Once upon a time it was rare to find a household that didn’t have cable tv. Television has been a staple of modern luxury for many decades. But as technology advances so do our tastes, and traditional television is finding itself to be the next on the chopping block.
While originally starting as a quiet niche movement, streaming has become almost an integral part of many Americans lives. It is rare that I ever meet someone who isn’t subscribed to one service or another. When I ask about traditional media consumption mediums like cable, broadcast, or satellite television, I often get responses ranging from “Oh yeah I think my parents have it” to “We dropped that years ago.” It seems like people cannot just give up the convenience of streaming. Why sit around waiting for your favorite show to come on when you can just click a few buttons and get it easily?
And it’s cheaper, according to the website CableTV. The average TV plan costs around $83 per month and compared to a site like Netflix which costs around $7 per month, the choice seems like a no-brainer. People are also starting to notice, according to the website tvScientific. July 2022 was the first month that streaming had more viewers than cable. But personally, to me, the real moment I knew cable was dying was when I had a visit to my grandma’s house, and she had given it up.
The way things are going, it looks like traditional television is dying, and honestly, I think it’s a real shame. There are two main reasons I think cable should stick around, the first one being the news. Say what you want about which stations spread fake news, but I think we can agree that it’s still a better place to get your information from than a social media site such as Tik Tok.
My second reason is traditional television is perfect for public spaces. Regular television has a shuffle which keeps things interesting. But unlike this, streaming just plays a marathon of the same show over and over. Plus, if you’re in a public space and My Little Pony comes on, no one can get offended because it’s the station’s programming and not the tv owner’s choice, unlike streaming.
Listen up cable, this is a call out post, a wakeup call if you would. You need to get your stuff together before you go the way of the dinosaurs. Firstly, you have to find a way to lower your prices, they’re exorbitant and unreasonable. Secondly, you need to be more accessible, people can no longer stand your massive wait times and unreasonable maintenance fees. And third, you need to put your services on mobile devices, because I want to watch animal planet on the toilet.
Call me old fashioned, but I don’t think I want to see cable tv go the way of the radio play.
