Traditionally, TV has always been less consumer-friendly. A consumer had to wait for at least a week to watch their favourite shows. ‘Binge-watching’ as a concept did not exist as the consumer had to wait for the episodes to air once a week. A lot of experts in the telecommunications industry have been saying that the end of the cable TV which is the most widely used mode of traditional entertainment is upon us. And yet, the cable TV still prevails over all other modes of entertainment during these times.
So, What is the Allure of the Traditional Cable TV?
Humans are sentimental in nature and like to hold onto things. The cable TV is a thing which each one of us grew up with and it’s hard to let go of that. Not only does it hold a sentimental value but also cable TV is a bigger screen as compared to streaming online content through smartphones or laptops. The cable TV holds a host of different options, some of which are still not available in the online streaming market.
That said, there has been an increasing trend of people gravitating towards online streaming services in recent years. The streaming services have relied heavily on the fact that cable TV fails to achieve a sense of intimacy and a higher degree of interaction with the customer.
To Get a Clearer Picture, Let’s Compare the Two Based on a Few Metrics.
Expenditure
The most important aspect of any form of entertainment, be it streaming services or cable is expenditure. This is where the streaming services trump over the more traditional forms of entertainment. They provide a cheaper and much more accessible form of entertainment at the touch of a finger.
Cable TV still holds the monopoly over a vast majority of sources and they provide a bouquet of different channels to the consumer that has not yet reached the streaming world entirely. Yet popular streaming sites such as xcine have a host of different options for their consumers. Therefore, online streaming services are slowly but surely overtaking the traditional modes of entertainment.
Convenience
Gone are the days when technicians took almost an entire day to set up cable TV at a house. These days the only requirement has become a stable Internet connection. All one needs is a stable and fast internet connection which is available almost everywhere these days to be able to watch shows and movies. The degree of comfort and intimacy provided by online streaming services is unparalleled and these services edge past the traditional modes of entertainment when it comes to convenience.
Consumer-Specific Content
The streaming services have dedicated algorithms working around the clock to deliver an experience that is consumer-specific. They have curated content tailor-made to meet the demands of specific consumers. That said, cable TV serves a variety of entertainment ranging from daily news, movies, music, sports, etc. This level of variety is yet to reach the streaming services.
Conclusion
Choosing one over the other is a matter of requirements and budget. Streaming services have lesser requirements than cable TV and are cheaper. But cable TV offers a variety of different forms of channels to explore for the consumer. Therefore, any consumer who is debating what to choose should first sketch the requirements and budget.
If the budget is low and the requirements are less then the best option are streaming services but if the consumer wants variety and a host of options while viewing then cable TV is the way to go. To summarize, we can say that we live in a world where both of these forms of entertainment can co-exist and give the consumers a wholesome experience.
