in Futurist, X-Geek

Cutting the cable

A friend of mine, fed up with the high cost, just canceled his cable television service after another friend showed him how he could watch his shows on the Internet or through streaming services like Netflix. Another friend got a Netflix-streaming Blu-Ray player for Christmas and is considering doing the same. They both will likely save a bunch of money.

Netflix reported yesterday that they’ve reached the 20 million subscriber mark. They have a $10 billion market value: more than some Hollywood studios. Netflix’s stock jumped over $16 to close just shy of $200 a share on the news.

As I’ve been saying many times, cable television is going through a sea change in how it does business. If cable doesn’t offer a-la-carte programming, people (formerly known as “consumers”) will get it through Netflix or through other Internet sources.

  1. My wife and I did the same thing back in December, and haven’t looked back: $10 a month is way better than $50, and we can watch [almost] anything we want, and get to skip all the junk.

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