(continuation from Morgan Pastner Jaffe post….)
I remember when my household first got a cable box from Comcast (before it was Xfinity). As a child this was a very exciting time. I now had access to all the channels I have heard about and was now able to watch. I remember watching Disney Channel, and waiting every Friday and Saturday for new episodes at 8pm Est. I remember waking up early in the morning to catch the early morning cartoons. I remember scrolling through the channels to see what was on TV. This doesn’t feel that long ago, but now cable boxes are slowly becoming extinct. I currently have a cable box in my room that I have not touched for over a year. Long gone are the days of cable boxes and here are the days of streaming platforms.
It seems as if no one is longer interested to opt for cable TV. TV packages with their lousy services, expensive bills, and limited options. The expensive bills are a big part as to why people are switching to streaming platforms. Many consumers will rather pay for WIFI and a $10.99 subscription fee rather than a $200 bill for cable. Those who stick to cable TV are mainly interested in sporting events or CNN. Since WIFI is becoming widely available, live TV streaming is becoming more popular and users are finding it to be more convenient and cost effective.
With streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, HBOMax, many other channels are coming out with their own streaming services. There is a big demand in the market for these platforms. Since many companies see that consumers are willing to pay a small subscription fee, they have been rolling out these platforms with different pricing plans. Even cable companies such as Xfinity, RCN, and DirectTV are adding these streaming services to their packages to entice customers to stay.
AI has been playing a big part at making these platforms successful. In December 2015 consumer research from Netflix estimated that a subscriber loses interest after 60 to 90 seconds of browsing before they choose something or abandon the streaming platform. This is where algorithms step in. Each of the four major streaming platforms does this differently. Netflix considers 80% of the consumers streaming hours and recommends shows/movies based on that. It also considers what they search and how they rate. While Netflix mainly focuses on machine learning and algorithms, HBO Max uses a hybrid of algorithm and human curated content. It engages in human curated recommendations. It intends to have both employees and celebrities to create lists for users. Hulu follows a similar layout to Netflix, but also uses a human curated selection.
At the end of the day, streaming platforms are going to take over televisions’ services. I can predict that in the next 10 years that most of the cable providers will go extinct. Their best bet is to either get in the game or collaborate with these streaming services to stay relevant.
https://amt-lab.org/blog/2021/8/algorithms-in-streaming-services
Hey Samantha,
Love this topic and I am glad you got to expand from my post. I truly do think Xfinity and version will really have to change their platform since subscription services are widely used and more competitive in pricing. I think if companies like Xfinity/version want to stay in the game, they either need to partner with these companies or drastically lower their prices and opt out of contracts. They would truly need to reposition and rebrand themselves OR just fully focus on offering quick speed internet at a low cost.
I am excited to see the future of television. I wonder if there will be more popular subscription services like Netflix that will take over and completely demolish our normal cable subscriptions. Or will Netflix, Hulu and Amazon buy out Xfinity or Verizon and take them over to rebrand them? The future can only tell us but I am excited to see where it goes.