The cable industry keeps finding new ways to bleed its customers dry

[Andy Meek]

• The ongoing saga of the cable vs streaming tug-of-war (which has had mostly the streaming side winning for more than a year now, as the cable industry keeps bleeding subscribers) continues to garner new headlines that are, sadly, pretty predictable at this point.
• Spectrum, for example, is among the many cable brands that have greeted an inexorable decline in customers by continuing to raise prices.
• It's the kind of behavior that will no doubt continue to inspire consumers to cut the cord and go all-in on streaming and digital TV services.

Earlier this year, like so many of you now, I finally cut the cord and ditched my Dish subscription -- something I was finally compelled to do after reaching my breaking point over a mix of subpar service, an inscrutable monthly bill, and a price-to-value ratio that was just too out of whack. Contrast that with the near-universal user appreciation of Netflix, which a new survey from the Cowen & Co analytics firm has found is so strong that 55% of subscribers would be fine with paying a little more each month to keep the service. The larger point being -- the coronavirus pandemic has changed many of our viewing habits, but not the habits of ... everyone, shall we say.

Case in point: The cable industry is up to its usual shenanigans, never mind that it continues to lose customers at a rapid clip. You can probably guess what we're referring to -- more despicable fee increases, representing the industry's ongoing attempt to manage its decline by bleeding customers dry.

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The cable industry keeps finding new ways to bleed its customers dry originally appeared on BGR.com on Fri, 10 Jul 2020 at 19:15:35 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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