Should We Ditch the Comforts of TV? Hells, Yeah!

I watch less and less TV these days, but with more purpose. That is to say I no longer put the television on just so see what is on, but instead have a handful of shows that I make sure to fit into my schedule each week. In our increasingly scattered and hectic lives this is a common trend, no? So, as TV watching habits change I have to wonder: why do so many of us still choose to pay for cable?

There is a great article on Gizmodo today about just how easy it is to live without cable or satellite TV. Sean Fallon offers up a variety of solutions from websites: network websites, hulu.com or watch instantly on Netflix; affordable DVD renting (Netflix, Blockbuster); and hardware if you want to get your internet TV back onto your flat screen: Apple TV, Vudu, or Roku. If more and more people decide to ditch cable TV--like they have with landline phones-- perhaps the trend could put enough financial pressure on cable and satellite companies that they might finally be willing to offer some form of a la carte television. But, that's probably a lot of wishful thinking on my part...

This article made me rethink the position we as consumers find ourselves in. I have felt that due to the oligopolistic nature of the cable TV industry, there would never be enough competition to drive down prices and give the paying customers what they really want. If it isn't a criminal lack of competition within the industry how else would you explain why there still remains no a la carte system in place? But now, thanks mostly to the internet, there are alternative options available to us. My hope is that consumers will be able to break free from their cable service providers, pursue these other options, and create real competition for the industry. Who's with me?!