Cable Television

Last night I watched the first three episodes of "Harper's Island" online at the CBS website. I don't have cable service, but I still pick up all the standard local channels. CBS is one of those channels. However, working full time and attending classes at a local college, makes it difficult to find time to watch the local channels on television. The internet has provided me with a way to watch various shows at times that are convenient for me. In the fast paced world of today, less people are watching television as it is broadcast. By using sites such as Hulu.com, many people can watch various shows whenever they want. Realizing the impact the internet has had on their business, certain cable companies and television networks are moving toward offering online services to new and existing subscribers of television service. This means if a person has cable television service, their provider would offer the same programming online. This service would only be available to subscribers as an incentive to stay with cable.

The article compares cable companies now to the way record companies used to be. Record companies only used to provide music in album form. Many customers, including myself, may not have wanted all the music from a particular album. If we as consumers only wanted one song on an album we were forced to find it somewhere online and obtain it illegally, that is, before iTunes became available. Cable service providers also only provide bundles of content. As of now there is no offer to only pay for the channels you want or know you will watch. Before I started working on this project, I would often times talk to a coworker of mine about how I wished cable companies would offer individual channels. I personally feel cable companies providing their services online, is a great idea, but only to people who are already subscribers. As stated previously, I don't subscribe to cable service. I still look for television being streamed online. I recently discovered a site called Justin.tv. On Justin.tv different users stream television broadcasts online as they are being aired on television. I don't foresee this lasting too much longer as it cuts into cable television profits and as the broadcasters online do not own the rights to the media they are broadcasting.