Streaming content surpasses cable nationwide, including Brandon, Valley Springs area

The days of “channel surfing” are coming to an end. According to Nielsen data from September 2022, most Americans have already stopped consuming television content via cable and have switched to streaming.

The data from Nielsen said that streaming content consists of 37 percent of total viewing, while cable TV is at 33 percent and broadcast is around 24 percent.

It’s the first time in history that television consumption from streaming surpassed cable, and according to area Internet providers, it’s a trend that’s going to continue.

“New customers that are coming in aren’t getting cable,” said Ross Patrick, general manager at Alliance Communications. “It’s drastically different from even five years ago. People want to consume their content by streaming.”

Some examples of pay video streaming services include Netflix, Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, iTunes, Hulu, YouTube and Paramount Plus.

For the younger generation, content consumption by streaming is second nature. But the generation that grew up channel surfing are having a more difficult time getting used to the switch.

“There’s some that say they had to learn it anyway because their grandchildren put it on and taught them how to use it,” Patrick said. “There’s some that say they never want to change at all. So there’s the never-changers that really don’t want to change, and frankly that’s fine. That’s why we’re going to continue to still provide support on our cable platform. It’s going to be a long transition.”

Because the switch can be intimidating, Sioux Falls-based Midco Communications has developed Midco TV in an effort to meet today’s demands. Midco now provides services in Brandon as well.

Midco Director of Product - Residential Oliver Chacon Corona said Midco TV mirrors the traditional look and feel of cable video.

“This platform allows us to be aggregators of content,” he said. “It allows our customers to get all of their content needs in one place, on one platform. Not only are they getting traditional TV, but it also gives access to all these OTT (over the top) applications that we know consumers are watching.”

Patrick said although it’s a new way to consume content and it may take some getting used to, there are actually advantages to streaming for those who might not see its advantage.

“If you look at our remote (control), there’s a lot of little buttons. Some older generations don’t have as good of eyesight,” he said. “When you have a streaming stick where everything is on the screen and all you gotta do is push up, down, left, right and OK – a lot of them can see the screen better and see where they’re going better. But some people just don’t like change.”

In concert with Nielsen’s report that said the surge occurred last September, Patrick said they’ve seen a massive boost in streaming demand since the NFL season began. Starting this season, Thursday Night Football could only be seen on Amazon Prime – the first time the league didn’t play on a network or cable station.

“Business has spiked unbelievably,” Patrick said. “Streaming was the only way people could watch those games on Thursday.”

Football fans will see more streaming in the future as the NFL recently announced a multi-year agreement with Google granting YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels the right to exclusively distribute NFL Sunday Ticket to consumers in the United States starting with the 2023 season.

Because there seems to be so much change in content consumption, Chacon Corona said it’s important for Internet providers to provide education and a wide variety of services.

“We know that customers come in all shapes and sizes,” he said. “We want to make sure customers are coming along the journey with us. We want to make sure we’re not leaving anyone behind, but at the same time meeting today’s consumers.”

When asked what he thought the technology will look like in 10 years, Chacon Corona said there is a lot of fragmentation in today’s market. He said in 10 years, he expects the industry to once again consolidate to make streaming easier to understand.

“There’s never been a better time to be a viewer. We’re in a content rich environment,” he said. “But we went from consumers being in this cable-only scheduling to a lot of fragmentations and a lot of options out there.”