Why YouTube TV is the Cord-Cutting Silent Assassin
A TV mogul once explained to me how streaming would never kill traditional TV due to channel surfing. And how “you may never have 2 hours to sit thru watching all of Rocky 4 (an ode to the last time we had a Cold War with Russia) but you can always find 20min to watch the end when Sylvester Stallone says:
“During this fight, I’ve seen a lot of changing, in the way you felt about me and the way I felt about you……in here (the boxing ring) there were two guys trying to kill each other which is better than 20 million…and what I’m trying to say is that if I can change and you can change….then everyone can change.”
After beating Ivan Drago.
While streaming TV has given traditional TV its fair share of challenges, YouTube TV is the silent assassin people aren’t talking about. It’s just like TV, only maybe even better.
“The Ghost of TV Past”
Once upon a time, the Big 3 TV (CBS, ABC, NBC) Networks dominated the ratings, the Grammys, the upfronts, and the lion’s share of advertising dollars. Along came cable TV which offered an additional 75 channels of consumer choice with more targeted networks and eventually competed with the Grammy, upfronts, and advertising.
Next came streaming, and for a while, it could be overlooked as a competition to the movie industry. Netflix started it, and many followed until every station eventually had its own platform and most viewers could access any station without having an antenna or cable box. Forbes reports:
“The number of people who have cut the cord on their cable, satellite or telco subscription (or never had a subscription at all) has more than tripled, going from 15.6 million in 2014 to a projected 50.4 million in 2021.”
Forbes
A new way to TV
Welcome connected TVs along with Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and YouTube TV—it has been an entire movement.
Today, Wall Street analyzes media companies by growth metrics like Netflix’s decline in subscribers (not to mention their stock tanking), and HBO Max whose subscribers are skyrocketing. You can read more about Netflix’s recent loss of 200k subscribers as HBO Max added 77 Million.
And while the awards, eyeballs, and top directors and actors alike go to a blend of platforms, consumers have more ways of watching than ever before. With so many platforms out, consumers can often forget where they may have watched a movie or show. The term “TV” has changed a ton!
What hasn’t been talked about as much lately is YouTube. Let’s be honest, anyone who has raised a kid in the past 10 years probably recalls their 3-year-old saying “YouTube,” as much as they did “Chocolate Milk.” YouTube has been a great viewing option for children and adults alike for a long time.
What makes YouTubeTV different?
The difference is now YouTube TV offers and feels just like the guide you have with cable or satellite, it records, and it seamlessly integrates into all other options including Broadcast and Cable TV. Google wanted to disrupt the TV industry a decade ago by trying to offer an ad model to work with TV stations. Google launched YouTube TV as a separate entertainment service. While the streaming wars wage battle, YouTube TV slowly became one of the largest cord-cutting influences and is changing the ad model once again in the process with 2.69 million paid subscribers recently. This is not a compliment to cable or satellite. Like Netflix and Amazon, this is a very direct substitute and has been gaining market share for a while.
Youtube TV is not to be ignored as more consumers continue to ‘cut the cord’ every day in search of more viable options.