Cord-Cutting Might Not Be Good In The Long Run

• Cable TV companies have lost over 1.7 million subscribers in 2017.
• If the current cord-cutting trend continues and cable TV eventually dies off, then the market might see the content companies develop their own direct-to-consumer streaming service. 
• This means users will have to maintain multiple apps, multiple bills, and a subscription to numerous TV companies which will be much costlier and more complex than the cable TV packages.

Cord-cutting as a trend is catching on like fire to gasoline. More and more people are ditching their pay TV subscriptions to join video streaming services. In 2017, cable companies noticed a drop of 1.7 million subscribers.

Now, this current trend of cord-cutting is understandable. Cable TVs cost about $100 every month, whereas all their alternatives, for less than half the price, offers the same experience and that too without all the complication of cables and annoying boxes.

So what's the problem - isn’t this the future?

Well, it is currently worth thinking what the content companies will do once they see that the huge profits they made from cable companies start disappearing? With changing times, they will try to adapt and most likely come to a solution which will not fair well for the consumers.

According to a study conducted by The Diffusion Group, it is estimated that all the major TV companies would have established their own direct-to-consumer streaming service within the year 2022. This means you will have to say goodbye to all the sweet offers and channel bundles you used to get with your pay TV subscription.

Think of it like this, getting access to all content from Disney like Star Wars, and so on will cost you a monthly subscription of $24.99. Then channels like ESPN, CBS will come with a $6.99 monthly fee. Let’s say HBO will keep its standard monthly subscription rate to $12.99. You can picture the rest.

Image Courtesy of Bridgewater State University

If you always watched one or two channels, then this might be okay. But for users who enjoyed a diverse array of programs spread across multiple channels, they will have to end up paying much more than what they used to for a cable TV package.

Finally, while using your cable TV, you could access all your content via a simple remote. Now you will have to maintain some different apps, along with their separate bills, and the hassle to reset their passwords every month.

Granted the current market monopoly of regional Cable distributors is not preferable. But this whole idea of a future with fragmented streaming services isn't that desirable either.