{"video_id":"c6jITjq8UsA","title":"Why Cable TV Is Such A RIPOFF","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2020-05-05T14:58:16Z","duration_s":263,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":4.5600000000000005,"text":"Is there anything worse than dealing with a cable company? Bad service, expensive bills,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.5600000000000005,"end_s":8.88,"text":"and tons of channels that you don't want have left many people looking for ways to just cut","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.88,"end_s":14.96,"text":"the cord and rely on streaming exclusively. So why is cable TV so expensive for what you get?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":14.96,"end_s":19.92,"text":"Well, one big thing to keep in mind is that although it seems like your local cable company is an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":19.92,"end_s":25.84,"text":"evil, money-grabbing organization, they also are getting a little screwed with their own costs.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":25.84,"end_s":30.88,"text":"You see, as opposed to streaming services like Netflix, which get to pick and choose specific","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.88,"end_s":36.4,"text":"shows and movies to buy, cable companies have to buy the rights to carry entire channels from","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.4,"end_s":42.0,"text":"content providers. And not only that, they also usually have to purchase channels in bundles.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":42.0,"end_s":47.76,"text":"So let's say that cable company wants to buy an extremely popular channel like ESPN. That's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.76,"end_s":52.48,"text":"owned by Disney. Disney will come back and say, sure, we'll sell you the rights to carry ESPN,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.56,"end_s":57.36,"text":"but you also have to buy ESPN Classic and a bunch of other channels that nobody cares about,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":57.36,"end_s":63.12,"text":"like Nat Geo Wild. No offense, animal lovers. Not only is this why cable TV comes with so many","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":63.12,"end_s":68.48,"text":"channels you never watch, but it also results in higher cable bills, since your provider has to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.48,"end_s":72.8,"text":"end up passing the cost of those unwanted channels down to you. Yeah, you're actually paying for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.8,"end_s":77.36,"text":"them. And the content providers can get away with this because of how valuable some of their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":77.44,"end_s":84.56,"text":"flagship properties are. For example, Fox Sports paid $3 billion to the NFL for a five-year deal","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.56,"end_s":90.88,"text":"just to broadcast one game a week. But you gotta see that game. Cable companies aren't any happier","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.88,"end_s":95.28,"text":"about these high costs than you are. So they've actually tried to change the system to force","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.28,"end_s":100.56,"text":"content providers to unbundle popular channels. Cablevision, which serves much of the New York","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.56,"end_s":106.32,"text":"City area, actually sued Viacom several years ago for exactly this reason. And although cable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.32,"end_s":111.84,"text":"companies have lobbied the FCC to require Alucard sales of popular channels, they haven't been","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.84,"end_s":117.12,"text":"successful. And to make matters even worse, some of the contracts between content providers and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":117.12,"end_s":123.36,"text":"cable companies also require that the most popular channels have to be offered in multiple","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":123.36,"end_s":128.0,"text":"service tiers, which further limits a customer's ability to get out of paying for channels that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.0,"end_s":133.52,"text":"they don't care about. And because cable TV infrastructure is so extensive and therefore","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":133.52,"end_s":138.56,"text":"expensive to maintain, plus the fact that refusing to carry a popular channel could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":138.56,"end_s":142.56,"text":"cause a mass exodus of customers, the cable companies have to deal with both trying to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":142.56,"end_s":148.0,"text":"satisfy a huge customer base while also recouping the huge investment it takes to keep themselves","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":148.0,"end_s":153.44,"text":"running. Of course, I'm not trying to paint the cable companies as completely innocent victims.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.44,"end_s":158.0,"text":"They're still responsible for consistently poor customer service and also finding ways to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.0,"end_s":163.36,"text":"unnecessarily squeeze money out of us, such as with data caps for bundled internet services","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.36,"end_s":167.76,"text":"and monthly fees for cable boxes, despite the technology existing to eliminate them,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":167.76,"end_s":172.96,"text":"which you can learn much more about up here. So are there any alternatives if you want to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.96,"end_s":178.56,"text":"watch your favorite channels without paying through the nose? Well, services like YouTube TV","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.56,"end_s":184.4,"text":"and Hulu Plus Live TV offer a smaller lineup of the most popular channels for a cheaper rate,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.4,"end_s":189.76,"text":"typically between $45 and $50 a month. And Hulu also includes its streaming library","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.76,"end_s":194.56,"text":"in that cost. Not a bad deal. Of course, you then have to deal with the issues inherent to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.56,"end_s":199.28,"text":"over-the-top streaming, like competing with other internet traffic. That can be particularly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":199.28,"end_s":203.92,"text":"problematic if you're engrossed in a live event like a ballgame or an awards show. And you can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.92,"end_s":209.28,"text":"learn more about how that all works right there. So while you might be giving up something regardless","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":209.28,"end_s":214.96,"text":"of which option you go with, I promise you that here at Techquickie, we will never try to price","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.96,"end_s":219.84,"text":"gouge you guys. But do please buy our merch. So thanks for watching, guys. Give this video a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.84,"end_s":223.12,"text":"like if you liked it, subscribe to the channel, and be sure to hit us up in the comments with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":223.12,"end_s":226.16,"text":"suggestions for what you want to see in future videos.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1}],"full_text":"Is there anything worse than dealing with a cable company? Bad service, expensive bills, and tons of channels that you don't want have left many people looking for ways to just cut the cord and rely on streaming exclusively. So why is cable TV so expensive for what you get? Well, one big thing to keep in mind is that although it seems like your local cable company is an evil, money-grabbing organization, they also are getting a little screwed with their own costs. You see, as opposed to streaming services like Netflix, which get to pick and choose specific shows and movies to buy, cable companies have to buy the rights to carry entire channels from content providers. And not only that, they also usually have to purchase channels in bundles. So let's say that cable company wants to buy an extremely popular channel like ESPN. That's owned by Disney. Disney will come back and say, sure, we'll sell you the rights to carry ESPN, but you also have to buy ESPN Classic and a bunch of other channels that nobody cares about, like Nat Geo Wild. No offense, animal lovers. Not only is this why cable TV comes with so many channels you never watch, but it also results in higher cable bills, since your provider has to end up passing the cost of those unwanted channels down to you. Yeah, you're actually paying for them. And the content providers can get away with this because of how valuable some of their flagship properties are. For example, Fox Sports paid $3 billion to the NFL for a five-year deal just to broadcast one game a week. But you gotta see that game. Cable companies aren't any happier about these high costs than you are. So they've actually tried to change the system to force content providers to unbundle popular channels. Cablevision, which serves much of the New York City area, actually sued Viacom several years ago for exactly this reason. And although cable companies have lobbied the FCC to require Alucard sales of popular channels, they haven't been successful. And to make matters even worse, some of the contracts between content providers and cable companies also require that the most popular channels have to be offered in multiple service tiers, which further limits a customer's ability to get out of paying for channels that they don't care about. And because cable TV infrastructure is so extensive and therefore expensive to maintain, plus the fact that refusing to carry a popular channel could cause a mass exodus of customers, the cable companies have to deal with both trying to satisfy a huge customer base while also recouping the huge investment it takes to keep themselves running. Of course, I'm not trying to paint the cable companies as completely innocent victims. They're still responsible for consistently poor customer service and also finding ways to unnecessarily squeeze money out of us, such as with data caps for bundled internet services and monthly fees for cable boxes, despite the technology existing to eliminate them, which you can learn much more about up here. So are there any alternatives if you want to watch your favorite channels without paying through the nose? Well, services like YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV offer a smaller lineup of the most popular channels for a cheaper rate, typically between $45 and $50 a month. And Hulu also includes its streaming library in that cost. Not a bad deal. Of course, you then have to deal with the issues inherent to over-the-top streaming, like competing with other internet traffic. That can be particularly problematic if you're engrossed in a live event like a ballgame or an awards show. And you can learn more about how that all works right there. So while you might be giving up something regardless of which option you go with, I promise you that here at Techquickie, we will never try to price gouge you guys. But do please buy our merch. So thanks for watching, guys. Give this video a like if you liked it, subscribe to the channel, and be sure to hit us up in the comments with suggestions for what you want to see in future videos."}