2009: The year cable and satellite died

Online TV is now a viable alternative to cable and satellite. And it’s much cheaper.

I’m going to make a bold prediction. 2009 will be marked as the year that cable and satellite TV died.

Now, you may think that this is a groundless prediction made simply for the sake of being provocative. But hear me out. Let me make my case.

In the last month alone, three of my friends independently reported to me that they had canceled their cable subscriptions in favor of an online solution. Now if you’ve tried the whole online tv thing a few years ago and came to the conclusion that it was a futile enterprise, I understand. In the past, watching TV online felt slimy. Not only did you have to go to slimy websites but you also had to work hard to find your favorite TV shows (websites featuring full episodes were regularly shut down in the past).

But things have changed. They really have. Online TV is at the tipping point of becoming a disruptive technology. You can watch shows when you want, wherever you want. The quality is good. And most importantly, the technology is finally being embraced by the TV industry (maybe not cable and satellite companies, but who cares). As for those networks that aren’t fully embracing online TV. Well, they will either adapt or perish. It’s that simple.

So now that the networks are behind the cause of online TV, and there are now legit distribution points for high quality TV shows, you can expect for the nonsensical practice of paying a middleman for TV channels you don’t really want to finally come to an end. Let’s hope that it’s sooner rather than later.