Media executives are finally accepting the decline of cable TV as they plot a new path forward

[Klaralven]

There’s a quiet consensus emerging in the hallways and boardrooms of American media companies.

They expect about 25 million U.S. households to cancel their pay-TV subscriptions over the next five years. This is on top of the 25 million homes that have already cut the cord since 2012. At least three major media companies now expect pay-TV subscriptions to stabilize around 50 million, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to speak on the record because their company plans are private.

The projected decline in subscribers will mean a drop of about $25 billion in cable subscription revenue plus associated advertising losses for the largest U.S. media companies, including Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, AT&T’s WarnerMedia, ViacomCBS, Fox, Discovery, Sinclair and AMC Networks.

This assumption has created a tectonic shift in the media industry. In the last three months, Disney, NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS have all announced major reorganizations. They’ve replaced old leaders, consolidated divisions, laid off tens of thousands of employees, and pivoted to streaming video.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/24/big-media-companies-reorganize-for-world-of-50-million-tv-subscribers.html

[Blue_true]

1. Maybe they should look at reforming the packages that they force people to buy. nt

[Thekaspervote]

2. Exactly! A lot of ppl would like some access, not the forced groupings offered

If you want just one channel/platform why not let viewers have it? Most of what they bundle together just to get the one you want is a load of crap

[Blue_true]

3. I have never understood why they haven't allowed customers to truly customize

The selections that come to their homes. They can require that channels like CSPAN be in every package, but beyond that, the customer should choose what he or she wants.

[JenniferJuniper]

4. It's because just a few networks own a lot of those channels,

and they have no interest in unbundling.

[JI7]

5. And they probably wouldn't be facing all of these cancellations

if they had allowed this from the start .

[not_the_one]

6. Exactly. Who ever comes up with an ala carte cable package option

will make a killing.

I, for one, don't want one penny of my money to support Rupert Murdoch. But I don't have a choice.

[Thekaspervote]

7. Absolutely... Prime already has several individual channels within their service for cheap ala carte

You get a week free, then it’s month to month cancel anytime...why not??

[roamer65]

9. My Dish Flex Pack package has no Murdoch channels.

I give up MSNBC just to stick it to Murdoch.

[roamer65]

8. I literally have a limited basic cable in my house from over the air TV.

A scan on my TV pulls in 47 channels. About 30 ones I consider to be usable.

About the only place linear TV will survive is on satellite for the rural areas.