Is Digital Streaming Really the end of Cable Television?

Jeffrey Cook, While I think digital streaming certainly has a lot to do with the drop in TV watching, I wouldn't use the NFL or other sports outlets as an example. While pirate/digital streams may have contributed to the drop in viewership, I'd say that most people stopped watching sports in 2016-17 because of hyper-politicization, most aptly seen in Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand during the National Anthem, which inspired others to do so. Sports are meant to be fun, and when you start bringing politics into the mix, you get a lot of displeased and annoyed people who would prefer to tune out. With that said, I think that any number of other examples could help you explore this topic. For example, loads of streaming services have TV shows that now rival the best that cable has to offer. House of Cards, 13 Reasons Why, Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, and Narcos are all Netflix originals that have been critically lauded as being as good if not better than most cable programs. Even HBO (presently) doesn't have that many popular shows streaming constantly, and if anything, they're on their way out. It used to be that they had three or four critically acclaimed shows going on at once, like The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, and Six Feet Under. Now, they have one very popular show, Game of Thrones, and a bunch of smaller, kind of popular shows like Girls, Divorce, Silicon Valley, Veep, and Westword (which could become a popular show). I haven't really paid attention to why this is, but given that the trend is there, you could certainly investigate why it is that this change has occurred and what people see in streaming that they don't in cable. Thanks for your time, August – August Merz 8 years ago
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If you're analyzing this trend, I think it'll be really good to point out different generations and the tendency for youth to be much more likely not to use cable TV. I can't provide any sources, but I know from personal experience that people of a younger age talk more often about shows that can be streamed online, whether that be from Netflix or anime. But at the same time I think it's worth noting what children watch. I'm not sure if children still really enjoy cable TV, but it definitely seems adolescents /teenagers/ young adults prefer streaming. – Khriistopher 7 years ago
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Definitely, fast internet will end cable tv era. – TomKucharski 7 years ago
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