The cable box, a crucial part of home theaters for decades, might be on the way out. Casual TV watchers say it's easier to find something to watch through online services such as Netflix and Hulu than it is to flip through hundreds of channels in hopes of finding something interesting. Other viewers complain that the boxes are poorly programmed and difficult to use. Even Congress doesn't particularly like the cable box: Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently decried the high cost most customers pay to rent one from their provider.
Cable companies are of two minds about this trend. Some, such as Comcast, are trying to find ways to make cable boxes better. Instead of ugly units with clumsy remote controls, they're scrambling to produce sleeker boxes loaded with software that makes it easier to get straight to TV shows and movies.
Are the cable companies missing the forest for the trees?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 10 2015, @03:28AM
There already is a subscription-per-show model. VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, and Apple iTunes (among others) all have season passes for the vast majority of new television shows. You pay so much per season, and the next day after each episode airs on "live television," it's uploaded to the cloud for your perusal on your Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation 4, Roku, or what have you. I currently do this with Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl. It works well, but it can be a bit on the costly side.