Roku believes half of US homes will have cut the cord by 2024

[Shawn Knight]

Forward-looking: Streaming media player maker Roku as part of its earnings report this week predicted that by 2024, roughly half of all US homes will have cut the cord or never had traditional pay TV to begin with.

At last check a little over a year ago, research firm MoffettNathanson estimated that around 78 percent of US households still had some form of pay TV like cable or satellite. And that’s after years and years of companies like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu pushing streaming platforms down our throats so to think that the traditional pay TV industry could lose another 25 percent of subscribers in four years isn’t all that far-fetched, especially with the advent of 5G.

For those curious, Roku finished the fourth quarter with 36.9 million active accounts that collectively streamed 11.7 billion hours of content. Total revenue for the quarter ending December 31, 2019, checked in at $411.2 million, up from $275.7 million in the year-ago period and $260.9 million in the previous three-month window leading into the holidays.

An increase in operating expenses in the quarter, however, contributed to a $17.4 million loss overall.

Roku’s stock popped in after-hours trading following the close of markets yesterday but is down more than six percent on the day as of this writing.

Masthead credit: Cord cutting by Kevin McGovern. Roku models by rblfmr.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/84029-roku-believes-half-us-homes-have-cut-cord.html

 

[Polycount]

I'm surprised we aren't there already, honestly.

 

[JKnight]

Unfortunately, those steaming companies have started to make that cord a leash around customers' necks.

 

[BigRedPDX]

I haven't had basic cable TV in a really long time, but I don't watch a whole lot of shows anyway. Streaming services has been a great way for me to get into a few shows.

 

[TheDreams]

I always have a few streaming services that I switch between but I will never have cable again, get with the times people!

 

[DelJo63]

Not every choice is based upon JUST price. @TheDreams get with the info

1. We have a high speed cable provider (therefore lots of choices including streaming),
2. a DISH provider, we subscribe to Netflix and
3. STILL watch some movies and shows ( Jeopardy and TCM).

ergo, OUR choices are totally about access to specific content

(oh yeah; we did loose the landline ).

 

[Uncle Al]

Dumped Spectrum over a year ago and they STILL continue to harass me so now I have a different tactic. I went to my local court and filed a document, printed the notice in the newspaper and when they call I announce that they are in violation of the notice which, as specified in the court document, are automatically requesting my consulting services on their company, sales pitch, etc. As specified in the ad and court papers, this means they have immediately agreed to my minimal $2,500 consulting charge and bill will be sent to their office.

Got the idea from another guy on 60 minutes that has made it quite profitable. To date I have filed in smalls claim court for $2,500 per incident (our local maximum) and what received judgments in my favor which Spectrum is trying to fight, but with the evidence I doubt they will get out from under. In the mean time I haven't heard another peep out of them so .........

 

[loki1944]

Not in my area, data caps are too prohibitive.

 

[HofyPC]

Cut the cord in 2004. No regrets.

 

[mctommy]

Cut the cord in 2013. Internet + streaming + NAS. 4K content? Idc since I don't own a 4k TV. My last TV purchase was a Panasonic 50" plasma.

 

[R3DP3NGUIN]

Cut the cord in 2013. Internet + streaming + NAS. 4K content? Idc since I don't own a 4k TV. My last TV purchase was a Panasonic 50" plasma.

Off topic, but I have a 50" Panasonic a well, last of the great plasma's. Been hesitant to upgrade since OLED is the only path to maintain/better the color/contrast of plasma.

 

[yRaz]

Off topic, but I have a 50" Panasonic a well, last of the great plasma's. Been hesitant to upgrade since OLED is the only path to maintain/better the color/contrast of plasma.

I got a 65" 4k Samsung Qled for a stupid cheap price. It's a compromise, but definitely worth it. We all miss the days of old when black was black, but OLEDs have too many compromises too. I use mine as a computer monitor first, a gaming monitor second and then watch movies on it as an after thought.

But going back to topic, everyone wanting their own streaming service is getting too expensive, it's only a matter of time until the market bursts and goes back to unified streaming services. I get 90% of my TV entertainment from YouTube, the rest from Amazon. I'm not paying for CBSDisneyHulu√-6.022*10^23

 

[Ludak021]

For most of you "cord" means cable tv, for me it means internet connection with unlimited data plan. Since it's $30/month (cable TV included, which I don't use) I don't plan on cutting the cord until optic fiber provider lowers their price ($100/m for less speed + price of connection which can be up to a $1000).

For the streaming service shows, I don't have access to it from where I am, so I am "forced" to watch it for free.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Only way I could “cut the cord” is if Wireless 5G Internet and public WiFi exceed my home FIOS connection speeds.

Not likely.

 

[PEnnn]

Dumped Spectrum over a year ago and they STILL continue to harass me so now I have a different tactic. I went to my local court and filed a document, printed the notice in the newspaper and when they call I announce that they are in violation of the notice which, as specified in the court document, are automatically requesting my consulting services on their company, sales pitch, etc. As specified in the ad and court papers, this means they have immediately agreed to my minimal $2,500 consulting charge and bill will be sent to their office.

Got the idea from another guy on 60 minutes that has made it quite profitable. To date I have filed in smalls claim court for $2,500 per incident (our local maximum) and what received judgments in my favor which Spectrum is trying to fight, but with the evidence I doubt they will get out from under. In the mean time I haven't heard another peep out of them so .........

Cool!!

Now, don't forget to raise your fees by 30% annually, just like they do......

 

[PEnnn]

My $30 roof antenna (for the man-cave) pulls around 40 channels. The main networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) transmit (required by law) in HD quality over the air. I swear, the reception quality beats the hell out of the compressed signal quality one gets from most cable companies!!

I just pay for internet; no cable bills for 7 years now.

PS: I have another over the air antenna that could be attached to the inside of a window and pulls as many channels with similar quality. Look for "Leaf' antenna on Amazon, for around $30 also.

 

[wiyosaya]

Dumped Spectrum over a year ago and they STILL continue to harass me so now I have a different tactic. I went to my local court and filed a document, printed the notice in the newspaper and when they call I announce that they are in violation of the notice which, as specified in the court document, are automatically requesting my consulting services on their company, sales pitch, etc. As specified in the ad and court papers, this means they have immediately agreed to my minimal $2,500 consulting charge and bill will be sent to their office.

Got the idea from another guy on 60 minutes that has made it quite profitable. To date I have filed in smalls claim court for $2,500 per incident (our local maximum) and what received judgments in my favor which Spectrum is trying to fight, but with the evidence I doubt they will get out from under. In the mean time I haven't heard another peep out of them so .........

There is also US Postal Service form 1500 that can be used to stop Spectrum's junk mail. Filling it out and filing it with the Postal Service makes it a Federal FELONY to send you anything in the mail https://about.usps.com/forms/ps1500.pdf Scroll down to the "Form 1500" section on this page for more info https://www.ecofuture.org/jmusps.html I've done it many times - it is quite effective.

Right now, I'm on spectrum internet, but a local firm is installing fiber that should be available in my neighborhood in the next few months - and I drop spectrum and start my complaints as I already filed a US PS Form 1500 on them.

We dropped Dish several years ago, and no have intention of going back to traditional subscription TV. We also have local OTA with MediaPortal for DVR capability. Couple that with Netflix, Hulu, a podcast my wife subscribes to and a local library that has an extensive collection of TV Shows and Movies available for free or minimal cost if I have to place a hold on it, and there is far more than we can possibly watch for far less than we were paying for Dish and the 5 or so, plus local channels, which was $85/mo. We pay about $20/mo now.

 

[StupidPeopleSuk]

Cord ????? whahdatiz ?

Seriously, I ripped them all out of my house 2011 and haven't looked back since. The only 2 remaining are for the internet and OTA local channels, which serve me everything I need or want to watch.. all for 73% less than the cheapest cable/net/phone package......

 

[2zrfe18]

Only way I could “cut the cord” is if Wireless 5G Internet and public WiFi exceed my home FIOS connection speeds.

Not likely.

and even if it could give you better speed, wireless has never been as consistent a connection as wired.

 

[OutlawCecil]

As a few others have said... We're all happy we "cut the cord" until you realize you need to then sign up for multiple streaming services to watch the shows you want to watch. >_<