Can Internet TV kill cable TV?

Xiao Liu, a white-collar worker in Zhongguancun who rents an apartment in Wudaokou, bought a TV after the New Year, but he did not sign up for cable TV service as he felt that Internet TV could meet his basic needs.

The growth of Internet TV is prompting more users to stop using cable TV services, bringing about the so-called "cord-cutting generation."

This is especially true for the American market, which is at the forefront of technology. Wired magazine believes that the turning point of Internet TV is about to come.

This week, Sony launched an Internet TV service in three cities in the United States. The service provides more than 50 channels to home users through the PS series game consoles. A day ago, it was reported that Apple is developing a similar service that can be used through the Apple TV set-top box. Currently, many large technology companies in the United States are developing network-based streaming TV technology, and such development is ushering in a new climax.

It can be seen that among all the major sports channels, only one company has not cooperated with Sony. CBS, Fox and NBC all support Sony's platform. Apple is also trying to introduce more sports content. Previously, sports programs were a major advantage of cable TV services in terms of content.

Today, the main difference between cable TV and Internet TV is live content. "Sports is the last type of content that keeps people watching TV," said Tony Emerson, a Microsoft manager who works closely with hundreds of media and cable companies around the world.

Unlike other TV content, sports matches are very time-sensitive, and viewers want to feel the live experience. Emerson explained this using his own example: "I am a fan of Formula 1, and I will stay up until 2am to watch the races in the Far East. This is partly because if I do this, my brothers don't have to call me to tell me who the winner is, and partly because I want to know the results immediately."

Indeed, Internet TV helps people watch TV programs on various devices, whether it is a TV or a mobile phone. You can also choose the time to watch more freely. However, many people still cannot cut off their cable TV service at home because they don't want to miss live sports games such as NFL, MLB, NBA and NCAA games.

In recent years, some sports games have also been broadcast live online because this channel can attract a large number of viewers. However, there are restrictions on such online broadcasts. For example, you cannot watch the live broadcast of the Olympic Games online unless you enter a string of passwords, and you can only get such passwords if you subscribe to cable TV service.

However, a series of changes are taking place, such as the way people get content through cable TV is changing, and Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have also cultivated users' habit of watching TV through the Internet. Therefore, some broadcasters have begun to pay attention to platforms like Sony, and such services are gradually becoming a reality.

"Live programming, especially live sports, is a major factor preventing people from cutting the cord," said Stephen Beck, founder of consultancy cg42, which has closely followed the development of internet TV over the past few years. "But it will eventually be resolved."

Sling opens the door to cord-cutting

The rise of the "cord-cutting" movement can be traced back to a service called Sling TV. The developer of Sling is satellite TV company Dish, but the service does not transmit TV signals via satellite. Its carrier is the Internet, and the content provided also includes ESPN. Currently, ESPN is the main sports program channel under Disney.

"This is the straw that broke the camel's back," said Emerson, who helps media and cable companies around the world develop Internet TV services based on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform. Emerson found that these companies' attitudes towards Internet channels have changed significantly. "Once channels like ESPN are unbundled from the cable system, the basic concept of cable TV services, which are bundled with many different TV channels, will be questioned."

Sony's new service does not offer ESPN and its sister channel ABC. However, other American sports channels have been supported by Sony. The service provides programs from local CBS, NBC and Fox channels in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, including the usual live sports games. In addition, users do not need to subscribe to cable TV services to use Sony's service, just a PS console and a broadband Internet connection.

Meanwhile, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks with traditional program providers to offer streaming TV services that include about 25 channels. The rumored channels include ABC, CBS, and Fox. However, NBC is not included in the negotiations. It is clear that there are differences between Apple and NBC's parent company Comcast.

Comcast's eccentricity is not surprising. After all, Comcast itself is a cable TV company. According to the US technology blog 9to5Mac, NBC and Comcast are currently planning to provide their own NBC application on Apple TV, and users can only use the application if they subscribe to cable TV services. Baker said: "Ultimately, Comcast hopes to maintain the current model." However, one thing to note is that Sony's service already includes NBC. Therefore, the market situation is constantly changing, and cracks are appearing in the wall.

Changes around Internet TV

There are multiple reasons for this change. Sling’s partnership with ESPN was made possible in part by Disney’s desire to prevent current cable and satellite services from skipping ads. (Disney agreed to offer its programming channels on Dish’s internet TV service, and Dish agreed to limit ad skipping on its Hopper set-top box.) Comcast may need to make NBC programming available outside of its own cable service after it struck a deal with regulators a few years ago as part of its acquisition of NBC Universal.

However, the most noteworthy thing is that people are changing the way they watch TV. According to a study, about 7.6 million households in the United States have stopped using cable TV services. Dish was originally a satellite TV company, but is currently transforming to Internet TV because users have a great demand for it. "We have seen that some households only use broadband services." Sling

"The cord-cutting trend is here and has been going on for several years," said Roger Lynch, CEO of CNN Business.

Companies like Comcast are also feeling the effects of similar trends. According to research from cg24, 53% of American cable TV subscribers said they would drop their cable TV service if there were other competitive options. "If your subscribers are as frustrated as traditional cable TV subscribers, then the environment is ripe for tech companies to bring about change," Baker said.

This trend will become more evident as sports leagues begin negotiating content deals directly with Internet TV services, bypassing cable and satellite TV providers. There are already examples of this happening. Lynch pointed to the European Golf Tour, which recently began streaming directly to the Internet.

The future is coming

There is no doubt that we still have a long way to go if we want everyone to watch TV online. There is still a lot that needs to change.

Due to current content partnership agreements, some sports games cannot be broadcast live over the Internet. For example, Sling TV cannot broadcast Monday Night Football because Verizon has exclusive rights to it.

Cable TV companies like Comcast have reasons to block the development of Internet streaming TV, and the rumored Apple streaming TV negotiations are one of the proofs.

In addition, the Internet can't handle all the programming. "If we deliver TV programs in an all-IP way, do you know how quickly the Internet will be paralyzed?" said Microsoft's Emerson? IP protocol is the basis for streaming TV transmission.

Emerson believes that we don't know how Internet TV will develop in the next few years, but what is certain is that such services will be completely different from the current ones.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.