Is Cable Making a Comeback?

Time Warner says they’ve had an increase in cable subscriptions. Is “cord cutting” coming to an end?

By Alain StephensMay 5, 2016 1:37 pm,

It’s not a new trend by any means: more Americans are cutting the cord to their cable television in favor of direct streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. But last year, Time Warner reported it lost just 36,000 subscribers nationwide. That’s an 80% improvement in retention from the previous year, the best numbers in a decade. Time Warner actually added customers, the first increase in its subscriber base since 2006.

Taken together, that might sound like the end of the cord cutters. Not so fast. The Digital Savant is back in the saddle – Omar Gallaga of 512Tech, powered by the Austin American-Statesman. He says that services like Hulu, Netflix and YouTube are adding more live-streaming programs to attract customers.

“That’s kind of the last piece of the puzzle, I think, for services like Netflix is live events. Is things like sporting events, your ESPN stuff, things that you just can’t make people wait six months to watch.”

What you’ll hear in this interview:

– Why people still buy cable
– How streaming services are making themselves more competitive