Can't Stop the Cord Cutting

Cord cutting is the term given to people who cancel their cable television subscription.  This is a new phenomenon that has been occurring more often since television became available on the internet.  It seems inevitable that cord cutting going to cut out cable television subscriptions all together.  With companies like YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, and others all having their own television or streaming services online, there is a huge shift to cord cutting.  Many companies that depend on cable television subscriptions for their revenue are hurting right now.  

For advertisers this could be a very bad thing.  Netflix currently doesn't have any ads on its service.  If the other streaming companies want to compete with Netflix then they have to eliminate or reduce the ads on their sites.  This sets up a lose/lose situation for many marketing and advertising firms that rely on television viewers to buy their products.  With fewer ads that means the harder it is for people to see your product.  It could also mean that the ads could get more expensive since there are fewer of them.

One of the biggest reasons for people not to cancel their television subscription is live sports.  Sports are being streamed online more often in recent years, whether it be illegally or legally.  There are illegal streams of sports events all over the internet.  This prevents consumers from having to buy different television packages to watch all the different teams.  One of the biggest sports events of our generation just happened, which was the McGregor vs. Mayweather boxing match.  This event was available in so many different ways that there was no need to have cable television to watch it.

Cable television will inevitably be nonexistent in the near future.  The only big question that remains is, how companies will adapt to it?  Will advertisers be kept off of streaming services like Netflix or will they be allowed on that platform?  If there there are advertisements on these services, how expensive will they become?  These are scary situations that marketers and advertisers need to start preparing for.