So, Netflix is doing pretty well. Even with increased cost of subscription for the lower end guys and possible deals that need to be brokered with certain media producing juggernauts, Netflix just keeps on growing. Unfortunately, when one entertainment or artistic medium moves up in esteem, another medium often suffers a downfall. I can’t even remember a time when authors were socialites. And remember when music made money? That wasn’t so long ago…
Netflix’s biggest opponent could arguably be DVDs and Blu-Rays. However, we shouldn’t forget cable television. Back in 2009, about 86% of all homes in the U.S. had some sort of pay for TV subscription. Last year, that number dropped to 84.9%, a number that represents about 2.5 million homes. While this percentage doesn’t seem huge and obviously isn’t all due to people readjusting finances and choosing Netflix over traditional pay TV services, according to a new study by SNL Kagan, the outlook for cable-type programming is only going to get worse.
Whether Netflix, the economy, or outside factors are to blame, Deadline is reporting 10% of pay TV-owning American households are expected to drop service by 2015. It isn’t inherently a bad thing if traditional pay TV goes the way of the dinosaur, but if Netflix and other services don’t figure out a better way to generate income to pay for quality programming, it’s the consumer who will ultimately suffer. Television networks aren’t charities. They’ll spend money to make money. We just need to figure out how to get it to them or we could end up with more time slotted for Las Vegas reruns.
