“I don’t watch TV”. I’ve heard this from a majority of my friends and co-workers who fall within the Millennial generation. Yet a lot of these same people gush about Stranger Things, binge watching an entire season in a weekend. So what is the classification of TV now? With so many people no longer getting cable subscription services, and instead buying streaming subscriptions, what’s the difference between watching a show on its regular scheduled time on cable versus watching that same show on Netflix? How is one classified as TV and one….not?
In my home, we have no cable and a subscription to Netflix. We also have an Amazon Prime Membership, which means we are now able, as of the beginning of November, to access Amazon Prime Video on our Xbox. The amount of content we have access to is so high that we’d never be able to get through all the shows that everyone tells us we should watch.
There’s so many great things about the rise of TV shows. There’s a high amount being produced now, a better quality is being demanded and bigger names are being attracted. Even movies are in direct competition with TV now. This summer saw the lowest box office numbers in ten years, which was due to numerous factors such as weak movies, increased ticket costs and people downloading instead, but with all the available content now, I find I only go to the movies if it’s something I really want to see. In the past, I went more often to keep up with the latest movies, but most times now I’d rather keep up with the latest TV shows.
On the drive into work the other day, I heard a Shaw Cable radio ad talking about their new voice-powered TV. Their offer was, if you subscribe to Shaw Cable’s new BlueSky TV you can access Netflix or cable by voice search. They were also packaging this with a 6 month Netflix free trial. So cable providers are smart, and are recognizing they need to show that they can provide a streaming service that ties in with an existing cable package, to provide the best overall TV experience. The problem still comes down to the cost. For me, I’d rather pay around $20/month for my two streaming services, than an average of $100 with a cable provider. That being said, I don’t watch any sports or anything else that people may prefer to watch live. This type of package would definitely appeal to my parents, who want to get more into Netflix shows, but still prefer to watch hockey and The Voice live.
So what side do you fall on, dear reader? Do you only use a streaming service, or a mix of both cable and streaming? Or maybe neither, and just download the content you need when you want it? Let us know in the survey below!
[wpsurveypoll id=”357559374″ style=”flat”]