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clrmoney
clrmoney
8/26/2016 10:49:12 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Cords Cutters
These cords have been around for a long time but now that it in going into the future with more virtual technology. Some people are doing different things to cut the cord and doing other alternatives.

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batye
batye
8/26/2016 11:35:58 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
@clrmoney this days everyone trying to cut the cord and save as economy is still bad... and everyone worried - what if.... ???

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freehe
freehe
8/27/2016 4:44:18 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
@clrmoney, I agree, Cord cutters or churners have been around since competition in all industries began. There are many reasons why cord cutters are not satisfied:
  1. Price increases
  2. False advertisements
  3. They performed research to find other alternatives
  4. Products and services are not developed with the consumer in mind
  5. Companies ignore suggestions from customers
  6. Companies have not created attractive a la carte packages that are reasonably priced and the list goes on.....

 

Many cord-cutters have to use multiple alternatives to get the services they desire, streaming, Pay TV, OTT, free apps, etc.

Companies should start consumer focus groups or send surveys to get input from customers about the products and services they desire.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/28/2016 7:26:45 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
@freehe - I think survey's could be a really good idea. Let customers know their options and then tell service providers their preferred choices. Investors can then make the best decisions based on customer preferences to ensure their services will meet customer expectations. 

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
8/28/2016 2:12:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
freehe,

Consumer surveys give exceedingly confusing, ambiguous, and unproductive results whenever you don't include the thing that everyone actually wants on the menu. And when you do include it, all you find out is that everyone really likes it.

This is part of why "Would You Rather..." in its various forms is such good party game -- it has completely unpredictable meaningless results. (Nobody would want a party game where people actually found out about anyone's real feelings -- there goes the party!) And it gets those completely meaningless results by always excluding what anyone would actually prefer. ("Would you rather be born without a face or be beautiful until you died at age 25? Would you rather be convicted of a heinous crime you didn't commit or get away with something that would constantly torment your conscience forever?" etc. Obviously the game only works because  the alternatives most people prefer: I'd rather be extremely attractive for as long as possible and also live a long healthy life, I'd rather not commit any heinous crimes, etc. are not offered and you're not allowed to pick them.)

For a couple of decades now, over-the-line content suppliers have been facing the problem that everyone would rather have access to everything, free, with all the content-makers they really like well-supported. They can't put that on the menu because it's not doable in any likely future (I define a likely future as one in which abrupt deep changes in human nature, abdication by everyone who already has power, or care packages from Alpha Centauri do not play major roles).  So their surveys are just extended games of "Would you rather ..."

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faryl
faryl
8/31/2016 2:56:37 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
Very true. A lot of it is expectation-setting as well, I think. My wishlists ("in a perfect world") far exceed what I think are reasonable expectations. Plus, when conducting consumer surveys, there's likely to be a large number of respondents who don't give five star or 10 out of 10 ratings for anything that isn't truely exceptional.

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/10/2016 4:42:30 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
faryl,

That brings up yet another problem: a social norm where you are supposed to choose "perfect" to mean "adequate" (or where high acheivement  is contractual rather than comparative).  So very large numbers of people really give 3 ratings: the ends and the middle of the scale, regardless of whether it has 5, 7, 10, or 100 points on it. And many people code on a basis of "if it met all my actual needs that's a 10 out of 10" because the top grade has been debased to "meets the syllabus contract" in grading, consumer ratings, and nearly everything else.

On the other hand, everyone is very special and all those very special people approve of almost everything, so it's all just fine.

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faryl
faryl
9/10/2016 9:20:28 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
People who rate things on Amazon who only give 4 stars because they "never give 5 stars" bugs me almost as much as people who "drop a star off" because of an issue with Amazon (vs with the product itself). At least with surveys like this, there isn't as much of the feedback being limited to only people who feel strongly one way or the other.

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/11/2016 4:01:21 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
> "People who rate things on Amazon..."

At least these ratings are more quantitative than "Great buyer!! A+++++ Would sell to again." Does anyone trust eBay ratings/reviews anymore???

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faryl
faryl
9/14/2016 6:16:28 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
LOL At least when someone writes a *bad* eBay seller review, you know the seller must really be bad!

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/14/2016 10:39:08 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
Actually, as mentioned before, you can't always rely on bad (eBay) reviews either -- because some people give the worst ratings just because they are unsatisfied with some random aspect unrelated to the seller's abilities. The bad reviews have to be specifically worded to point out what went wrong, and even then, it could just be a "revenge" review for not liking the product or not getting a quick refund/return. Customers aren't *always* right... 

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/17/2016 6:57:19 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
Theoretically you could produce very good ratings by pairwise comparison: just ask people "do you have experience with X and with Y? If yes, would you rather have X at its price, ratehr have Y at its price, or are you really indifferent?" Such surveys require more manipulation and and analysis but there's much more valid info in there to dig out, which is why in our era of bigger data and faster processors (and better stats) than ever before, so many makret analysts are trying to find people who will put up with taking that kind of survey.

That, of course, is the catch. If you have tried five brands of nasal floss, and there are six common reasons for preferring one brand to the other, to get a full set of preferences they'd have to ask you  36 questions, as opposed to fewer than ten with traditional slider or number-rating scales.

"Which do you prefer, Naso-Rooter or Sinus Scrub?"

"Which do you prefer, Naso-Rooter or Phlegmix?" .... etc., till you've compared all 15 combinations ... then

"Which is more important to you, a stylish package or wrapping comfotably around your fingers ..."

etc. for 21 more questions.

There are levels of information you just can't get by promising a lottery ticket good for a free burger at Denny's!

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
10/3/2016 9:22:05 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
> "Theoretically you could produce very good ratings by pairwise comparison..."

Well. Sorta. Theorectically, it can get complicated very quickly, and the REAL catch is.. there could be no "good" rating resolution at the end of all your data collection. There's a "cycling" of preferences that can occur in real datasets -- sometimes called a voting paradox.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_paradox

Basically, it's a Rock-Paper-Scissors game where the choices can be cycled in such a way that no one can win -- because none of the candidates are clearly superior. 

Sometimes even big data doesn't help.. it just seems like it should.

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batye
batye
10/13/2016 1:43:47 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
@mhhf1ve interesting point - thanks for the link... make me think...

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dlr5288
dlr5288
9/30/2016 3:26:35 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cords Cutters
I agree! I think that if they were able to get their product in a timely manner then that's worth 5 stars. The fact that they don'g giv 5 stars, just because is confusing to me..

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Michelle
Michelle
8/26/2016 1:17:51 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Future perfect
As we watch the evolution of these offerings, it's hard to think of much else except the elusive a la carte package. I wonder if we would be on the same path today if cable operators had moved in this direction ages ago. Would 'cord cutting' be the hot new way to consume content?

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afwriter
afwriter
8/26/2016 2:00:30 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Cord Cutters
I was going to comment on the fact that they are harder to please before I read it in the article.  I really think that this is the main issue, many of them want more and don't appreciate how much they get with OTT and the fact that we didn't even have OTT services a decade ago. 

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faryl
faryl
8/31/2016 3:01:45 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord Cutters
Plus there's a degree of level-setting (not sure if that's the best term for it) where we get used to what we currently have, so need bigger/faster/cheaper to stay satisfied. I used to accept buffering as part of the streaming experience - now I find myself getting annoyed when there's more than 15 seconds between episodes when I'm binge-watching something on Netflix!

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inkstainedwretch
inkstainedwretch
8/26/2016 3:36:07 PM
User Rank
Gold
Cord-cutting, pro and con
I'm a cord-cutter, and I'm in the older-than-dirt age bracket.

The findings about cord-cutter dissatisfaction are no surprise. A lot of cord-cutters are people who thought a la carte would be Consumer Television Utopia, refusing to understand that once they got something that looked like a la carte -- OTT services -- there would be a severe restriction of choices for some time to come, and that the costs of creating their own OTT packages could get real steep real fast.

The cable bundle is, in fact, a pretty damn good deal.

Not that I'm going back to the cable bundle myself. I don't watch that much TV, and I can get enough good stuff to watch by combining two or three of the more popular OTT services, but I can't help wonder if Adi's question is a very, very good one: will cord-returns become an identifiable phenomenon? Unless someone makes the OTT experience much richer in the near future -- without raising the cost much, if any -- then I'd guess the answer is "yes."

-- Brian Santo

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faryl
faryl
8/28/2016 8:29:48 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord-cutting, pro and con
I think part of it is also that as more people started cord-cutting, content providers adjusted the way they provide their content. People who are expecting access to all shows/full seasons from a service like Hulu seem to be the ones with the biggest complaints.

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dcawrey
dcawrey
8/29/2016 4:23:33 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord-cutting, pro and con
For the longest time, I have not had a cable subscription. I can't actually remember they last time I had the box and remote. 

What I do have, though, is Sling TV. It's $19.99 a month for channels like ESPN, CNN and TBS – really the only ones I watch. Also Amazon Prime, which I get free shipping with too. 

No plans to go back to cable anytime soon. 

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faryl
faryl
8/31/2016 3:05:34 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord-cutting, pro and con
I've gotten so used to going without, that it rarely even occurs to me to watch "live" TV anymore. I'm not big into sports though - that does require real-time viewing. If I were into sports, I agree that sling is the way to go. I'm surprised sling hasn't had more competition by now.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
8/31/2016 1:27:04 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Cord-cutting, pro and con
Good points. Absolutely no surprise about cord cutters satisfaction level. The cable bundle is a good idea too.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/27/2016 8:08:48 AM
User Rank
Platinum
It's not unusual
As a cord-cutter, and a millenial, I find this odd. I'm satisfied with my OTT services. I carry Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. Occasionally I splurge an extra $20 for a series I might want to watch. But in general I stick to what is included in my subscription. I suppose if you're continually watching various programs, and in search of something new to watch, I could see how someone might feel tied down, but content is constantly changing. I'm perfectly happy with my OTT. 

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faryl
faryl
8/28/2016 8:24:02 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: It's not unusual
I'm not a millenial, but agree with you 100% Even if I splurge on a series season each month, it's less than the cable packages cost. And to be honest, I find the amount of content available on typical packages kind of overwhelming - I end up watching way more tv and most of it is just because it happens to be on and I get sucked in!

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/29/2016 8:00:38 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: It's not unusual
Exactly!  $20 for a season of Game of Thrones is far cheaper than the "Please come back to us, we miss you so much!" price DirecTv quoted me of $55 a month. They gave me that price and I just about couldn't hang up the phone fast enough. Even when you add in the $16 a month I pay to Netflix and Hulu. I don't really count my Prime Membership, because I get so much more from it than just the ability to entertain myself on occasion. I probably make up all the money I spend on the membership with shipping costs alone. There's a meme floating around with a bunch of Amazon Prime boxes sitting on someone's front porch, with the caption "Don't Drink and Prime." My husband's response to that was, "You can order that much without drinking?!" He may or may not have been exaggerting. 

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faryl
faryl
8/31/2016 3:11:35 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: It's not unusual
LOL! I'm a bit agoraphobic and went several years without a car, so have been a prime member for the shipping since before amazon offered video - I forget it's an option most of the time, until something I want to see isn't on Netflix or Hulu :) (Since I've bought everything from toilet paper, dog food & kitty litter to furniture and shoes on Amazon, I bet my door has often looked like the one in that meme - and I don't drink & prime, so I have no excuse!)

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dlr5288
dlr5288
8/30/2016 2:09:53 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: It's not unusual
I totally agree! I always end up binge watching way more than I orginally want to. I think that's the whole point, getting sucked into it!

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faryl
faryl
9/10/2016 9:58:17 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: It's not unusual
I'd have replied to your comment earlier, except I've been binge-watching Stranger Things, It's Always Sunny in Philidephia, and Nurse Jackie :-)

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clrmoney
clrmoney
8/27/2016 10:43:42 AM
User Rank
Platinum
13% canceled ord cutters
I wonder what the 13% of the cord cuters that canceled their service with the pay tv will do because I'm curious.

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afwriter
afwriter
8/29/2016 3:25:40 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: 13% canceled ord cutters
@clrmoney It is a legitimate question, but there are so many options available (Crackle for instance) that maybe they just decide to ride the free options for a while.  Myself being a cinephile, I subscribe to 3 OTT services along with having a substantial digital movie collection.  If I were to cancel my OTT services it would take me a few months just to re-watch all of the movies I already own. 

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dmendyk
dmendyk
8/29/2016 10:44:46 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Wrong end of the telescope
The issue regarding "consumer satisfaction" with video service options usually fails to take into consideration the most important factor underlying those options: Content distributors and producers set the terms of engagement, and their interest is almost solely in maximizing revenue and profit. That's as it should be.

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faryl
faryl
8/31/2016 3:16:42 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Wrong end of the telescope
Great point. You're completely spot-on. I think the majority of consumers are largely ignorant of the licensing aspect alone - different distribution channels (e.g., DVD, streaming, etc.) require separate licensing agreements. And even those can vary within a studio, based on how individual contracts/production agreements are written.

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afwriter
afwriter
8/31/2016 10:55:58 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Money Talks
I just read a recent study that said most people (in the study of course) say that they would drop Netflix if it went over $15 a month.  There is definitley a point when it isn't worth it no matter how satisfied you are. 

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faryl
faryl
9/10/2016 10:00:21 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
That sounds about right - somehow $16/month sounds way closer to $20/month, which feels like too much to me too! (Maybe it's like when things cost $9.99 instead of $10!)

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/11/2016 3:56:46 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
> "Maybe it's like when things cost $9.99 instead of $10..."

This pricing trick always makes me wonder why gas is sold by the gallon with 9/10ths of a CENT in the price. Who is really fooled by that 1/10 of a cent? Or who really benefits from having a price in fractions of a penny?

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faryl
faryl
9/30/2016 5:59:49 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
I never thought about that! (I wonder if it's because gas is a commodity and outside forces set the price?) (off to google!)

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faryl
faryl
9/30/2016 6:51:42 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
So it turns out in the 1930s, the government imposed what was supposed to be a temporary tax on gasoline that was half a cent. Since gas was only about 15¢/gallon back then, the additional half cent was enough that rounding up would have been a significant price increase, so they left it at half a cent.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 10:07:28 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
Thanks for the info! Definitley interesting....how times have chnaged haha

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/11/2016 3:54:06 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Money Talks
> "...most people (in the study of course) say that they would drop Netflix if it went over $15 a month..."

Well, certainly there's a demand curve from economics... Customers only have so much time to watch or binge watch movies in a month, so nearly doubling the price means that some folks might be better off just downloading movies/shows individually from iTunes or whatnot.

And so far, there's not THAT much exclusive and original programming on Netflix to justify keeping it for more than a month JUST to watch those shows/films.

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