A few days ago TechCrunch proclaimed that, “275,000 Comcast subscribers cut the cord last quarter.” And, indeed, a ton of customers fired Comcast. Yet, it’s not quite clear how many of these folks actually “cut the cord” versus jumping to a competing service such as Verizon’s FiOS TV… who report a net addition of 204,000 digital television subscribers for the same quarter. Or DISH Network, that report over 700k net subscriber additions during the last three quarters.
There’s certainly a number of people who are choosing to give up premium television services, for a variety of reasons (personal finances, perceived value, content selection, Internet alternatives, Xbox Live) but I’m not quite sure the tally is as dramatic as many would have us believe. Not yet, anyway.
Beyond my blog associates, I don’t know of a single friend or family member who has cut the cord. Although, I’m aware of several who’ve dumped Comcast and Cox in favor of FiOS TV. The concept of cutting the cord is certainly tempting, exacerbated by Cox’s inability to support their SDV Tuning Adapters and their voluntary CCI Byte lockdown, but the over-the-top options aren’t quite there for me. Especially when it comes to sports and news.
What about you — did you cut the cord, know anyone who has?
(via Hacking Netflix)