How Close Are You to Cutting the Cord?

A pair of articles worth reading today arguing both sides of the cord cutting dilemma facing consumers. Cable is expensive. Most content can now be found legally online. But are you ready to cut the cord?

The New York Times argues that consumers are too addicted to the content offered only on TV and not on the web, “and so, in the battle for the living room, 2010 seems to be the year that the incumbent is strengthening its foothold.”

Meanwhile over at NewTeeVee Ryan Lawler takes up the counter-point:

Today, there’s an entire generation of consumers that has grown used to turning to Netflix and Hulu for their video entertainment. You think you’re going to sell them a $100 a month cable subscription, when they’ve been doing fine just paying for broadband?

The difference however is that the cable industry has a stranglehold on several key areas which the internet hasn’t been able to match. One is High Definition content though that won’t be a cable industry advantage for long. YouTube is already offering 4K playback and it’s only a matter of time before you can get higher quality content from web distributors than cable. But the biggest area of competitive advantage for Cable is still content. The most valuable content: Live sports, and premium content from HBO, Showtime and others are what people are most willing to pay for, and it will keep consumers hooked on cable for years to come.