May 2, 2020,
There has never been a better time in history to make a living as an actress.
More television, cable and online streaming networks and services exist than ever before.
In the United States, for most of the history of broadcasting, there were only three or four major commercial national terrestrial networks.
From 1946 to 1956, these were ABC, CBS, NBC and DuMont. Paramount Television Network had some limited success during these years as well.
From 1956 to 1986, the "Big Three" national commercial networks were ABC, CBS, and NBC.’
From 1954 to 1970, National Educational Television was the national clearinghouse for public TV programming; the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) succeeded it in 1970.
That was then, this is now.
Today, more than fifty national free-to-air networks exist.
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Other than the non-commercial educational (NCE) PBS, which is composed of member stations, the largest terrestrial television networks are the traditional Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC).
Many other large networks exist, however, notably Fox and The CW which air original programming for two hours each night instead of three like the original "Big Three" do, as well as syndication services like MyNetworkTV and Ion Television which feature reruns of recent popular shows with little to no original programming.
Fox has just about the same household reach percentage as the Big Three, and is therefore often considered a peer to ABC, NBC, and CBS since it has also achieved equal or better ratings since the late 1990s.
As of 2019, it also programs the equivalent amount of sports programming as the Big Three. Most media outlets now include Fox in what they refer to as the "Big Four" TV networks.
A number of new commercial networks airing specialty programming such as movies, reruns of classic series and lifestyle programs have been created from companies like Weigel Broadcasting, Luken Communications and even owners of the major networks such as Fox Corporation (through the Fox Entertainment subsidiary), ViacomCBS, The Walt Disney Company (through the Walt Disney Television subsidiary) and Comcast (through the NBCUniversal subsidiary).
Which brings us to cable. Please bring your wallet.
Many cable channels charge cable providers "subscriber fees," in order to carry their content.
The fee that the cable service provider must pay to a cable television channel can vary depending on whether it is a basic or premium channel and the perceived popularity of that channel.
Because cable service providers are not required to carry all cable channels, they may negotiate the fee they will pay for carrying a channel.
Typically, more popular cable channels command higher fees. For example, ESPN typically charges $10 per month for its suite of networks ($7 for the main channel alone), by far the highest of any non-premium American cable channel, comparable to the premium channels, and rising rapidly.
Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services following in 1949.
Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to basic cable television services
Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.
According to reports released by the Federal Communications Commission, traditional cable television subscriptions in the US peaked around the year 2000, at 68.5 million total subscriptions.
Since then, cable subscriptions have been in slow decline, dropping to 54.4 million subscribers by December 2013.
Some telephone service providers have started offering television, reaching to 11.3 million video subscribers as of December 2013.
Which brings us to streaming which is having a major impact on cable subscriptions.
As reported at variety.com, “The Disney Plus streaming platform expected to debut in the U.S. by year’s end has been widely viewed as the media giant’s response to the rise of Netflix. But it can also be seen as a reaction to the steady decline in the user base of the traditional cable and satellite TV distributors. The largest entertainment companies are bracing for the day when the economics of video become so challenged that even the largest cable operators no longer want to be in the business of delivering cable television.”
The number of cable subscribers is rapidly declining.
The publication adds, DirecTV and Dish lost a whopping 2.4 million subscribers, or 7.5% of total subscribers, in 2018, up from a loss of 1.6 million in 2017, according to Leichtman Research Group. The six largest cable operators shed a total of 910,000 subscribers last year, or 1.9% of total subs, up from a loss of 680,000 last year, per Leichtman.
The team at digitaltrends.com surmise, “According to market research firm eMarketer, more than 25% of U.S. households will be cord cutters by 2023, with the number of traditional, bundled TV plans declining 4.2% this year and continuing at a steady, negative rate of growth going forward. At that rate, the number of households with traditional pay-TV plans will rapidly approach the number of households that either never had a bundled TV subscription or cancel theirs in the years to come.”
Many former subscribers are turning to streaming services.
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As reported by the team at investors.com, “Consumers broke the pay-TV bundle by cord cutting and switching to streaming TV services like Netflix (NFLX). To get the content they want, they'll have to take on the daunting task of assembling their own bundles of entertainment services from a myriad of video streaming choices.
Not only do they have to decide which video services they'd like to watch, but also how many are worth the price of admission.”
The new world is like going into a restaurant and instead of having the family meal at a bundled price, you have to order each dish a la carte and the higher cost per dish to go with it.
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Still, we like the new world much better. More choices and options are being created all of the time.
Streaming growth is a great thing. At least for now.
Consumer Reports shares, “In the early days of video streaming services, your choice was simple: Get Netflix. It’s more complicated now, with Netflix battling other well-known subscription services, such as Amazon Prime and Hulu, as well as newer ones, including Apple TV+, AT&T TV Now, Disney+, Sling TV, and T-Mobile TVision Home.”
With so many choices, stay ready to binge.
Let’s face it, you have the time.
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It’s not time to go on a viewing diet.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_over-the-air_television_networks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United_States
https://variety.com/2019/biz/features/traditional-cable-companies-1203183710/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/why-pay-tv-is-dying/
https://www.investors.com/news/technology/streaming-tv-services-how-many-are-too-many/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
