It’s A Big Freeze For Cable TV As The Single-Screen Generation X Roams Free
Inevitably, the outer edge of an iceberg falls, and cable TV is on the grinding slide into uncharted waters. The writing was on the wall since what was termed convergence, as the super creatives of the media industry connected the interactive dots.
It has taken an entire generation to become untethered from the cables and great chunks of technology that awkwardly sat in the corner of every living room, forcing us to sit together on the sofa at the same time each week.
“The cable TV companies’ fears might be allayed now, but the era of cord cutting is definitely happening. Only 2.9 [percent] of cable users say they’re likely to get rid of their service this year, according to a recent study, but 49 [percent] of cable users ages 25 to 34 say they’re likely to get rid of cable TV.” said Brian Moylan of the Guardian.
Now a truly seamless, buffer-free, interactive experience can be accessed on untethered screens for a fraction of the cost of cable TV. Even the die hard fans of bulging, branded cable TV packages have shifted to contract-free on-demand services.
The momentum of this shift can be seen in the new partnerships that are becoming ubiquitous. Not least of these is HBO and its temporary exclusive with Apple TV to premiere Game of Thrones Season 5 on April 12.
Send a raven. #HBONOW is premiering in April on @Apple TV, iPad and iPhone. http://t.co/jRUWZlXA5x pic.twitter.com/QSUae9QW1u
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) March 9, 2015
HBO have held fast to their original concept of high quality content production with a pedigree that goes as far back to Six Feet Under.
Unlike cable TV companies, HBO has proven that customers will pay for rich content that lives up to very high production standards, like Game of Thrones.
It’s already hard to imagine missing an episode of any show. New loyalties lie with producers of content like HBO. Previously loyal customers are becoming indifferent to the cable TV brands. There is a new generation of single-screen customers who simply follow the content.
Seamless, interconnected, and intelligent delivery of on-demand content is here. It can still feel clumsy at times. You might have to subscribe and unsubscribe to catch your favorites shows with file format issues and plugins interrupt the flow; however, you get a sense of seamless connectivity as it freezes out the contract heavy cable TV offer.
All we can do now is wait it out for the next killer application that will tame the content creators. The trick will be to get this content to a single screen across any geography, at any hour of the day, administered through a single interface.
Winter is definitely coming for the cable TV companies as they excruciatingly slide into an unforgiving and chilly sea.
