Streaming...the New Cable?

“Cutting the Cord” or Just Tying New Knots? The Streaming vs. Cable Conundrum Companies Don’t Want You to Figure Out

Once upon a time, cutting the cord felt like freedom. We ditched cable’s rigid schedules, its overpriced bundles, and the endless ads. Streaming offered a modern promise—watch anything, anytime, for less. But fast forward to 2024, and things look strangely familiar. With multiple streaming subscriptions, rising fees, and yet more ads creeping in, many are asking: Are we just paying for cable in disguise?

Behind the screens, streaming and cable companies are playing a game of strategy they might not want you to understand. Let’s pull back the curtain on the tangled web of streaming vs. cable, and reveal a few things the big companies might prefer you didn’t know.

Cable TV: A Brief Rise, Reign, and (Almost) Fall

Cable TV came into our homes in the 1940s as a way for rural households to receive television signals from far-off broadcast stations. But as it spread, cable became the ruler of home entertainment. By the 1980s, channels like HBO, CNN, and MTV took cable to new heights, and by the early 2010s, nearly 90% of American households had a cable or satellite subscription.

The catch? Cable prices were skyrocketing. By 2015, the average monthly cable bill was creeping toward $100. And let’s be honest, that money wasn’t going to content you loved; it was paying for hundreds of channels you never watched. Then came Netflix, Hulu, and the magic words: cut the cord. For a while, it looked like cable was about to become a relic, overtaken by a new era of affordable, à la carte streaming. But the story was just beginning.

Streaming Wasn’t Supposed to Be the New Cable…Or Was It?

Streaming was the anti-cable. It meant freedom from the bundle, the flexibility to choose exactly what you wanted. But what started as a couple of low-cost options has exploded into a sea of subscriptions. There’s Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+…and the list keeps growing. Each one has its own exclusive content, and suddenly, you’re stacking up subscriptions to watch everything you want.

Today, the average streaming household has four or more subscriptions, each costing anywhere from $10 to $20. Add it up, and most people are spending as much—or more—on streaming than they ever did on cable. And with the constant price hikes, that “affordable” streaming bill is only climbing higher. But here’s something companies may not want you to realize: while you thought you were breaking free, they were busy rebuilding the bundle.

What Cable Giants Like Xfinity Don’t Want You to Know

Cable companies aren’t losing as much sleep over streaming as you might think. In fact, they’re finding ways to cash in on the streaming craze. Xfinity, Spectrum, and others now offer devices like Xfinity Flex, essentially turning your TV into a streaming hub that integrates all your favorite services…at a cost. Cable companies are also rebranding as broadband providers, charging for the internet connections we need to stream in the first place. Fun fact: in 2024, 95% of U.S. households have broadband, and many cable companies make more money from internet service than from TV subscriptions.

But there’s more: companies like Comcast have even launched their own streaming services, like Peacock, to compete directly with Netflix and Hulu. So even if you “cut the cord,” they’re keeping a piece of the pie. It’s almost like they knew where the future was headed all along and found a way to ride the streaming wave, keeping you paying either way.

Content Overload: How Much is Too Much?

When TV first began, Americans had just three channels, and options were scarce. But today, there are over 700,000 movies, shows, and specials across the streaming landscape. Netflix alone has more than 17,000 titles globally, while Disney+ houses a library of over 7,000. But here’s the twist: more choices don’t necessarily mean better ones. In fact, studies show people now spend up to 20 minutes a day just trying to decide what to watch, and yet they feel less satisfied than ever.

With so many choices, streaming services are in a constant battle for your attention, leading them to spend billions on original content and exclusive deals. What does that mean for you? More shows that disappear too quickly, endless reboots, and constant shifts in content availability as shows get shuffled between platforms.

The Real Question: Are We Saving Money or Just Playing Along?

While it felt like a revolution, cutting the cord has become something else entirely. The average household now spends $75 per month on streaming, with costs that are steadily climbing. Many services, once ad-free, are introducing commercials (or charging extra to remove them), inching us closer to the ad-filled cable experience we thought we left behind.

The irony? As companies bundle streaming options together and raise prices, we’re essentially signing up for the new cable. And yet, we’re the ones driving this change. Viewers love the freedom streaming brings but are frustrated by the growing costs.

The Future: Unbundling the Bundle?

As streaming matures, many predict a move toward consolidation—services offering bundles with each other to retain customers who can’t (or won’t) pay for them all. It’s déjà vu of the cable package model, but with a modern twist. Some viewers are even “cord-stacking,” combining cable, internet, and select streaming services to get the best of both worlds.

Meanwhile, companies are pushing their own bundles, like the Disney+ bundle with Hulu and ESPN, giving customers one “package” at a discount. But don’t be fooled—this bundling isn’t a cost-cutting gift; it’s a business strategy designed to keep you paying.

Final Thought: Are We Truly in Control?

At the end of the day, streaming vs. cable might be less about cost and more about control. As streaming grows more complex, consumers are demanding a better deal—a way to watch without feeling they’re simply funding a new version of cable. But until the industry listens, it’s on us to choose where we spend, and to remember that the “cord-cutting” revolution might have been less about freedom and more about the freedom to pay…again.