Consumers want fewer TV channels and lower monthly bills - will 'skinny' packages work?

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American TV viewers receive an average 194 channels, and most people watch only about 17 -- a number that has not budged despite the proliferation of networks, according to measurement firm Nielsen. Networks such as VH1 Classic, Discovery Family, Esquire, ESPNu, Golf Channel and other sports outlets are part of a growing problem: too many little-watched channels that help ratchet up the cost of pay-TV packages. For some consumers, the bounty of channels represents waste. Consumers have been demanding fewer TV channels and lower monthly bills. Those pleas were largely ignored until Internet streaming services Netflix and Hulu began attracting customers with low-cost plans with on-demand access to movies and TV shows.

Consumers finally had options if they wanted to sever the cable cord. Cable, satellite and other distributors collectively shed an estimated 625,000 pay-TV customers during the second quarter of 2015, according to a report by consulting firm SNL Kagan. That followed an uncharacteristic dip when the industry posted a first-quarter net loss; the first in more than five years. Cord-cutters aren't the only problem. The industry is more fearful of a group they call "cord-nevers" -- young consumers who move out of their parents' homes and don't sign up for a traditional pay-TV subscription. Todd Juenger, media analyst for Bernstein Research, has been monitoring the cord-cutting trend for several years. He said vestiges of the current system likely will linger. "I think the pay-TV model is going to be like the land-line phone," Juenger said. "While there has been steady erosion in the use of land lines, they have stuck around longer than most of us thought."


Consumers want fewer TV channels and lower monthly bills - will 'skinny' packages work?