Study: 78% Would Prefer Buying TV Channels A La Carte A new study by Tivo suggests that 78% of pay TV consumers would prefer being able to buy access to TV channels individually (aka: a la carte). According to Tivo's TiVo’s Q3 2016 Video Trends Report, the ideal package for most consumers involves paying almost $30 for around 18 different channels. The survey found that 18% of those surveyed had cut cable or satellite TV service in the past year, with the three top factors being price (82.9%), their preference for streaming alternatives (59.5%), and their use of an antenna to grab OTA channels (28.1%).

The report also broke down which channels consumers would prefer most. Disney's ABC network would be the most popular choice among consumers -- if they were able to pick and choose their TV channels a la carte. , 70.7% of the 3,100 consumers polled would choose the channel as part of an a la carte lineup, and would be willing to pay, on average, $1.52 per month for it. While 78% of those surveyed want a la carte, 75.8% of those users say they would also subscribe to a free streaming service. On the plus side it might not take much on the part of cable providers to get these users to stay, with 65% of those surveyed saying they'd stick with their cable provider if a more flexible channel lineup was offered, and 43.5% saying they’d stick around if their existing cable service and box integrated streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Video. It has been made repeatedly clear that the cable industry could more easily combat cord cutting if it provided a less expensive, more flexible channel lineup. That said, most cable providers avoid offering this sort of option, knowing full well that they'd see mass downgrades of users paying $120 or more for current bloated bundles. And while a shift in this direction is often paid lip service by cable providers, the so-called "skinny bundles" we've seen emerge so far are often hamstrung by hidden fees and restrictions.







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Most recommended from 35 comments



maartena

Elmo

Premium Member

join:2002-05-10

Orange, CA 11 recommendations maartena Premium Member Its too late... The internet is taking over television. Televisions come with pre-loaded apps these days, and you can add more. The new "a-la-carte" is not going to be television CHANNELS, but television STREAMING packages. The time for grid guide, linear television is coming to an end... it will only be sports, news, and other events that have to be live that will still benefit from an actual "channel", but most other programming will all be on-demand in the next 10, 15 years or so.



Choosing a-la-carte channels was something needed in 2005. Ten years ago, when digital television and DVR's were flourishing, and new channels were being launched almost every month. All those channel launches in the early parts of the 21st century also cause the bundling of packages, and now content companies are holding on to their channel bundles with their cold dead hands....



The market itself is shifting towards on-demand delivery. People are cutting the cord because it is expensive, and are choosing to find their programming through streaming packages. More streaming choices will be launched in the future, more programming will be available, more customers will drop cable, and choose these streaming packages - to which they can easily unsubscribe and resubscribe at will (or, if you will "a-la-carte") - as an alternative to old fashioned grid guide linear television.



The big thing that really needs to change is to put sports in their own package. If cable companies aren't willing to go a-la-carte on individual channels, at least allow them to make some choices and create "flexable" packages in the form of sports, kids, teens, women, science, etc, etc.... so you can choose some packages that interest you and dump expensive sports ones. GKToronto

join:2010-09-26

canada 3 recommendations GKToronto Member Canada will be the grand experiment for this In Canada, there will be a mandatory "pick and pay" option for TV as of December 2016, thanks to a CRTC (regulator) decision last year. It'll be interesting to see if the results of that experience inform the debate in the USA. microphone

Premium Member

join:2009-04-29

Parkville, MD 3 recommendations microphone Premium Member How do we discover new channels if we only get what we choose? I do like browsing through channels I've never watched to discover new choices. Perhaps there could be so a set amount of "free preview minutes" per month/year for all channels and then a viewer would use his/her remote to add/delete channels from his/her subscription as desired.