Are Cable TV Companies Scared of Internet TV
Monday, February 18th, 2008Vlog Razor linked to an article written by a person from the Cable TV companies titled: “What Happens When Nobody Needs a TV?“.
It should have probably been named: What Happens When Nobody Needs Cable TV Companies and Just Watches Internet TV.
Seems at least one person from the Cable TV companies is starting to become aware of Internet TV… and he is starting to get scared. Scared that Internet TV may, in the not too distant future, become the dominant form of television.
With younger generations — tweens, teens, and 20-somethings — this is already happening. And like with news, where young people are going to the Interenet as their source for news, and not newpapers; young people are going to the Internet as their source for TV, and not Cable TV. (Just wait until it becomes common for people to play Internet TV on their big screens.)
From the article….
Nearly everyone told me that their household currently has a high-speed Internet connection, but no household connection to cable or satellite TV. I suppose I assumed the high-speed Internet connection went hand-in-hand with a cable/satellite subscription, but apparently I was wrong. The general consensus among the group was: “I don’t need cable. Anything I want to watch on TV, I can get on the Internet.”
(Emphasis mine.) The article goes on to say….
But what happens when the Web starts to replace the [Cable] television? Where is there a place in this environment for local television, local news or local television advertisers? Going to ABC.com to watch the most recent episodes of Ugly Betty or Grey’s Anatomy is all well and good for the ABC Network, but what about the local ABC affiliate, whose revenue depends on viewers tuning in to their favorite ABC programs on local television? Is there a place in this new Internet-driven, consumer-focused media world for the local television affiliate?
… I did a quick check with Scarborough Research, and I estimate the total number of homes falling into this category to be about 7.5% of the total Tampa market. While 7.5% is not a huge figure, if you look at the adults 18-34 demo, 11.4% of these homes are Internet-only.
[The Cable TV] market ignored the impact of homes with only cellphones (no home phones), thinking that the number of homes was too small to worry about. When the percent of cellphone-only homes reached 18%, and Nielsen changed its methodology to include these homes, the resulting ratings drop caused TV general managers across the market to sit up and pay attention.
I think the author is right in starting to sound off doom and gloom for the Cable TV companies. The article ends with a “wake up call” for the Cable TV companies… but will they adapt? Time will tell.