For the first time in many years there is true competition for your live TV dollar with Sling TV and PlayStation Vue facing new competition from services such as DIRECTV NOW, Hulu, and YouTube TV. This competition has never before been seen in the industry.
Now that there is serious competition, we are seeing serious efforts to fight for your dollar. In the last month or so the following all happened:
- DIRECTV NOW launched special discounts offering 60 channels for $10. For a few more weeks you can still get a free Fire TV if you sign up.
- Sling TV overhauled its app with a new channel guide and is adding new app support.
- Hulu, just a month after launch, is adding a national Fox feed in many markets.
- YouTube TV added new channels and is getting rights to new markets to expand.
The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.
This is what real competition in a market looks like, and the end users are the winners. With competition has come better services, lower prices, and more options.
The question now is what will happen next. Comcast, Verizon, CenturyLink and even smaller players such as Vidgo are all in the process of releasing a live TV service or expanding a small one they have now. With that new competition will come even more pressure to earn your subscription.
Recently Sling TV’s CEO Roger Lynch has doubled down on the hope of à la carte TV. “We remain committed to being the A La Carte TV provider that gives consumers more choice than anyone, and we’re just getting started. You can expect to hear a lot more about A La Carte TV from Sling TV soon,” said Lynch. Hopefully his efforts will be successful.
The future of cord cutting is bright and that we have only just started to see the beginning of a war for your cord cutting dollar.
What would win you over in this war? What realistic thing could a service do to get you to sign up? Could cable TV ever win you back? Leave us a comment and let us know.
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