How scary is the "expiration and retirement" of cable TV?

As of December 2022, the number of cable TV users in China has dropped to 200 million. Since 2016, the number of cable TV users nationwide has continued to decline

As of December 2022, the number of cable TV users in China has dropped to 200 million. Since 2016, the number of cable TV users nationwide has continued to decline. From the development trend, the number of cable TV users will continue to decrease in the coming years.

Based on several recent articles about cable TV published by myself, it can be seen that many users have expressed that although they are still paying users of cable TV, they will no longer use cable TV services after the agreement expires. We usually refer to this situation as "expiration refund". So what exactly is the reason why a large number of cable TV users have the idea of "returning upon expiration"?

1. Lack of innovation.Compared with its competitors, cable TV still exhibits a "monopoly" state in both content design and services. I don't know if it's because the management of cable TV has not yet emerged from the glory of "monopoly", or because they are helpless in the face of strong enemies. From the perspective of the operation and management model of cable television, it seems that it still follows the same set that was decades ago, without any innovation.

2. Lack of content.There is a significant difference in content between cable TV and internet TV. On the one hand, the lack of funds still restricts the purchase of cable TV content; On the other hand, cable television belongs to state-owned enterprises, and its content playback management is more strict and serious; In addition, in recent years, due to the enhancement of copyright awareness, cable television has been unable to legally use the method of "recording and broadcasting" to replay and time shift television programs. The lack of cable TV content is likely to be the last straw that will crush cable TV.

3. Poor service.Most cable TV users do not feel the existence of services, but for those who owe or are about to owe and shut down, they can often receive payment reminders from cable TV, which may be the only mode of cable TV providing services.

4. The tariff is on the high side.Compared to the scarcity of content, cable TV fees in various regions are generally higher, especially for some interactive and broadband integrated packages, which are much higher in price than users' psychological expectations.

5. High upgrade costs.Cable TV users often face technological upgrades in platform, terminal, and other aspects when using products. From the perspective of broadcasting and television network companies, it is good that every technological upgrade can bring users a better viewing experience, especially in terms of continuously improving image clarity. The only drawback is that every upgrade of cable TV will pass on a portion of the cost to users. For example, upgrading from standard definition to high-definition requires users to purchase a new set-top box. In some regions, even the cost of cable TV access network renovation needs to be shared with relevant users, otherwise the network will be disconnected. It can be said that the operation was as fierce as a tiger, which forcefully scared away many users.

6. Charging is chaotic.In order to further enhance the revenue and profits of cable TV, most regions of cable TV will cooperate with third-party internet video platforms to provide internet TV connection services on the cable TV end. Although this cooperation can provide users with richer video resources to a certain extent, due to the independent member authentication mechanism of third-party platforms, As a result, users often have to pay again to join the membership when using third-party video platforms in order to watch them normally. This cooperation makes it difficult for most users to understand and is included in the category of arbitrary fees. I originally intended to achieve a win-win situation through cooperation, but I didn't expect that for cable TV, what it sells is its own user resources. The loss of users caused by "indiscriminate charging" is not uncommon, which is really "losing the wife and losing the soldiers".

Cable TV, with a stock of 200 million users, still seems to be able to rely on the mountains to survive. Little did they know that an increasing number of "expired and retired" users have emerged among the huge stock of users. If these users choose to leave the network after the business agreement expires, the future of cable TV is truly worrying. In the face of the phenomenon of "expiration and retirement", we also hope that the relevant decision-making leaders of cable TV will pay attention to it, and only by taking precautions can we win users.

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