The Future Of Television

The Future Of Television

Higher costs, new technology and alternative TV programming options are leading many viewers to cut the cord to cable.

A fight over fees paid to transmit CBS content to Time Warner Cable customers has left millions of viewers without access to the channel. It has also drawn attention to long-standing tensions over how television is produced, packaged and priced. A small but growing number of Americans have cut their cable cords and cancelled satellite transmissions. Instead, they are taking advantage of new technology to customize their viewing experience at a lower cost. Non-traditional companies are entering the TV production business and competing with traditional broadcasters. For example, Netflix recently garnered 14 Emmy nominations for its original programming. Diane and her guests discuss the future of television.

Guests

Brian Stelter

media reporter at The New York Times and author of "Top of the Morning."

Susan Crawford

professor at the Cardozo School of Law, fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, co-director of the Berkman Center, author of "Captive Audience" and a contributor to Bloomberg View and Wired.

Adam Thierer

senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Comments

Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.

I have cable. I have to buy dozens of garbage channels in order to get the one or two which I want.

Most of the 'programs' are simply commercials. There is very little quality programming on air. Even the channels which are supposed to have informative programs have turned into mindless junk. The History channel? Garbage. They have shows about aliens. The Learning Channel? There is nothing to learn on any of their programs.

The future of television is bleak. A public good which has turned into crass commercialism- dumbing down our culture so a handful of people can become rich.

August 13, 2013 - 10:08 am

Media companies are seemingly stuck in a pre-Internet mindset. They restrict access to popular content (such as Game of Thrones) behind increasingly expensive subscription packages as though there were no other way to obtain it. If I wanted it, I could get that or any other program in three clicks and five minutes. If I want it legally, it's either the subscription or wait for the DVD release.

Whenever a legal alternative does appear, such as Hulu or Netflix, the traditional companies do whatever they can to restrict their content or kill them outright.

I want to see it, ideally when its new and people are still talking about it. Make it affordable and convenient. People want to pay for quality content. (Eg. Shut up and take my money!)

Thanks,

Max F. Exter
West Lafayette, IN

August 13, 2013 - 10:48 am

Even John McCain is advocating "a la carte" pricing and choice for cable even as he sinks in ultraconservative quicksand. Satellite could be required to do the same. But the truth is that a Smartphone fills your head so full of crap you have no appetite for TV or Internet during leisure time. Radio is a nonintrusive alternative: live or streamed. The FCC better get busy if TV is to be saved.

I get 20 channels for free on digital air TV after buying a $50 antenna, but the wire is attached to my computer monitor. MHz carries global news shows through my local PBS outlet. I can see Germany: I can see France: I can see China's underpants. I will never buy another TV because of the blood obtained rare earth elements. I've never paid for TV and feel that providers should be paying for access to my head. Paying for TV is like paying for sex... not worth it.

But the greatest shame I've seen is that people who would most enjoy C-Span are the same ones who won't pay for cable, but it comes over my computer great... but for how long?

August 13, 2013 - 11:37 am

For years I watched almost nothing on TV but some sports events, and now my interest in these is also declining.

I can readily believe that most of the cable money goes to the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA etc. It doesn't seem to go into better news coverage. I can't believe how bad and superficial most of that is.

August 13, 2013 - 11:14 am

Ala Carte was made available years ago,here in Ohio.. An ALEC member ...the MORMON church ..killed the Bill...
Many do not know,you pay for most of the channels,including the religious ones...In place of the customer choices,they came up with BUNDLING...SEE SEE..Here is your choice...Instead of just overpaying for cable or internet,NOW you can choose to OVERPAY for everything...

Constant extortion by national networks,also local satations have doubled the cost of cable,in less than a decade.. As an apartment dweller,I got cable for local stations only..It was $8.95 a month..Only 5 years ago...Today it`s $23.95..With each approach of a new NFL season,the providers demand higher rates,or no NFL..This year it`s CBS..

August 13, 2013 - 11:17 am

Who needs cable at all?
We have been cable free for 5 years, however Netflix users for 2.
Our computer is hooked right to our TV, any show we watch we watch on Netflix or youTube. I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars for channels or shows I don't even want. It's ridiculous. Fees, boxes, hidden costs, B.S.!

I don't have a lot of time for TV at all, but I do want it there when I do have time. Netflix is perfect for us. One small fee a month we get streaming and DVDs. It works perfectly, I will never go back to the thieves of Time Warner; or any other cable/satellite provider for that matter.

August 13, 2013 - 11:20 am

We have not watched tv for 11 years, on computer either. I object that you cannot get quality news without tv! NPR/AP RADIO has wonderful news and there are other newspapers online that are quality, even without cost. Diane Rehm is an example of a objective & great news presenter.
Thank you Diane!

August 13, 2013 - 11:28 am

As far as I'm concerned, TimeWarner cable should go out of business. I was a loyal customer for a number of years. Then they allowed one of their contractors to blatant lie about something that should have been easy. They were not willing to fix the problem, so I cut their wire off of my house and called them to pick it up out of the alley.

I rarely have a loathing for anybody or company, but I truly loathe Time Warner. I hope many of their customers leave them as result of their messy ways.

August 13, 2013 - 11:23 am

Although I live only 20 miles outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan, we have no options for television other than satellite. Once the broadcast networks switched to digital broadcasts, we were too far away to receive the signals, so we had to add even the broadcast stations to our satellite package. Our only option for internet is also satellite, which doesn't allow for a broad enough bandwidth to stream video, so we are stuck if we want to watch any television at all. And I could rant for hours about the disadvantages of not having decent internet alternatives, especially as I work from a home office.

August 13, 2013 - 11:24 am

The best source of news is by far Aljazeera, available on Netflix.

August 13, 2013 - 11:24 am

You can easily walk away from cable, and use an antenna to receive broadcasting the old fashioned way! It is easy (and inexpensive) to supplement your TV-watching with Netflix, Amazon, HuluPlus and Youtube!

If enough subscribers leave, maybe they'll get the point.

August 13, 2013 - 11:30 am

Wish I could hear the program, right now. I am at work, and cannot. However, I should be able to listen in later through the NPR website, right?
That's part of the issue between myself and cable TV. Of course the costs were the major factor- why pay over 100 dollars a month for 3-4 hours of programming per week, when I could pay 50 for virtually the same programming? But another issue is time- if I want to watch, say, the latest episode of "Breaking Bad", and I'm unable to watch during the allotted time, I would need to either pay for an additional "on demand" service, or invest in a Tivo, or other DVR. Why bother when, through Netflix, I can watch several episodes of Breaking Bad, or through my existing Amazon Prime account, watch the latest season's episodes. There are other factors as well, but between the two- Time and Money, I get the feeling that I'm viewing TV in a very different light than Cable providers, and certain TV networks are- I see them as "content providers", and they see themselves as a service. Maybe that will change once content providers, such as Netflix, do as well as, or better than traditional "networks".

August 13, 2013 - 11:31 am

I no longer have cable TV; therefore, no TV.
I get everything I need from the Internet radio.

I did look into a new antenna that may bring in some channels to the virtual outpost in which I live. I know that is being debated but I think it should be illegal to make people PAY for TV.

I have viewed a few documentaries on HULU but that's it.

Keep working on it.

August 13, 2013 - 11:37 am

I was not going to comment till one of your guest mentioned the reason to have cable /satellite is because the quality of news is not good on the internet. I beg to differ, the cable news is the worst kind of news; I do not subscribe to cable TV, I have an on air antenna and can get the major channels (not that they are great).

I am never the less stuck with Time Warner because of the Internet and need a phone for my security system. Let me say that there is no real competition in Charlotte to TWC and the charges are exorbitant. So much for free market......NOT

BTW, I am retired in my sixties and technically capable.

August 13, 2013 - 11:38 am

All media content has become more expensive. Publishers will not let libraries have digital content. DVD renters do not get all the content that DVD buyers get. Just try to by a DVR that can record a show like a VCR. We in the US pay more for everything healthcare, prescriptions, cable, cell phones and the list goes on.

August 13, 2013 - 11:41 am

In some ideal capitalist world that we don't live in, the last mile of all of our house's connections to the outside world would be either public or personally owned so we could select and purchase any supplier for each service instead of stuck with monopolies. The connections more or less in order from usually public to private- water, sewer, electric, gas, twisted pair, coax and now some have fiber. My first four are publicly owned, why not all?

August 13, 2013 - 11:42 am

Cable is doing itself in. There's less than a forty percent chance of seeing weather or real time news on the appropriate channels.

How did Directv get a monopoly on football?

August 13, 2013 - 11:43 am

I haven't paid for cable in years. We subscribe to Hulu and Netflix on our smart tv and Roku. My son is 16 months old and he watches Netflix. Or sometimes a good old DVD. We watch regular air tv and lots of PBS. Sometimes I miss cable, but I do not miss the bill! It simply is not in our budget. There is always a way to get to the shows we want to watch. As for getting news, yes there is a way to get news. In this age of information now, I usually receive the news even before our local news reports it! We have AT&T and our service is great.

San Antonio

August 13, 2013 - 11:44 am

Netflix..is a must in my home... A decade ago local stations decided to keep us in a constant state of fear..This was around the color coded days..BEEP BEEP BEEP,WARNING WILL ROBINSON...BAD WEATHER AHEAD..BEEP BEEP BEEP.. Couldn`t take it anymore..BEEP BEEP BEEP for storms 50 to 75 miles away.. My favorite programs interrupted,BEEP BEEP BEEP... One winter day,BEEP BEEP BEEP,it`s going to be cold tomorrow,in single digits..BEEP BEEP BEEP..I GAVE UP..

August 13, 2013 - 11:44 am

I live in Baltimore, MD for the past 3 years. I have not had cable TV..I subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc..I do have a Leaf, which brings me great, good local Tv. My internet provider only costs me $39.75 per month, I have a very fast download and upload. If there is a problem, I make a call and actually get a human..sometimes even the owner..The company knows their customers...and the service is the best I have ever had..So, my costs are minimal to access all kinds of programs...so I do not need these large companies, where it is ';hell'getting service when all it sometimes thake is atweeking at their end..And most of all, the best news updates is on NPR..direct and to the point..
Thank you for your program..

August 13, 2013 - 11:45 am

You are discussing about distribution, access to programming, etc. I don't have cable and rarely watch air programming due to the violence. If the cable companies and others are interested in more subscribers, please pay attention to the content of programming offered to the public. The is TOO MUCH violence, killing, etc. I think the companies should see the connection in the nation between violence programming on the media and the rise of violent crimes. Lets get back to healthy programming. Something to inform, educate and ENTERTAIN PEOPLE . . .

August 13, 2013 - 11:45 am

One of your callers said he just wanted to be able to order the shows he wants, and skip all the extra junk the cable companies bundle. For those with flexible moralities, this exists now, and is a beautiful, if slightly illegal, solution to a problem the cable companies won't solve themselves.

August 13, 2013 - 12:05 pm

I worked for years for a local 'fiber to the home' company that provided a digital IPTV product.

The divide between the content providers and distributors is not as great as the Time Warner/CBS kerfuffle might seem. Cable uses franchise agreements, the content providers use their content agreements to force bundling and both together make it virtually impossible for small carriers to provide a competitive service at a competitive price.

The cable companies and major telco perpetuate the myth of existing competition when the reality is that it rarely exists. The two giants have come to an uneasy truce, with virtually no expansion of the digital TV markets (ATT, FIOS) that were growing only 5 years ago.

All but the largest CLECs, competitive local exchange carriers, have found it impossible to compete even under the common carrier requirements.

If you are lucky enough to live in an area where there are multiple, competitive broadband carriers--I recommend that you bounce back and forth between them. Taking advantage of the extended sign on bonuses and leaving as soon as they expire to the next best offer. This is the only way that you will be able to get broadband and cable at a reasonable price

August 13, 2013 - 11:51 am

There is one other option. No TV. I gave up my TV almost a decade ago. While there are times I miss it over all its absence has enriched my life greatly.

August 13, 2013 - 11:55 am

Could you please address College Football or sports in general??? This is the ONLY reason why my husband continues to insist on having cable, so he can watch live football. I think this is the only thing that is keeping many people buying cable. Go Cougars!

August 13, 2013 - 11:55 am

Cable can't complain that NPR doesn't so it's share of advertising as well. Even this show to some extent but also Fresh Air and ATC spend lots of air time promoting cable shows.

August 13, 2013 - 12:00 pm

It would be great if more people could have more access to the internet similar to the $1 agreement Provo City in Utah recently made with Google internet to supply the entire city of Provo with FREE internet access. Perhaps this will help provide easy access to the proposed controversial multi-story building that will house the future LDS/Mormon Missionary Center where more missionaries will train and will do more missionary work online.

August 13, 2013 - 12:03 pm

Thinking about the motives (profit... only) of the cable company monopolies and control of the bandwidth, is anyone else reminded of the feeding frenzy of the health industry in the U.S.? When will the U.S. realize that everything in the service of extreme profitability (which is not capitalism) has placed the U.S. in second, or in 10th place, in comparison to other democracies, in many key areas of public welfare?

August 13, 2013 - 12:04 pm

I must admit, that I am not as cynical as the rest of this bunch. Personally I see the large cable companies as great equalizers and innovators to the monopolies of the past. How many home telephone bills are now over 40$ a month? Not many, long distance has become a thing of the past. Broadband was breathed life into by none other than the cable company's. On Demand is a concept from the Msos not the new start ups like Netflix. Most businesses are reducing all kinds of data and phone costs thanks to cable. On the horizon, there are new and exciting products coming down the pike from vendors like comcast. As a comcast subscriber I see the value of the wifi hotspot network that they are building all over the country at no additional cost to current subscribers, all you need is the xfinity wifi app. It's just another way to save money and not eat up your cellular data plan. The x1 platform is unrivaled by any other platform across the globe. Cable has won and I am thankful for all of the innovation and savings they have created.

August 13, 2013 - 12:22 pm

We are not paying for cable/satellite anymore. We got tired of their unfair practices regarding pricing and bundling.
We are using ROKU. As soon as the news stations start streaming, it will break the back of the over-priced monopoly of the cable/satellite.
We get our news mostly from NPR and PBS now. More facts and less hyperbole!
Long time listener here.
Thank you!

August 13, 2013 - 1:30 pm

The Diane Rehm Show is produced by member-supported WAMU 88.5 in Washington DC.