You may not be ready to replace your cable/satellite service provider with a streaming service provider, but you have most likely considered it. With the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, more and more American families are streaming their favorite TV shows and movies. Does that, however, mean streaming services are poised to overtake traditional ones?
It is easy to see the draw of switching entirely from a traditional TV provider to a streaming service. A variety of them allow you to stream full seasons of television shows and feature length films to your computer, mobile device, or game console. Add the fact that monthly charges for such services run $10 or less, people must be switching to streaming services in spades, right?
The truth is that only a small portion of Americans have given up cable entirely. According to a NY Times poll, 88 percent of Americans still use a cable/satellite service. If streaming services are set at lower prices than traditional TV service providers, why are the vast majority of Americans clinging to them?
There are a variety of reasons that Americans are sticking with traditional TV service providers. The greatest reason, however, is that streaming services are still in their infancy, and are not able to offer the range of programming that major cable/satellite services can provide. There are currently a number of TV shows and sporting events that are legally not allowed to be seen online.
Services like Netflix and Boxee are being used by many families as a secondary service to their traditional TV service provider. My parents, for example, use Netflix along with their satellite service. There are certain shows that they are not able to keep up on with Netflix, because it doesn’t provide current seasons or doesn’t have them at all. That is the same reason that many families are more inclined to use both a traditional and streaming service as opposed to just one or the other.
At this point the vast majority of Americans are not quite ready to give up their 250 channels for any single streaming service. Until streaming service providers are able to expand their libraries and include more of the shows people are watching, I believe they will only remain as an afterthought to American TV watchers.
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