering cutting our cable. Everything we normally watch can be found online, and mostly we've been netflixing a lot of things anyway. We have a media computer hooked up to our tv, so no loss there.

Count me also as one of those folks who is debating canceling cable. I probably would do it in an instant if I didn't like sports so much. Right now the decision is on hold until the end of the NBA season. (I've already paid for NBA League Pass.)

Bottom line, for most people, cable is one of the more expensive items in the budget. But for sports programming, it's becoming less and less important for me to have. Practically every series I truly follow is from one of the broadcast networks. And Hulu is a god send.

My word of caution, FMF, is to realize that any promo deal will be over in 6 months and then you will be caught in a vicious spiral. For example, because I bundled cable, internet and phone, I'll probably have to switch carriers to get an internet+phone price that is better than what I was paying for the prior bundle. Last time I talked to them to drop the cable, it worked out to save me nothing.

[thayerbear0]

My favorite tv shows that are shown on cable/satellite are all on the Internet now. It doesn't bother me that they're on a day later. Many people I know won't even bother with our local cable provider because of their poor business practices. My husband got his jacked up to 4 times the basic rate (when he was single)because he forgot to check his anniversary date with them. Their fine print says they can do that. Our family seldom goes to the theater, and when we do it's during the discount hours. There is a Redbox nearby as well.
hulu.com is absolutely fantastic!

[escapee]

We have never had cable. Why pay to have someone bombard you with ads?

These companies need to wake up- when hard times hit, people will stop paying for cable. When the choice is between food and cable, food will win every time.

I predict that they will be giving cable away for free two years from now (as they should).

[Emily C]

I live in married student housing at university, and the basic cable is free with our rent here. Most of the women I know who live here have already decided not to purchase cable when they move out--because most of us have young kids whom we'd rather not see much of the trash on television. The rest don't have time to watch TV and some wish they didn't have one.

I'd rather read a book or play with my sons, anyway.

I called to reduce my cable to a cheaper package and then I found that I won't get MSNBC (the Rachel Maddow Show!). I couldn't do it. I'm paying $60/month

I get pretty decent channels with my rabbit ears tv. And with the addition of the digital converter box I get clear reception and more channels. Instead subscribing to cable and taping shows on DVR or TIVO, I watch my shows online (I do have an internet connection). It makes economical sense for me to not have cable as I do not live with roommates.

[Craig]

I wonder with the increased video online and increased quality of that video, if people will start to second guess certain cable plans. Sites like hulu.com offer high quality legal viewing of up to date shows.

[Jim]

95 million out of 110 million households have some sort of subscription TV service like cable, satellite. That is 86%.
ref: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-278454A1.pdf

Personally live sports are the main reason I still have cable. Theres just no good alternatives to see the basketball and football games we want to. But thats the only roadblock I've got now to dumping cable. I can get everything else we watch via broadcast, internet or DVDs.

Jim

[CherryBlossom]

FMF-
If you search Deadliest Catch on hulu.com it comes up with some free clips from Discovery.

[FMF]

Cherry --

Cool! Thanks!

[robert w]

CABLE ? heck no!
I / my family do not get paid to watch.
We have a life to live not worshiping in front of an
"Idol GOD" besides when I'm old and senile I'll get to watch all the TV some one will put me in front of.
Karl Marx (not one of the Marx Brothers) said
'Church is the drug of the masses" well look at how much time in front of a TV to see how much you earn or Keep. TV is the drug of the Masses.

[Angela]

No cable here, either. We watch maybe a couple of Netflix videos each week, but no TV other than that in our home. A few hours of TV in a hotel room or at a relative's house quickly reminds us why we DON'T watch it.

Don't knock it if you haven't tried it -- giving up TV is one of the best freedoms you can give yourself!

Coincidentally, we also have no debt (even our home is paid off). Who needs TV commercials telling us to buy stuff we don't need and/or can't afford?!

[Yang Wei]

A few years ago, I moved from Standard (regular) cable to Basic (broadcast) cable.

This year I dropped cable and brought the digital convertor.

The digital broadcast signal is better than the analog cable signal.

[Kenny Johnson]

We cut cable in July and have been on rabbit ears with a digital converter box since. We have 1-at-a-time Netflix subscription ($10) and a Roku set top box to watch their streaming movies.

We save over $40 a month without a cable bill.

[Andy]

We've never had cable and now that we live in a metro area, we get more TV via antenna than we can watch. It's funny because people keep trying to tell me that I won't have it anymore after the switch to DSL, or that I have to buy some kind of conversion box. We're already watching Digital TV since we bought our TV within the last few years. In fact, now that we have DTV, we have even more channels, including a 24 hour cartoon channel.

We pay $20/month for ATT DSL and $20/month for Vonage. I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives for VoIP, but Vonage has been good to me for the last 5+ years. I found subscription movies like Netflix was just as bad for me. It's like eating at an all you can eat buffet. I would try too hard to get my money's worth (whatever that is) and just end up with an unhealthy habit.

[Financial Guru]

We don't have cable TV. It's a big waste of TIME & MONEY. Save your money and become smarter: read!

[Michael]

No cable.

No antenna.

If I can't find it LEGALLY on the internet, I don't watch it.

[JeffrO]

Never had cable in 19 yrs of marriage. I cannot bring myself to PAY$$ for the privilege of wasting my time on 99% rubbish. Plus, the shows I want to see....most are accessible through video podcasts, hulu.com.

Hey, I like sports, but there comes a point when enough is enough -- it is all getting too pricey, and alot of pro sports are losing the regular Joe's.

The little TV we do watch with rabbit ears (DTV) keeps us entertained enough.

Neil Postman's' book "Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business" is a must read. First came out in mid-80's (with recent revisions). I read the book 20+ years ago when in college. It changed my view of TV forever.

[Bruce]

It's good to hear from all these people without cable. We got limited basic cable a few years ago because we got such poor reception over the air where we live. Limited basic does not include the standard cable channels like ESPN, and costs only about $11 a month.

During the introductory period we had regular cable with the cable box, but there was not much there we wanted to see. A waste of money if we kept it. But now, except for DTV conversion specials, Comcast wants to only provide the premium stuff, and you would need a cable box with each TV if you wanted to see different shows on different TVs. Highway robbery!

[poor boomer]

Re: I only found one show that I like in 2 years of cable. That was "The Deadliest Catch" about Alaska crab fishermen. One of the few 'reality' shows that was actually based on reality and not some contrived gimmick.

I've seen that - brutal job!

There's also good stuff on the Science Channel and NatGeo. And if you're into food (who isn't?), Food Network and the Travel Channel have good stuff.

[john]

Only about 11% of households still get their TV over the air. The rest get TV from cable or satellite.

After the DTV transition next February I expect that percentage to drop further.

[F]

When moving out on my own I didn't get a TV because I know I'd tend to watch longer than what I intended to, even if nothing really special is on. I don't miss it at all.

[CancelCable.com]

We canceled our cable TV service this year and switched over to free digital TV. Our picture quality is actually better than our old digital cable signal and we found that many networks broadcast several different channels at a time. For example, we now receive 3 PBS channels from our local PBS station as well as two 24 hour digital weather stations.

After a little research, we learned some easy ways to legally watch our favorite cable programs (even the HBO and Showtime ones) without subscribing to cable TV service. We use a combination of Hulu.com (free) and Netfix ($9/month+) to watch favorites like (Daily Show, Entourage, etc.).

15% of households is still about 35 million people who don't have cable. And I would bet that the number is higher than 15%.

[Miss M]

I've never had cable, I don't watch enough TV to justify the expense. I'm surprised by the numbers that say almost everyone has cable now, I know plenty of people who do not. $700 a year is a good chunk of money, bet a lot of people with cable don't have that much in the bank. To me cable is completely unnecessary.

[Jim]

For us, Cable is worth it. This allows us to have a variety of entertainment at home versus spending money on going out to movies, etc. It also encourages us to eat at home versus eating out. We try to find a movie on Friday night and Saturday, have some popcorn, etc. Our 3 year old just loves the Sprout channel, which you cannot get any other way.

[Tarah]

I vaguely remember about six months ago that there was a segment on our local news about people giving up cable because the HD broadcasting gave such a better picture.

We have rabbit ears and love the digital channels. I have become addicted to the three PBS channels. As times get tougher, people are going to drop cable more than ever.