By Matt Murray
BLUE BELL, PA--Only 8% of students surveyed at Montgomery County Community College said that they still prefer to watch conventional cable on their televisions. Five years ago, 40% of students were watching cable TV and catching their favorite shows as they aired. It seems that students want to pick when and where they watch their favorite shows; they’re no longer locked in to time slots and days of the week. They get what they want when they want.
Services like On-Demand, Tivo, and DVRs have allowed viewers to gain control over their cable subscription and watch shows when it’s convenient for them. More recently, internet streaming exploded onto the scene with services like Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Instant Video. 68% of students surveyed at Montco preferred to use services like these to watch TV.
The other 24% of students surveyed also like to watch TV, but they don’t necessarily prefer live cable or internet streaming. These students still prefer to illegally download the shows they want to watch. Most of the shows that are being illegally downloaded are shows from premium channels like Dexter and Homeland on Showtime and HBO’s Game of Thrones; these shows are not available on any of the popular internet streaming services.
Student Mark Black says, “Keeping six gigs of one show on my hard drive just to watch a series through once is a lot less convenient than streaming on the TV, computer, or tablet.” Many of the students pirating shows already subscribe to services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. If the premium channel shows were easily available on internet streaming services they’d be less likely to pirate these shows purely out of convenience. It’s convenience that Montco students are seeking, and the convenience of the viewer seems to be the future of television.
BLUE BELL, PA--Only 8% of students surveyed at Montgomery County Community College said that they still prefer to watch conventional cable on their televisions. Five years ago, 40% of students were watching cable TV and catching their favorite shows as they aired. It seems that students want to pick when and where they watch their favorite shows; they’re no longer locked in to time slots and days of the week. They get what they want when they want.
Services like On-Demand, Tivo, and DVRs have allowed viewers to gain control over their cable subscription and watch shows when it’s convenient for them. More recently, internet streaming exploded onto the scene with services like Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Instant Video. 68% of students surveyed at Montco preferred to use services like these to watch TV.
The other 24% of students surveyed also like to watch TV, but they don’t necessarily prefer live cable or internet streaming. These students still prefer to illegally download the shows they want to watch. Most of the shows that are being illegally downloaded are shows from premium channels like Dexter and Homeland on Showtime and HBO’s Game of Thrones; these shows are not available on any of the popular internet streaming services.
Student Mark Black says, “Keeping six gigs of one show on my hard drive just to watch a series through once is a lot less convenient than streaming on the TV, computer, or tablet.” Many of the students pirating shows already subscribe to services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. If the premium channel shows were easily available on internet streaming services they’d be less likely to pirate these shows purely out of convenience. It’s convenience that Montco students are seeking, and the convenience of the viewer seems to be the future of television.
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