Cutting the Cable in the Three Screen Era

I cut the cable tomorrow.

For specific firm, I will go from being worth a stable $170/month subscriber, complete with PVR, to being worth nothing. I’m switching my Internet to a non-UBB restricted wholesaler. I will continue to spend $10/month for Netflix. I will get my live TV with the “free”, Over-The-Air broadcast signal from CN tower, which I have a clear view from. Dedicated ad impressions will take a pretty big hit, as the number of must-see, full attention shows are less than 5. I can’t anticipate myself suffering through TV without a PVR.

I can’t imagine deliberately exposing myself to an abusive medium any longer.

That attitude ought to concern broadcasters and marketers alike. I’m not alone in holding it.

The decision hasn’t been easy. But a lot of factors contributed.

The first is attention. I almost always have a second screen in front of me. My home office is positioned so I can see the TV, dead ahead. My couch is positioned in front of the TV. From my office, the TV competes with my laptop. From my couch, the TV competes with my iPad, and with journals. Finally, the content on TV just couldn’t compete.

I’ll go 2 hours with the TV on, looking up only to fast forward through the most annoying bits (what the hell is happening on CNN?). What was I paying for? That’s the second reason: the annoyance of having to fast forward using a PVR.

And that’s the third factor – choice and control. I don’t understand why the on-demand standard isn’t the ultimate standard.

TV isn’t dying. It isn’t dead. But it’s lost the right to be a constant.

But the other two screens are winning. Cutting the cable is the tipping point.

I’ll let you know how it goes.