Bad News for Comcast, Good News for YouTube: Skinny Bundles Increasingly an Alternative to Cable
In its infancy, streaming video service from names like Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) wasn't a replacement for cable television as much as it was an add-on. The Netflix content library was respectable but modest, and there was no live broadcast feed.
As time has marched on, however, things have changed on this front. Streaming still isn't quite cable, but it's getting closer. The cord-cutting movement has become palpable now that streaming platforms like Sling TV from Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) and Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube TV are viable alternatives to conventional cable. Each offers live network programming in addition to on-demand options.
The impact of live-streaming on traditional cable is only about half-realized right now though, according to numbers from Screen Engine/ASI's research arm The Diffusion Group (TDG). Another huge chunk of current cable customers is expected to shun traditional TV service and instead opt for streaming in the very near future.
Source Fool.com