VIDEO: New Innovations Are Putting A Squeeze On Cable And Satellite Services

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The way we are watching television is changing.

New innovations are putting a squeeze on cable and satellite services.

More and more people are switching to the internet to watch TV shows, and it’s something cable companies are becoming more aware of.

“How content is delivered to you has changed. We no longer worry about dropping a cable in your yard and burying it. If you have an internet cable in your yard, then you’re good to go,” says Mississippi State University Communications Associate Professor, Dr. Kevin Williams.

Good to go because the internet is all you need now to watch just about anything you want, without a cable box or satellite.

“I think that’s where we are right now in the industry, just figuring out how to get specific content to you for the lowest price, and because you only want six of those fifty channels, can you do it cheaper than what cable offers you?”

The answer is yes. Cable and satellite bills can run from $80 dollars up; subscriptions to streaming providers, like Hulu and Netflix, cost you less than $20 dollars a month.

“All these providers have online digital delivery systems, and Roku is a just a gateway that you go through to get to it. The same thing is true with an Xbox, or a PlayStation.”

Mississippi State student Carol Dukes says convenience is why millennials choose streaming providers over TV providers.

“When you want to watch something, you can just look it up really quick versus like TV, because it’s like you have to go and see, flip through the channels, and see if there’s something on that you would want to watch, and so with Netflix and Hulu, you just say, ‘oh, I want to watch this,’ and then you go and immediately look it up.”

For people who cut their cable cords, how do they know about breaking news or weather?

“With smart phones, you already have a weather app on your iPhone, or other smart phones, and then you get everything on your phone now, like I know the local station where I’m from, they have an app so you can keep up to date on everything that way, so it’s like beneficial, but at the same time, you can get everything on your phone or computer,” says Mississippi State student, Bailey Waltman.

Those ways are how local TV stations, like WCBI, are staying relevant to people not hooked up to cable or satellite.

“We stream all of our newscasts on WCBI.com, so you can get them live, regardless of where you are, as long as you have internet. CBS has introduced the All Access app, so you can actually watch all of the WCBI programs, including the news, with an app if you don’t have cable or satellite,” says WCBI-TV General Manager, Derek Rogers.