Still not convinced? Consider this: Roku, which manufactures set-top boxes that let you stream Netflix and other online entertainment services to your TV, reports that one in five of its customers has canceled or reduced their pay TV subscriptions.
That's according to Roku CEO Anthony Wood, who says that about 11 percent of Roku customers have completely canceled their cable, while about the same percentage have cut back on pay TV.
Wood said he didn't find that figure too surprising but he was taken aback when the company's research found that while Netflix was, as expected, the most popular service among Roku customers, the Pandora music service was number two. (Amazon video was third).
What's that, you say? People listening to Internet radio on their TV? Wood said he was surprised too but upon looking into it a bit realized that the audio-only appliance is rapidly going the way of the hand-cranked coffee grinder.
"It turns out that people don't have stereos anymore," Wood said. Instead, they have home theater systems which are a perfect way to listen to music while lazing about or doing daily chores. Radio? Stereo? Who needs it.
Meanwhile in New York, noted media analyst Mike Vorhaus, of Frank N. Magid Associates, was telling the annual Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that change is in the air.
While there hasnt been a measurable change in consumer behavior caused by new media, Frank Magid always used to say that attitude precedes behavior, and media companies need to pay attention to the attitudinal warning signs of rough weather ahead, Vorhaus said.
He told the assembled media executives that while only a small minority of American consumers have so far dropped their cable subscription or stopped buying DVDs or cut back on their TV watching, that doesn't mean it won't happen.
You clearly have to plan for it and not deny that it might happen, he said. Vorhaus was perhaps too polite to make the obvious comparison currently making the rounds in communications circles -- that cable TV is starting to be regarded the way the telephone company used to be, as an embedded monopoly that crafty consumers and early adopters can do without.
What goes around
And while itsy-bitsy start-up ivi may have hit rough water as it tries to stream all the major TV networks and stations without bothering to license the content, it's pretty hard to see how broadcasters will be able to hold back the tide forever.
Those with long memories may recall how vigorously over-the-air television broadcasters, as they were once quaintly called, tried to prohibit cable TV systems from carrying their signals. Or, for that matter, how newspapers became apoplectic when radio stations starting doing news.
How to do it
Here at ConsumerAffairs.com, we're big fans of the Roku box and other video streaming gadgets. Sure, we have a really fast Cox Cable Internet connection but that's about it.
Background (sometimes foreground) music comes from the most basic Roku box with a couple of powered speakers plugged into it. The Roku works off our Wi-Fi network and pulls in endless music selections from Pandora and other Internet sources.
A big-screen TV ($399 open-box model from Geeks.com) stares blankly out at the world most of the time, but on the rare occasions there's any downtime, $30-a-month Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV shows that can be instantly streamed to the TV, which is connected to nothing but a $79 Blu-Ray player that has built-in Wi-Fi video streaming, sort of an internal Roku. And yes, you can find a lot of high-def video on Netflix at no extra charge.
You can do this too. The only fixed cost that's really necessary these days is a high-speed Internet connection from the cable/telephone company. Cheaper Netflix plans are available; ours includes up to three DVDs-by-mail at any given time. Using a cell phone or, better yet, Skype will provide all the talk-time most people need.
There was a time not too many years ago when the common assumption was that consumers would never agree to pay more than $30 for telecommunications service. Now many routinely pay $200 and more for basic cable, premium cable, telephone service, high-speed Internet and a cell phone or two.
Spend it if you got it, but those wanting to save a few bucks should take a deep breath and dive into the video stream. Come on it, the viewing's fine.
