Streaming TV cost vs. cablecard and Channels App

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#1

just wanted to share my 2cents.

looks like 2017 is shaping up to be a battle of upcoming Live TV streaming companies. let’s enumerate them:

PS Vue
Sling
DirecTVNow

Rumored to be developing one:
Hulu
Amazon
youtube
and i would still put Apple here

Movie/TV Shows streaming
Amazon
Netflix
Vudu

Now Channels App is kind of a Front-end utilizing the paid subscriptions of a customer through their cable provider. so inherently there’s a big cost associated with that subscription [ie. Verizon, at&t, Comcast, etc.]. Channels app/DVR is actually a very good solution to lessen the cost especially of not renting a cable box from the provider or not subscribing to a Tivo solution. Channels enable us to use use Live TV and DVR using fairly common electronics and not tied in to a cable provider’s box [a lot of flexibility too]. plus i think it is the best alternative and replacement for WMC.

now here’s my concern. as i mentioned above, there are now going to be more players in the Live TV Streaming world and i would see them offering really good prices. enough that it might pry one out of their cable tv subscription [look at what DirecTVNow did, even though service is still subpar but still they offered a good pricepoint]. just wondering if in the end, there will be a big switch to the streaming solution instead of adopting the Channels App/Cable subscription model.

And this is where pricing point may make a difference. I think a yearly subscription [discounted] will be a good offering. $8/month for 12 months is a hefty $96 for the DVR subscription.

also, App pricing on the appstore may need to come down as well [both tvOS and iOS]. it’s kind of expensive to begin with. it could be a free app with a DVR subscription too. i know it cost a lot of money and time for the development. but one thing that needs to be done is to keep it within reach and reason so that average consumer will be more interested to try.

don’t get me wrong. I want this App and development team to succeed. I bought the App and doing the DVR sub now and i want this to be the replacement for my cable box/dvr. But hopefully it would be worth it enough to be considered by customers instead of going full time on TV streaming.

thanks.

#2

It’s going to be interesting to see how this all shakes out over the next 5-10 years. Television is going to have to reinvent the model.

That said, I want to add a couple of considerations with regard to cost.

  1. OTA Channels is an option. With the right antenna and location users maybe able to get by without any cable subscription at all. In this case the $8/month cost of the DVR is very cost effective.
  2. When using Channels with a cable subscription and cablecard there may be significant monthly savings for those with numerious televisions. Many companies charge $5 or $10 per month per receiver. Channels allows centralized cablecard(s) to service numerious ATVs and portable devices without a monthly charge for each.
#3

i am one whose house lives totally on streaming, with OTA for backup. I killed my cable because i dont want to ever pay for the bundle of channels again i dont care if its time warner or sling, i dont want channels that i dont watch. I have netflix and hulu paid and the CW, and every news service has a free app. i then just buy a show’s season on itunes or amazon any other show that I want like Orphan Black and Mr. Robot. since Big Bang is on CBS, i can DVR that. To watch my local sports teams (GO CHIEFS!) i use Channels and the DVR. yeah 8/mo. is kinda expensive for that, but at this point there arent good alternatives. once i can get every channel on a per-channel basis, i will be happy. the thing that sucks is that the cable companies own the channels, and have no reason to dilute their profits with apps and losing revenue on streaming.

im lucky that my family and I arent the biggest TV watchers.

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