EOTO #2: Cord Cutting

Ethan Parker 

9/28/21

What is it?

So what really is cord cutting? Cord cutting is the overall process of cutting off or canceling your cable service because you may not necessarily need it and it may benefit you if you switch from one to the other. Everyone has their own specific reason why they'd want to switch to the streaming services from cable but one reason many switch is due to pricing. Over time the price of cable has risen to top notch numbers and it does not really even seem that worth it because of how worthless some channels can be on cable. When you think of "cord cutting" you usually think of the process of people cutting off their cable providers because much more people cut off cable rather than switch away from streaming services. The numbers have only gone up over time when looking at the amount who switch away from and leave cable services per year, if this rate continues, cable will be extinct in the next couple of years! Many Americans have never even experienced having cable due to a variety of reasoning. First things first, the cable pricing is way to much for what everyone is receiving in return. It is just simply not worth it to hold on to this cable provider and only watch a few channels due to every other channel being horrible to watch, and not to mention, cable replays many channels and episodes, over and over again, and after a while, many get tired of that and do not want to see repeated shows and then they find themselves not using their TV as much because the cable channels are just not worth it to watch over again a million times. With all of that being said, cord cutting is necessary to many different families and some don't even bother cutting the cord because they've never had to deal with it because of its complete unfairness. Cord cutting is a significant and reoccurring process that will happen more and more as years go by and plenty of people and families will spread the word and the news about cord cutting and eventually, everyone will be cutting the cord on cable providers, that is what cord cutting really is. These are just a few reasons families and individuals decide to cut the cord, now let's get into the positives and negatives of making the big decision to officially cut the cord on cable providers.

Positives:

As mentioned earlier, the main reason people cut the cord is due to the unbelievable pricing of cable providers, many find cable worthless due to how much they charge and how little they provide. A huge positive when cord cutting is that streaming services are much more affordable and personalized to you. Cable providers such as Direct TV charge 70 dollars per month for their cabling services. This number is outrageous, why would I pay that to see only a few channels I may watch per year? It is just not worth the money to pay when I could use streaming services and get a much better deal. Say I purchase Netflix (which, at cheapest, can be $8.99 per month) and Disney Plus (which, at cheapest, can be $8 per month), I'd only be paying around $17 a month for a variety of different shows and episodes as well as some of the best movies to every reach America. This is a completely better deal and I can enjoy everything I love watching for a much cheaper price per month. I'd be able to view millions of episodes, shows, and movies anytime I wanted to, as well as I could always pause what I am watching and come back to it later if need be. Looking on the other hand with Direct TV, I'd be paying $70 a month and only watching a few channels per year, you cannot really pause and record things without upgrading your packaging which would result in paying more money per moth, and to be quite frank, it really just seems like a scam. Direct TV knows they replay channels at least 2-3 times per day and not many people like to watch the same things constantly so this is unfair to viewers and those who have purchased cable. In the end, on the pricing way of things, streaming services take a huge benefit compared to cable and this is why so many people decide to cut the cord.

Something else that stands out amazingly to me is that you are in complete control of streaming services. You can control the ads, or on cable they'd be commercials, you can control when you want to stop or continue a show, you can control things like a recommended list as well as a favorites list, and overall you choose what you want to view and watch. This is an amazing benefit and it shows another huge reason why cutting the cord and switching to streaming services is so much better than relying on cable providers for you happiness in shows and channels. With cable providers, you cannot have nearly as much control and personalization for yourself. With cable providers, you cannot control the commercials or even how many there many be at a time, you cannot quickly navigate to a specific show you may want to see right at that exact time because the show many not be on yet, whereas the show that will be on will probably be a replayed show that is going on for the 3rd time that day, and you also cannot control the uncontrollable things like when Direct TV may go on "downtime" or have a channel shortage where some channels are unable to be played at the time, but with streaming services, there will be no "downtime", you can watch from anywhere and anytime as well as there will not be a time where Netflix or Disney Plus is not playing certain shows and movies during that time, you will always be able to navigate and find what you want to watch anytime. You have so much control over streaming services, you can literally personalize them to where there is always something right there in you face that you'd love to watch. You can set up a streaming service such as Netflix push shows you love watching and similar shows towards the top so you do not have to go through the struggle of searching for them, like we have to do with cable. If I just finished something like Captain America, at the top of my Netflix could be the movie Thor or even an "Avengers movie because they are all similar and have some form of connection. You can also hold different profiles on streaming service, which again, contributes to the power and control you have on these streaming services. Profiles help to allow you to be able to keep track of your favorite movies and shows without getting them in the way of someone else that uses the streaming service as well. For instance, Hulu, Disney Plus, and Netflix (can probably many other streaming services as well) all have a system to where you can build your own profiles for different members. So a family of 5 could all have their own profile, where they all watch what they want to watch on a streaming service such as Disney Plus (you can have up to 7 profiles on Disney Plus by the way!)and only pay $8 a month, the control over these streaming services you have is unbelievable. 

Another advantage there is to having streaming services is that you can watch them on any device, devices including the TV, phones, tablets, laptops, and more! Some cable providers do allow you to watch on some form of other device such as you laptop but this comes with extra costs and who wants to pay more fro cable than they already do? It is just unnecessary, especially when I can watch streaming services for as little as $8 a month and be able to watch it anytime, on any device anywhere. This sort of plays into the control portion a bit but is I also very important. Many people within the younger generation attain jobs over the summer and many of those jobs, they are doing work that takes over long periods of time where they can do work and also do other things such as listen to music or watch some form of entertainment. I know this because I've done this before and my co-workers have also done this. Throughout the day, I would be able to turn on Netflix on my phone and pop in my headphones and enjoy the show I was watching earlier at home, while performing my assigned task. This all just goes to show how you can take streaming services with you wherever you go with no additional costs. Yes, cable providers have been stepping their game up and you can also watch your cable TV shows and channels on your phone when you are on the move but this usually comes with additional costs like I stated earlier, as well as not all cable providers allow you to perform this feature. There are certain cable companies that are adapting to the change, cable providers such as Direct TV and Spectrum TV that both cost a tremendous amount per month and they have just recently (in the last year or so) have made the move to where you can take their providers on the go. This is sad, especially being that streaming services have been doing this, also at a very low price per month. 

Negatives:

A disadvantage of cord cutting could be that you will be missing out on some channels that do air on cable. This is not too big of a deal, considering that you have tons of different episodes, shows, and movies you can choose from with streaming services, but for some, it will be hard to not be able to view their favorite show that may not be on streaming services. For example, if you are someone that is heavily involved in watching shows such as sports shows, it will be pretty difficult to cut the cord on cable because you will not get that access to shows such as SportsCenter or other sports shows such as PardonTheInterruption. But you do have access to ESPN Plus and YouTube TV with streaming services and that can help a lot but you will unfortunately miss out on those sports shows that discuss what may or may not happen and discuss after games what all went down such as the ones stated above. This is very tough for those debating on cutting the cord because they may easily view it as, why should I switch over and I can't even view the best couple of shows there are to watch on Direct TV? This is understandable because you do not want to stack up on more than enough streaming services per month because the prices could begin to rise. You want to limit the streaming services you will use and this can be hard to do because they have so many great things to watch but you must limit yourself or you will be soon seeing yourself paying around what you did for the worthless cable. But in the end, missing certain channels and shows can be a huge disadvantage because many look forward to a certain show every single evening at a certain time and it'd be very disappointing to not se it on the streaming services you decide to choose. 

Another big disadvantage that discourages many to avoid cutting the cord is that you must have at least a decent and smooth internet provider to watch these streaming services clearly. You do not want to take the time to look into a streaming service and end up spending your money to come to the realization that you might have to spend more money because you need to get your internet taken care of so you can clearly see the shows and movies you want to watch. With cable TV, you are able to watch all the channels that occur in a pretty visible manner, no matter the internet connection. Yes you internet connection plays a role regardless but if you want that movie theatre quality for you streaming services, you ought to make sure your internet provider is stable and good enough so what you watch can be clear. As tough as it is to limit yourself to which streaming services you can obtain, you also have to work about the internet provider you have which can be very price consuming if you internet is not already up to par. You certainly do not want to be watching blurry shows and channels and that really only occurs with these streaming services because, as stated earlier, cable channels all have the same types of quality that do not tend to be blurry no matter the internet provider which is why many do stay with cable as well. Why not stay with cable and not too good of internet rather than switching over to streaming services and having to pay a large amount for a better and top notch internet? 

Statistics: (https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/cord-cutting-statistics)

1. In 2019, 6.3 million people cut the cord on cable TV

2. There will be more than 55 million cord cutters by 2022

3. Cable TV penetration will fall below 60% by 2030

4. 35 million Americans have never used cable 

5. 69% of people have a streaming service (Netflix has more viewers than satellite and cable combined)

6. 52% of Cord cutters do not regret their decision

7. Almost 1/3 of people over 50 have dropped their cable subscription

Conclusion:

In conclusion, it seems completely worth it to cut the cord and begin saving and living a happier life when scrolling through episodes and actually being able to view things you want to view rather than the same shows and channels over and over again. In the end, it comes down to your preference and what you hold high to yourself and what you really do not want to give up, but always remember, you will have to make some form of sacrifice for the better outcome, you cannot get everything the way you want it.