How things have changed

[Bruce]

Wonder how they account for people like me? I sub to most of the streamers but still have a scaled back Xfinity TV subscription.

The Gauge is ratings, not how many/or what services you have.

For example, in 2021, 39% were watching Cable Channels, now 24.4%.

Or, 26% were watching streaming services in 2021, now 42.6%.

 

[ncted]

The Gauge is ratings, not how many/or what services you have.

For example, in 2021, 39% were watching Cable Channels, now 24.4%.

Or, 26% were watching streaming services in 2021, now 42.6%.

And it is Nielsen, so the methodology is statistical extrapolation from a very small sample size. Still, it is a decent indicator.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Wonder how they account for people like me? I sub to most of the streamers but still have a scaled back Xfinity TV subscription.

Double dipper.

 

[Bruce]

Double dipper.

Definitely, I personally hate paying twice for the same content.

Use CBS as a example, why pay a Live TV Provider, when I can pay Paramount+, receive that same CBS programming, live or On Demand, plus all the extra (streaming only)shows and movies.

Same for the rest of the networks and cable channels' content, for another example, why pay a provider for FX's content ( one of the few cable channels still producing new scripted material), when I can watch it on Hulu in 4K.

 

[savarese04]

And it is Nielsen, so the methodology is statistical extrapolation from a very small sample size. Still, it is a decent indicator.

my understanding is that nielsen's sample size is actually larger today than it used to be. before, yes small sample size of "participating households," but today i believe nielsen has their monitoring directly connected to the services themselves via API. At least, i've seen Nielsen referenced in privacy policies for some services (and have seen the ability to toggle "data sharing" on or off for some services)

 

[ncted]

my understanding is that nielsen's sample size is actually larger today than it used to be. before, yes small sample size of "participating households," but today i believe nielsen has their monitoring directly connected to the services themselves via API. At least, i've seen Nielsen referenced in privacy policies for some services (and have seen the ability to toggle "data sharing" on or off for some services)

You make a good point. The methodology is actually mixed. For OTA, cable, and satellite, they are still using primarily the old methodology, which necessarily includes an ever-shrinking number of possible households. For streaming, it is the time-honored method, plus what they can get from the data reported by the apps through the APIs you mentioned. I personally wouldn't want the job of turning that into something resembling what is happening in the real world. I think the trends over time are probably more significant than the actual numbers.

 

[Bruce]

The Average Cable TV Price Hike In 2024 Was About $15 a Month With Some Providers Raising Prices Twice in 2024 | Cord Cutters News

In the past year, a wave of price increases has swept through the cable and satellite television industry, leaving customers facing steeper bills and questioning the value of their subscriptions. The hikes, some subtle, others more dramatic, have affected millions of households across the...

cordcuttersnews.com

Services that had two Price increases in 2024

Charter Communications' Spectrum-price hike in January of 2024 and one in July of 2024, of around $10 to $20 per month. In addition to raising base package prices, Spectrum has also increased fees for equipment rentals, broadcast TV surcharges, and regional sports network fees.

DIRECTV-January 2024, DirecTV announced price hikes averaging around $10 per month for most of its packages. Once again it announced price hikes in October of 2024.

Services that had two Price increases in 2023

Comcast-First one in January 2023, second was in August 2023, where all fees went up, Broadcast, RSN, Box/DVR rentals, Broadband.

And yet, people keep bringing up streaming services going up, without mentioning Traditional Paid Live TV Services.

 

[Jimbo]

The Average Cable TV Price Hike In 2024 Was About $15 a Month With Some Providers Raising Prices Twice in 2024 | Cord Cutters News

In the past year, a wave of price increases has swept through the cable and satellite television industry, leaving customers facing steeper bills and questioning the value of their subscriptions. The hikes, some subtle, others more dramatic, have affected millions of households across the...

cordcuttersnews.com

Services that had two Price increases in 2024

Charter Communications' Spectrum-price hike in January of 2024 and one in July of 2024, of around $10 to $20 per month. In addition to raising base package prices, Spectrum has also increased fees for equipment rentals, broadcast TV surcharges, and regional sports network fees.

DIRECTV-January 2024, DirecTV announced price hikes averaging around $10 per month for most of its packages. Once again it announced price hikes in October of 2024.

Services that had two Price increases in 2023

Comcast-First one in January 2023, second was in August 2023, where all fees went up, Broadcast, RSN, Box/DVR rentals, Broadband.

And yet, people keep bringing up streaming services going up, without mentioning Traditional Paid Live TV Services.

You didn't use to mention when a Streaming service went up, it use to be only when Traditional TV went up ...
You were the Streaming is the Only way guy
Now you do ...

Face it, People complain when Anything goes Up ...

 

[b4pjoe]

DIRECTV-January 2024, DirecTV announced price hikes averaging around $10 per month for most of its packages. Once again it announced price hikes in October of 2024.

Yeah that is not correct. They had an increase in January 2023, November 2023, and October 2024.

 

[Bruce]

You didn't use to mention when a Streaming service went up, it us to be only when Traditional TV went up ...

I have always mentioned it, but my point is, Cable/Satellite are increasing at a much higher amount, the difference between Cable/Satellite and streaming is increasing.

Along with less and less new content on Broadcast/Cable Channels, which makes the price increases more egregious.

You were the Streaming is the Only way guy

Still am, better video/sound quality, same content from Paid Live TV, a lot more new content, less expensive by at least $50-up a month

Face it, People complain when Anything goes Up ...

Which amazes myself, in today's world, you no longer are forced to take what Cable/Satellite TV makes you, you have choices to save a extreme amount of money, at least $600 a year and up.

 

[ncted]

I think the problem is people see the switch to streaming as a permanent solution to the price gouging of linear TV. When the prices for streaming do inevitably go up, they are angry because they thought they solved the problem of increasing prices, but no one actually ever said streaming prices wouldn't go up. Clearly, prices of most things go up over time, so why wouldn't cable or streaming or anything else related to TV?

Another factor is streaming prices were artificially low at the beginning to attract customers, but once they became successful enough, of course they are going to raise rates to recoup their investment and fund the business going forward. I still think streaming should be less expensive than the old linear model over time since it cuts out the middlemen of the cable/satellite companies, but that doesn't mean things will actually turn out that way.

 

[Bruce]

I think the problem is people see the switch to streaming as a permanent solution to the price gouging of linear TV. When the prices for streaming do inevitably go up, they are angry because they thought they solved the problem of increasing prices, but no one actually ever said streaming prices wouldn't go up. Clearly, prices of most things go up over time, so why wouldn't cable or streaming or anything else related to TV?

Another factor is streaming prices were artificially low at the beginning to attract customers, but once they became successful enough, of course they are going to raise rates to recoup their investment and fund the business going forward. I still think streaming should be less expensive than the old linear model over time since it cuts out the middlemen of the cable/satellite companies, but that doesn't mean things will actually turn out that way.

Streaming will continue to go up, I know that.

But my point is, Cable/Satellite is going up a extreme amount more, especially the last 2 years, it is like they are trying to push their subscribers away.

At the same time, streaming services are doing more to attract subscribers, bundles, with ads, some still discount more if you prepay for the year, etc.