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The Cord-Cutting Revolution

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Marcus Jensen
The Cord-Cutting Revolution

Remember the time when TV was the center of almost every living room? That wasn’t too long ago. You know how every Simpsons episode begins with a “couch gag”, where the entire family gathers in front of their TV at the end of the day? That was the image of the late 20th century American family. Nowadays, the image is changing, and it is changing rapidly. This revolution rose due to the increasing number of streaming services.

The internet is to blame

internet content

Yes, the thing that we cannot imagine our lives without is the main culprit for the near extinction of the classic TV. It is no longer the nexus of the home, since every single television program is available on-demand and is always at your fingertips. You can watch movies, sports events, talk shows, documentaries and other types of programme from a variety of devices any time you want, regardless of your location.

This situation has put the pressure on cable providers to rethink their strategy. Even though most bundles include internet, loosing TV audience causes some significant financial losses. This is why operators like AT&T switched from the classic cable to providing all-around service. Alongside internet, traditional TV with an abundance of channels and a land line, they offer TV on the go with their att u verse internet package. There is also an official AT&T app available for both iOS and Android devices.

Now, you might wonder why something like this didn’t come to life sooner, and the reason behind it is quite simple - we didn’t have internet connection that was fast enough to support the revolution. From the late 90s and 56K dial-up the decade was famous for, it took us more than 16 years to reach today’s global average of 6.3 MB/s, which is enough for streaming SD/HD material, but insufficient for the latest 4K trend.

Watch movies online

streaming services

A well known search string “watch movies online” has transcended from an almost illegal query to an endless source of legal streaming services within Google search results. Today, we have Hulu, Amazon Prime, CinemaNow, Direct TV, iTunes and, of course, the king of them all, Netflix.

Netflix is currently the most popular streaming service in the online world, with more than 80 million subscribers. If we take a look at its pricing plan, it is easy to understand why it managed to attract such large number of viewers. There are three tiers - basic, standard and premium.

The pricing ranges from $8/month for one screen and SD image quality, over $10/month for 2 screens and HD quality, all the way up to $12/month for 4 screens and HD + 4K image quality. And then, when you take into account the immense library of popular movies and TV shows, it’s easy to conclude how Netflix’s won the hearts of so many viewers - it offers plenty for a reasonable amount of money.

The giant behind the TV, the entertainment industry, has been more than successful at following the preferences of its users. So, when users started consuming more content online than through the classic TV, the giant reacted and migrated online. We might have lost the ritual of gathering in front of the TV set after a hard day, it has remained the centerpiece of the living room.

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Marcus Jensen
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