Since my partner and I are quarantining ourselves to help slow the spread of the coronavirus we have been watching TV shows and films more than usual. This has led me to reflect on my relationship with TV in general and my role (or lack thereof) in the cable industry. Let’s get into it!
In case you haven’t heard, millennials are killing the [blank] industry (feel free to insert anything from housing to diamonds to cable). Apparently millennials reacting to the changing world around us (yes I am one of them as someone between the ages of 24 and 39) and as a result making different choices about our money than our parents did is ‘killing’ an industry…riiiiight *eye roll*. More like industries change and need to react to those changing tides, but I digress.
Well, I would like to proudly announce that I am part of the ‘problem’. I have never had cable in my adult life (and I’ve mentioned my thoughts on diamonds (NOPE!) and housing (NOPE!) in the past). When it was my choice to make: I chose to live a cable free life.
The Changing Landscape
This wasn’t some moral stance against television or anything, but a necessity. When I got my first job for $35,000 and was paying 2 Manhattan rents, I literally couldn’t afford to split a $100 or $150 cable bill with my roommates. So we got the cheapest WiFi and called it a day.
This was also around the time that Netflix was picking up steam and we did have their original DVD service delivered to our apartment on occasion. I think 1 year of the service was a gift from my roommates’ Mom. Then Netflix started their streaming service and we were able to watch TV shows and movies without waiting for a DVD to come in the mail for a fraction of the cost of cable. Times had changed.
So years later, even when I did have the disposable income to pay for cable, I never wanted to. I didn’t need to – I had all the shows I wanted at the click of a button on my laptop or cast to my TV through our beloved 1st generation Chromecast (which I originally said was a waste of money – I said the same thing about our amazing sous vide machine – in both cases I was wrong).
A TV As A Focal Point
All that to say, there are other options now. Growing up, every house I went to had a TV as a center point of the ‘family’ room. These days, that’s more rare for me to see. We do have a TV that we cast to, but it’s out of the way in the living room and definitely not a focal point.
As another example, my sister-in-law also doesn’t have a TV and instead curls up with her husband and watches shows on their laptop together (Bonus: Additional snuggle time 😉 ). Having a TV be prominent in your home and buying cable are not the only options for entertainment anymore.
A Cable Obsession
And I’m not saying all this as a cable hater – not AT ALL. I actually loved cable and believe it was one of the main reasons I emerged from my childhood with my mind (mostly 😉 ) intact. Growing up it was just my Mom and me for the first few years. We were living on her salary and my TV experience consisted of adjusting the bunny ears on top of the TV to (hopefully) catch PBS (shout out to Reading Rainbow!).
Then I discovered my Mom’s boyfriend (now husband) had a TV (with MULTIPLE cable channels!) I suggested we go to visit him…often. I wanted some of that amazing, colorful cable. I would run to the living room and plop down in front of the TV with wide eyes. I honestly don’t remember anything else about our visits besides that TV.
Cable As My #1 Friend
I realized my obsession was further entrenched in middle school when after a tennis lesson (yes I was bougie), I actually CRIED because the coach wanted us to move our lessons to Tuesdays during the time slot that Smallville aired (don’t judge me!) I started crying because I wouldn’t be able to watch a TV show live. Mind you, this was before a ubiquitous internet and sites that let you easily see new TV shows again. You basically just had to wait a year for the DVD or cross your fingers for a re-run. I sadly didn’t have a TV that could be told to record something in advance onto my VHS tapes (remember those?).
Cable had that much power over me. As a kid, I felt trapped in suburban Georgia. You are literally trapped if you don’t have a car – there were no sidewalks and public transit didn’t (and still doesn’t) exist where I grew up. I was just some weird kid living in what at times felt like a prison before the internet was everywhere and available to connect people from all over the world (I’m talking about you – HELLO!) So cable and fiction books were my escape. They kept me sane.
Conclusion
Times change. Industries change. I was accidentally a millennial cord cutter and now the entertainment industry is changing once again with additional streaming services popping up and requiring you to sign up for their specific service to enjoy any of their properties (I’m looking at you Disney+!)
Since having Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go and Disney+ together basically equals a standard cable package, I suspect the industry might be changing again soon because we seem to be approaching an unsustainable point…but what do I know? I’m just a stereotypical millennial who’s ruining another industry.
Do you have cable? If so, have you ever thought about cutting the cord?
Although not a millennial, I confess I too have contributed the death of one cable industry. And I’d do it again, coppa, see? (20s movie gangster voice)
It seems like a lot of the industries millennials have supposedly “killed” are ones that probably deserved it. Diamonds are BS – they’re not rare at all, only made rare by one company controlling supply. And people for years were begging the cable companies for some kind of ala carte package, instead of paying $100 per month for 300 channels no one watches.
I never had cable as a child (but I remember a similar experience going to my grandparents’ house in a bigger city where they got more channels than we did!) and had DirectTV for two years of my adult life, otherwise cable free. I remember once thinking it might be nice to have cable to watch the Brewers, and stopping in the office to find out what the least expensive package would be to do so. I was told $96 per month. Needless to say, they did not get a sale from me that day.
I have Netflix and, apparently, Hulu thanks to my Spotify subscription. (So far I’ve only been willing to suffer through the commercials to watch The Orville.) That seems to suffice for me. I don’t watch a ton of TV, usually the last hour or two of the day to unwind, but I also don’t subscribe to MMM’s TV is the devil idea. Balance in all things.
So, I think it’s ok that millennials “killed” these industries. Essentially these companies ignored consumer demand years and ultimately someone else stepped in to fill it. They got what was comin’ to ’em, see?
Reading this entire comment in a 20s gangster voice is the best thing that happened to me all day so thank you for that. Sensational. I completely agree on all counts – in every other generation it’s called changing with the time buuuuut not with millennials it seems 🙂 .
Also glad I’m not the only one going to see people because of their colorful media boxes 😉 . Also Spotify premium comes with Hulu?! I was about to get that for myself and thinking of just getting the family version and sharing because why not…didn’t know about that perk. Makes the pot sweeter – nice!
As a film major I definitely don’t think TV is the devil 😉 , but despite being in the ad world for a lot of my career I can feel my ears leaking my brain if I have to see TV ads. Luckily I’ve never been involved in making one because…WOW. Not please excuse me while I go watch a gangster flick 😉 .
Now I’m getting a kick out of you reading my entire comment in a 20s gangster voice haha Yeah Spotify comes with Hulu but it’s with the commercials, at all the commercial breaks, which is super annoying. I’m not sure what the upgrade costs but I seem to get enough entertainment from Netflix anyway. I’ve had Spotify for a number of years, and even got it for $5 for a while through some deal with capital one. Just popped up one day as a CO perk, and disappeared just like that haha
This might be dated, but my grandma’s TV would get a channel that carried Heathcliffe (my favorite, the “other” orange cartoon cat). My grandma and I would circle the Journal-Sentinel’s TV guide for what shows I would like to watch the night before, so Saturday morning we were set to go. Thanks for reminding me of that little childhood joy. I thought of her too when you showed the spread your mom put our when your friends came over. My grandma would do the same – she’d stuff her fridge full for a weekend visit from me and my sis.
I oscillate between enjoying the little effect TV ads have one be and feeling like they’re shrinking my brain cells. The late, great David Foster Wallace had an essay on TV ads, and how they’re intentionally foolish because they make the viewer feel superior, and then those positive feelings are associated with the brand. I remember reading that and thinking, rats, they got me.
That’s an awesome CO perk – glad you grabbed it before it blipped out of existence! And YES I loved circling shows in the TV guide and getting all ready for the week when I was staying with my Grandma too! And aww your grandma sounds wonderful. And LOL on that Foster Wallace essay – that’s hilarious. They got me too.
Val and I don’t look at it as killing an industry, rather the industry not keeping up with the times. We only pay for Disney and Amazon as our T-mobile covers our Netflix! Since we only have one TV, we are on the lowest internet. We just don’t have a need for it. I’m def not buying a bigger package for speeds I don’t need and pretty much discovery channel and food network.
I may be a dumb millennial killing industry from a point of view…..but then again maybe we are the future and they need to keep up. Haha.
Totally – I was being silly. T-Mobile covers Netflix?? I didn’t know that. I’ll text my TMO friends to see if they can stop paying for those separately. That’s awesome you’re on the lower internet package – we’ve always struggled with that since we both work from home and a lot of my files are really large. And oooh Discovery Channel and Food Network – love those. You’re totally right – keep up Future!
Hey! Loved your spot on the ChooseFI podcast from late-2019 as I’m in (or was) almost identical early-retirement shape with savings/investments and annual spending…before it got whacked. Are you staying the course in this market, and keeping a long term outlook on a bounce back? Or have you made adjustments or plan to?
I’ve heard mixed things.. ChooseFI guys saying if you go below your 25x spend:wealth number, you should go back to earning/saving until true FI is achieved again. And some say adjust down 10% spending the next 3ish years to compensate for losses in accrued wealth while things recover. What’s your take? Many thanks, will keep following your journey!
Thanks! Super cool we’re in a similar boat. I’m still staying the course – no plan adjustments are happening given what we know now. I’m actually writing a post about this that will come out on the 7th if you want a more in-depth answer. My take is to do what allows you to sleep at night 🙂 . Every one is in a different situation. If I had kids for example or anyway that relies on my nest egg I doubt I would still have decided to quit in September, but since it’s just me and I don’t need much to be happy I’m full steam ahead over here. I do not know the future, but I suspect the market will be higher in 2.5 years when I first need to touch my portfolio than it is now. Thank you for stopping by!
I am Gen X and have contributed to killing cable, which deserves to die for their terrible monopolistic ways!!
Love your blog!
Haha – I love the attitude! Yes they do – monopolies are ridiculous. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂 !