Commentary
Internet Pulls Ahead Of TV
- by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, August 19, 2014
For the first time, the number of broadband customers exceeded the number of cable subscribers, according to end-of-June data from the Leichtman Research Group analyzing numbers from the nation’s nine largest cable companies.
As of the second quarter of 2014, the numbers of broadband subscribers clocked in at 49,915,000 customers, compared to 49,910,000 cable TV customers. Fine, fine. So we’re talking about a difference of 5,000 customers.
Still.
These numbers underscore the direction that media consumption is headed in — and it’s a digital one. While this milestone might suggest the decline of TV at first blush, what it actually underscores is the omni-platform nature of consumption.
Consumers are still watching plenty of TV; but now, many are watching it through digital means, via over-the-top services, game consoles or online video.
As an example, in the second quarter, digital viewing jumped by 28% over last year, said video ad management platform Freewheel. Also, the use of mobile phones for video viewing grew 93%, while the use of over-the-top devices for video rose 236% over last year.
Leichtman Research Group also found that the country’s 17 largest cable and telephone providers added nearly 385,000 new broadband customers in the second quarter. In the past decade, cable providers have added more than 30 million broadband customers.
ahh the things you can do with metrics. This absolute metric could well be true, no quibble there, but if you look at e.g., time spent on a platform, in lieu of subscribers, I'll bet one would see that TV is still the 800lb gorilla. My favorite metric is one that shows the rate of change, e.g. new subscribers to both or cancellations to both. I think metrics like that indicate where things are most active.
Are satellite (DirecTV & DISH) & IPTV (Uverse & FIOS) customers who account for about 50% of TV subscribers irrelevant? TV is still WAY ahead!
I teach an introduction to voice acting at San Diego City College and each semester, the number of students who do not own a TV increases. 6 out of 30 this semester. It is changing my lesson plan. I need to guide them toward places where they can actually listen to commercials in order to study what kind of voices are being hired.
NEWSFLASH: Electricity and water trump Cable TV and Internet! Equally true and equally irrelevant.
The headline promises so much, yet the story ha so little to say. Breaking News!!!! TV still accounts for about half of the average person's media time and it's not declining. The Internet isn't even close in this rather important "metric".
Not only is this article missing the aforementioned satellite and IPTV stats, but also no mention of over the air broadcast TV, which is still a huge market.
Absurd & disappointing!
MediaPost has fallen into a terrible rut of pure nonsense.