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Michelle
Michelle
9/27/2016 12:45:42 PM
User Rank
Platinum
How do they know?
I'm curious to know how Nielsen gets this data now that so many homes are using streaming services. Hulu allows viewers to opt-in to Nielsen tracking, but I'm unaware of others doing the same. Does Nielsen use samples from people who get the paper view tracking books? I think if all services tracked watch data for Nielsen, we might see even higher numbers for streaming than has been reported.

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dcawrey
dcawrey
9/27/2016 5:55:54 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
People don't need 200+ channels. They need a few different channels mixed in with some on-demand content. I think that's the future of video entertainment, and the sooner cable providers come to this conclusion, the better. 

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Mike Robuck
Mike Robuck
9/27/2016 6:23:24 PM
User Rank
Author
200 channels
I agree. The programmers need to stop including channels that nobody wants to watch with the few that people do want to watch. Too many niche channels. 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/27/2016 6:27:45 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
@Mike Robuck - Do you know if cable providers get some kind of incentive for including those channels? I haven't ever read, and don't know for sure, but it would make sense to me that a lot of the infomercial channels might pay cable companies to be a part of their packages, believing that audiences will naturally find their way to them and some pour soul somewhere will buy their products. Plus then it makes a cable company's promos sound good, at least at first "Get Access to over 200 channels for just 49.95 a month!" Just a thought. 

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/28/2016 8:09:11 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
ElizabethV,

You've put your finger on it; there's so much room to fill in a cable delivery that adding the niche channels costs almost nothing, slightly increases attraction at the margins, and makes everything look nicer.

Other examples of this are:

the celebrated Amazon "long tail" which attracts a bigger population of readers who can get exactly what they want, and then stay and get more popular things that they already were going to consume anyway from the same outlet. (The innovation is not in having niche content, which has always been there in the relatively cheap publishing industry, but in having a way for people to get paid to write, publish, and package less-popular books).

the produce aisle in your local supermarket, which offers visions of beautiful fresh food (most of which will be thrown out or chopped into packaged salad eventually) to assure you that you are shopping in a good place, a righteous place, a place you can trust, before you buy plastic-packaged fried flour, breaded freezer snacks, and microwave-it-yourself food court staples.

And, of course, the classic case: why there's parsley on so many restaurant plates:

https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2015/03/22/why-the-parsley-garnish-2/

 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/28/2016 8:34:36 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
@JohnBarnes - So we can see what the cable company thinks is best for us, and them in the process. I just have to wonder if they're right, or if they really did allow for more a la carte options, if customers would be so satisfied, their success would be greater than you could ever imagine. But then, we're left with, what will all those people on the infomercials do for a living??

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/28/2016 7:41:25 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
ElizabethV, Well, think about how it works for the supermarket. They have beautiful shiny kumquats on display. The case that holds them, the specialty shipments to replace them, all that is expensive. If they put the whole cost of the kumquats into their few kumquat sales, the price would take them right out of the market. But because they are there, the few kumquat fans have to shop at that store. While there they buy high profit items like bread, milk, soda, and greasy freezer snacks. Thus the store loses money on kumquats but makes it back in sales of staples to a larger number of buyers. All those high profit items cost slightly more to cover the kumquats. A few kumquat freaks get their kumquats, everybody pays more for popular stuff, and the store makes money overall. The difference between that and entertainment packages is only that the store can conceal it better than the cable company. In fact the store can even use the availability of all that stuff you never buy but help to pay for as evidence of what a great place to shop they are. Ditto the parsley. Less than 1% of diners eat it but we all pay to have part of our plate concealed so we won't be aware that our entrees could be bigger or that there is room here for another side. But have you ever asked a restaurant to take the parsley off and either give you more corn or take a nickel off the price? A la carte will happen -- as soon as the cable companies or their successors figure out how to charge the long tail to the fat body invisibly. Probably people will actually be paying more for the things they want, but they'll feel so good about not being forced to buy things they don't want!

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 8:57:49 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Now I'm craving kumquats:)

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/30/2016 7:21:52 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
faryl,

But why should I have to pay more for my Doritos just so you can have kumquats? I never eat kumquats. IT'S NOT FAIR! I want a store that only sells Doritos, Cheez-Whiz, Pace Salsa, and Alka-Seltzer! I don't see why they can't respect my consumer choice!

Also, dammit, there's parsley all over my plate!

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faryl
faryl
9/30/2016 12:51:58 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Hahahaha! I know just the place for you - 7-11! :)

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/30/2016 10:16:01 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Lol @ Faryl - good one! He can get his fill of slushies too.

 

Even better - no parsley. :-) 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/29/2016 10:11:43 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
@ John Barnes - My husband, the culinary major, actually is one of the people that eats the parsley. The literal parsley. He says it's included (at least partially) to help settle your stomach and freshen your breath.  Your analogy is spot on, so now we just wait to see if cable companies will figure out a way to offer a la carte, or if customer preferences will go ignored for the sake of profit. 

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/29/2016 11:40:57 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
ElizabethV,

I think it is a safe bet that if consumer preferences are ignored, they will be ignored for the sake of profit. (And the same if they are slavishly catered to!)

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:43:23 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Interesting !! But will this work in long run?

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afwriter
afwriter
9/28/2016 4:48:24 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Isn't that pretty much what they are doing with skinny packages like Sling and PSVUE?  I have been on board with this idea since I first started paying my own cable bill. 

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Michelle
Michelle
9/28/2016 10:59:31 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Distribution and revenue models were built with the old way of doing business. Hopefully, all that will be updated to favor consumers as much as distributors.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:47:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
I doubt that happening in near future.

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 9:19:04 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 200 channels
Lol at "since I've been paying my own bill" (Because I'm right there with you on that!)

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/27/2016 6:28:49 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
@dcawrey - I completely agree - it's why I left cable to begin with. If that had been an actual option, I might have stayed. I do know my Mom has Netflix with her cable package, so it seems like they are getting the idea, they are just dragging their feet to get there. 

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freehe
freehe
9/29/2016 9:31:24 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Cord Shaving
Cord shaving is a growing trend and will continue until companies stop being profit focused and return to being customer centric like most companies were when they were originally founded.

The data shows what customers have been saying and wanting all along. Give us what we what and you will get what you want - customers and profit.

Unfortunately telcos don't give customers what they want until they decide to cancel and by then it's too late. That is why churn is so high for cable subscribers.

 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/29/2016 10:14:54 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord Shaving
@freehe - You're so right about telco companies not giving customers what they want until they leave! I just got a phone call today from someone at DirecTV asking AGAIN what they could have done to help me stay back when I was a loyal customer of 2 years. I just couldn't even get into it AGAIN. So I told the lady I had already explained the situation multiple times to multiple people and I wasn't interested in hashing it out anymore. She just thanked me for my time and hung up. Really glad I could help her out with that. Maybe if they'd put as much effort into keeping me when I told them I was cancelling, as they have in trying to get me back since I've left, I would still be with them. 

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 9:16:59 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
It's funny - there was a time where I would have been happy to pay $20/month for just HBO. But by the time they made that available, I'd grow accustomed to waiting to watch stuff on Netflix or Amazon, or spending the occasional $30 for a season pass.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/29/2016 10:17:44 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
@faryl - It's crazy how easy it is to just get used to not watching things when they come out right away. I want to catch up on Fear the Walking Dead, but at this point, I'm so far behind, I never see an urgency in actually doing it. So instead, here I sit watching reruns of Grey's Anatomy for the 800th time and I'm perfectly content with my decision. (I'd actually have to pay attention to Fear the Walking Dead, I already know what happens on Grey's, I can tune it out a lot more easily.) I'll catch up on Fear one of these days....

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 10:29:11 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
Same here :) Only I've been watching re-runs of Parks & Rec (I've never watched Grey': Anatomy - it's in my queue!)

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:40:34 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
Same here. Hoping to catch up.

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faryl
faryl
10/31/2016 3:00:46 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
OK - maybe I feel a little left out now that I have to avoid spoilers for the Walking Dead until I can watch it the next day! :-P

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 7:00:17 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
I hate that! When I'm watching a tv series and I miss an episode I have to stay off of social media/the internet all day because of spoilers..

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faryl
faryl
10/31/2016 7:29:49 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
The worst is when I get one more episode behind the number of episodes they have available for streaming. I keep missing seasons of CW shows (like Arrow & The Flash) because I have to wait until the whole season is available to catch up. (In the grand scheme of things, not the worst problems to have. :-D Lol )

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 9:31:53 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
Yeah, not trying to complain haha. It's just so frustrating when you're waiting to see an episode and then you read something online and it spoils the whole thing!

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dlr5288
dlr5288
9/30/2016 11:54:42 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
Yes! And I would so much rather pay my Netflix fee with all of the shows and movies it has on there. It's crazy how things and prices change over time.

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faryl
faryl
10/31/2016 7:32:39 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
Have you watched Stranger Things or Black Mirror? I think most of the content I've watched recently has been Netflix or Hulu original content. So much great stuff!

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 9:33:32 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
No I haven't! I wanted to start watching Stranger Things because I've heard such great things about it from friends. I just haven't had the time to start it yet!

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Michelle
Michelle
9/27/2016 9:40:27 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
I feel like we consumers have been trying to tell the cable industry just this for a very long time. 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
9/28/2016 8:32:40 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
@Michelle - I would imagine most consumers have been expressing this desire for a long time. But in the name of profit, and fear of what profit would be like to completely radicalize how we consume cable television, changes don't occur. 

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:45:38 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
I can say they are following 'Ignorance is bliss' game. And now playing a catch up game. Hopefully will get there soon.

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vnewman
vnewman
9/28/2016 12:42:07 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
@Michelle - you piqued my curiousity so I went to the Nielsen website to see what their methodology was.  It was vague at best and requires you to contact the company for more detailed information.  So there is not a lot of transparency there.

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Michelle
Michelle
9/28/2016 9:05:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
@VN Ahh, of course. You must pay for something to learn more about methodologies.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:50:20 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: How do they know?
I am not familiar with lot of details. But I can say they go by demographic findings. I use to deal with that data while working for a media company.

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clrmoney
clrmoney
9/27/2016 1:12:04 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Cord Shaving
I noticed that the black people in the red had 11.3% 218.0 that use pay tv channels so this is great for them in a way because people use it.

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 9:22:48 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord Shaving
The demographic breakdown is interesting. I wonder how much of that ties with the demographics of the different shows that are available on the different services (i.e., is content driving the decision as much as cost does)?

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 11:42:13 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord Shaving
Yes, demographics do count. I can't recall details. But recall reading an article sometime ago. Will try to find the link and post some time.

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