Since 1970 when a select few owned a huge satellite dish that they placed in their backyards to transmit to local cable companies, the wonder of television has been an ever expanding phenomenon. It’s very rare today to hear that one doesn’t have cable. It makes you wonder slightly into their personal life about what it is that they could possibly be doing with their time. Nevertheless, the dull person some may think is missing all the worlds exciting events just may be spending their time enjoying a more modern marvel- the internet.
The internet, which was introduced to the world post WWII when the Advanced Research Projects Agency was created, has been dominating the lives of its many consumers since day one. Though at times, time consuming one cannot complain when it offers everything entertaining and educational one could wish for.
It's time to fire the cable guy and the satellite guy.
When television exploded onto the scene in the 1940-50s, it provided much the same things the Internet is providing people today: entertainment and information. However, the Internet has certain advantages over television and, most importantly, it provides instant access to specific information. It is interactive, whereas television is not. If you have a high-speed Internet connection, you have so many new ways to watch shows and movies on TV that you don't need those guys any more.
I can connect my laptop to my TV to watch YouTube videos and network shows -- NBC, CBS, ABC -- online. And now that Netflix movies can be watched on Macs, just about any computer can download and play movies. In addition, to all that great stuff, I can be doing my homework at the same time.
I believe the biggest internet takeover will occur within the colleges. It began as a communication device within colleges and the biggest consumers of it will be the college students. Not only can we accomplish our scholastic tasks with a computer but we can also enjoy ourselves with one. Many college students have an extra advantage with using computers also- the laptop. Its portable!
Later, cable company.
Works Cited
Neff, Jack. (2008). Public might cut cord on landlines, cable TV. Advertising Age, Vol. 79 Issue 40, p3-27, 2p
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17 comments:
Great article. Are you interested in a journalism internship?
This was an interesting article. My entire childhood was spend without cable television (we had just 13 channels). I spent much of my youth complaining to my family that we did not have cable or the internet, and we finally got the internet. Now at college have cable finally, but the damage has been done. I am a true internet person. The ease of use and variety of applications it has far outweighs any benefits that cable brings. I too hook up Hulu and Youtube videos to my tv and watch free shows with fewer commercials on demand. I think the future is clear - internet will win the competition.
Ian Stroud
Stroud.38
Cable TV has been a huge advancement in TV. I have been with cable TV pretty much all my life. A major example of this, is I am a huge Atlanta Braves baseball fan. Cable TV makes things national and Ted Turner put the Braves on his TBS cable network, and in turn he made the Braves "America's Team" in the 90's. Today, cable is still strong, however to get information at a fast premium, the internet is a much better option. Except for premium channels like HBO, most all information or entertainment is on the internet.
null.30
This is an interesting topic. A friend of mine just got cable a few weeks ago and now everyone I know has cable. However, the internet is a very useful item. The internet can show movies, shows, give you traffic advice, tell you the weather. Basically, a person can use the internet for almost anything in their normal routine. I agree that colleges will be the first to eventually abandon cable in favor of the internet.
hansman.4
This was an intresting article and I agree with you in some aspects of how some one could use the internet to watch almost anything, but I think watching TV has its advantage ,just imagine twenty people in one room huddle around a computer trying to watch the buckeyes play. The internet is useful but I think that there will always be a market for television
mettke.1
I love the fact that you can watch Cable television on the internet but to get rid of cable that goes into the television is just crazy. The internet is great and everything but all I really use if for now a days is to check my email and get onto carmen and espn fantasy football. To me watching cable television is great because of the new user applications like DVR and the 'a la carte' pricing, which allows subscribers to pay for what they will watch and not empty channels.
-chan.323-
This is very interesting and its weird to think there are two sides to the coin. I was brought up with both the internet and cable at my fingertips. However, I find that I enjoy neither over the other and I am more of an outdoorsy type. My boyfriend always makes me watch youtube with him and I find it completely boring. TV shows at times can be stimulating and fun to watch, especially interactive ones such as game shows (cash cab, price is right). The internet is useful, for me at least, as strictly an information medium. I have never watched a movie over the internet and rarely to I watch a TV show. I need big, and computers just don't do it for me. People, I feel, need both in their life not only for entertainment purposes but also for educational purposes. Without television, certain aspects of life just wouldn't be the same.
samsel.6
I would have to agree. If I had to choose one electronic device too keep and had to stop using all others forever, it would be my iMac hands down. It is a visual editing tool with a built in camera, so I don’t need a digital camera. It runs advanced iChat on leopard so I can let my friends take over my desk top and edit papers for me, as well as talk about random stuff. I can use VOIP to call out and watch the Office while checking my grades and doing my Comm. assignment. However, I don’t have to make that choice so I’m going to keep my cell and my cable.
miller.3920
I definitely believe and agree with you about the cable company being somewhat of dying breed. I just bought a new computer about 3 months ago and since then I have rarely used a conventional tv along with the conventional cable company. The internet and the capability to watch/record shows from the internet has started to shy me away from using the cable box and DVR. In the coming years I do believe that the conventional cable companies will have to restructure and rethink their ways because a shift has begun, like you said especially within young adults who are going to college. A computer with the internet has made getting information much quicker and easier than any cable tv show has ever been.
shaftel.3
Great article. I completely agree with you when you said that college students will the ones to really invest in TV on the internet. Not only for the convenience but also for the cost. You can completely cut off your cable and get rid of your TV and save yourself a ton of money every month and cable and electric bills. On top of that I also feel that college students are more open to new ideas, another reason they will be the ones who get this idea going. With down time in between classes, why go all the way home and watch a show from your DVR when you can go to the library or a coffee shop and watch shows on your laptop.
King.1010
I agree that we are reaching an age where eventually cable and internet will be one in the same. However, in the mean time I enjoy watching TV and movies on a screen that is bigger than my computers’. Find it much easier to multitask while watching programs on TV and saving my laptop for my homework. I guess if I actually watched YouTube or other programs like that I might feel differently, but I find them quite pointless. Until we have a device that exports what is on our computer screen onto the big screen I think I’ll keep my cable guy around. (townsend.671)
I watch most of my shows online because of my current television situation having only basic cable. The visual quality of basic cable on my monitor is horrible compared to HD shows online that are FREE. A lot of people that I talk to don't realize that their favorite show is in fact online and most likely in equal or better quality than television. The quality of the online shows, however, depends on the speed of your internet AND the speed of your computer (most computers can handle it these days). Your monitor might also have an impact on the quality. It all depends on where your computer is located. Some people may not even have a laptop and they wouldn't want to watch shows in an uncomfortable location.
coverdill.2
This was something that i really never thought of. I find myself so much on both using them even to watch something. I have noticed that Youtube has become so popular i can see a live show and within minutes it will be a post of a performance or something of the sort on Youtube. I think that thier are truly benefits to having both but with the rise of the internet i also feel like the computer may soon out due the tv. But one way that i have seen cable companies stay in the game is to bundle them together giving both internet and cable tv at a low rate.
I also think that cable and satellite could be on their way out. I have always had cable and since DVR emerged my life transformed. I have not yet transited to watching tv shows on the internet but I could see myself going in that direction. I do wonder what will happen to the networks if everything becomes internet based...
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