Cable and Satellite Television Aren’t Worth Their Cost From the introduction of the television set until the 1980s, free, antenna-based television dominated American households. But beginning in that decade, a fierce trend toward paid, premium television erupted. By the 2000s, more than 80% of all households subscribed to either cable or satellite television (“Television”). But as the demand for such services soared, so did the cost. In 2007, my cable bill averaged $70; less than three years later, it had swelled to $100. And beyond introductory teaser rates, the competition didn’t yield any significant savings. But my search did yield that there’s too many free and low-cost services that provide an alternate to cable and satellite television, thus rendering the cost outrageous. The Internet provides a wealth of complimentary entertainment. Most major networks, including many premium channels, offer their programming available online within a timely fashion after its original broadcast. Several television and movie producers make available a large library of content online; the most famous is probably Sony, which does so through Crackle. Websites such as Hulu and Youtube offer further collections of content available online. Additionally, there’s a wealth of websites providing independent and original programming. The transition to digital television has opened a wealth of new channels available as sub channels. Thus, the amount of antenna-based programming can easily quadruple in most areas. One can subscribe to Netflix for less than $8 per month and have unlimited access to over 100,000 DVD titles streamed instantly over their computer. Or they can find one of the many Redbox units conveniently placed around town and offering DVD rentals for a dollar per day. One may be concerned that the availability of complimentary programming over the Internet will end. However, most viewings are littered with ads. Further, Nielson ratings now consider Internet streams that occur within 72-hours into total program viewership. Thus, it’s unlikely networks will give up the viewership. Another concern is the lack of free sports programming available. Yet most sports fan choose to watch programs together, often at a buddy’s house or a local bar. ESPN now costs the average household over $4 per month (Stelter) and sports packages, like NFL Sunday Ticket, can cost hundreds of dollars. It’s very unlikely that the buyer would ever get enough programing to compensate for what he’s paying. Some may point out that while the Internet offers a wealth of programming, the programming is still limited. While that may be true in a literal sense, hundreds of thousands of hours of programming is available on the Internet. Thus, one will easily have access to more hours of programming than he could ever watch – or even care to watch. With the cost of cable and satellite television continuing to soar, it makes no sense to continue to pay. There’s a wealth of complimentary programming made available on the Internet; the transition to digital television has significantly increased our programming options; and services like Nextflix offer over 100,000 DVD titles to instantly stream over your TV for less than $8 a month – which is a lot less than the $100 the cable man’s demanding.

Works Cited
Stelter, Brian. "Time Warner Cable to Test Cheaper Channel Package." New York Times 19 Nov. 2010: B8. New York Times. Web. 31 Oct. 2011.
"Television in the United States." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.