Consistency is one of the distinguishing aspects of cable television and so it is still used by many customers. Despite the introduction of other forms of TV such as satellite and streaming television, cable TV remains the preferred medium amongst a majority of subscribers in the country. This is proved by the fact that traditional pay TV still enjoys a dominant subscriber base among subscribers due to the many benefits that it offers against other types of television. The growth of other forms like satellite and streaming television has in a way helped in increasing the popularity of cable TV.
More and more cable providers have now come up with better packages, best cable deals and improved reception quality that led many to still prefer cable TV against the other forms of TV. The technology used in cable television is downright simple and only requires fewer equipment to receive the broadcast. It also covers a larger population, particularly in the rural areas, where streaming and other types of television lacks clearly.
Particularly focused on the metropolitan cities, the newer forms of TV are just beginning to expand to the rural areas. This makes cable the only viable alternative for getting access to the varied contents that are broadcasted in television networks. Moreover, the decreased pricing and availability of many packages makes cable the best TV watching solution for your homes.
The advent of cable television can be traced back to the mid twentieth century, when the need to replace on air reception of television increased. The earlier methods of television transmission involve wirelessly transmitting the signals using a powerful antenna located in high areas such as hilltops. Reception antennas fixed at homes where used to receive these signals. However, it eventually became an obsolete method due to poor reception of signals and decreased quality.
Cable television solved this problem as it relied on cables to transmit television signals. This type of transmission has numerous advantages than over the air transmission, like increased coverage, no loss of quality, etc. Cable TV quickly grew as the predominant form of television eventually overthrowing over the air transmission. The number of subscribers in cable TV grew rapidly over the years and reached the peak in the later decades of the twentieth century.
The increase in subscribers begins from 1970s as shown in the graph. It attains a considerable growth in the 1980s with a steep increase in the number of households subscribing to cable TV by the year 1990. By the end of the century, cable television has managed to cover about 75 percentage of the total population of the country.
Digital cable television was the next major milestone in the growth of cable TV in the country. Subscribers quickly embraced this new change in cable television technology due to the enhanced quality of reception made possible via digital transmission. This has in turn led to a rapid digitization of the cable networks all over the country.
In addition, digital cable TV brought forward numerous advancements in the networks, such as the provision of high-definition video, pay-per viewing, video on-demand, etc. All these developments in cable television have resulted in the advanced type of service offered by various cable TV providers in the country now.
The availability of several cable TV providers operating in the country may make it overwhelming for you to choose the right one. This question must clearly be addressed by giving importance to your requirements, rather than making comparisons of the offerings of different providers. Such an approach will clearly help you in finding the best cable deals according to the area that you live in.
The services offered by most of the cable providers will vary depending on the location. This includes the prices, packages and channels offered by the providers. Below are some of the key aspects that you should consider when looking for the best cable deal.
Most of the cable providers offer an array of channels in their lineup. When selecting the cable providers, you must go through their lineup of channels to determine if it truly fits your requirements. This includes not only the number of channels that are offered but also the type of channels that you favor.
The channels included are important, as a package devoid of any of your favored channels will make you bear unnecessary cost. When selecting a cable provider and the deals that are offered, look into the channel packages and choose one that is worthwhile for you.
When searching for the best deals by cable providers, it is important to consider the equipment and installation charges also. The fees vary depending on the provider and your location. The installation charges are usually a one-time cost that you need to pay at the time of the installation of the equipment. The charges for equipment are the other major costs that are incurred while choosing the deals offered by different cable TV providers.
Equipment charges include those for the reception equipment and additions such as DVR. Equipment like DVR is optional and you can choose to include or exclude them depending on your preferences. DVR charges will be included as add-on charges in your monthly subscription rates. The average costs for adding a DVR ranges from $10 to $15 per month. However, this varies depending upon the providers that you are opting the service.
The availability of bundled packages lets you save more along with the added benefits of having access to other services such as internet and home phone. When looking for suitable cable deals in your area, make sure to consider whether the provider that you have selected offers bundled packages. This helps you get more services from the provider such as internet or home phone along with the cable TV at the cheapest prices. It also enables single payment for all the services included in the bundle subscription.
Cable television is still thriving across the country with many users opting the service. The advent of newer forms such as streaming television has challenged the growth of traditional pay TV services. This rise however is only limited to a certain age group in the population, such as the youth. For the rest of the population, cable is still the preferred medium for watching television.
The above graph shows how cable TV is still the basic option of television viewing among the public. Citizens aged above 60 are the main users of cable TV, while those aged between 18-36 uses other forms such as streaming services. The disparity in the usage of streaming television is quite high with it being limited in usage to a particular age limit. Cable TV on the other hand maintains an equal coverage on all the sections and age groups of the populations.
Cable TV is the best choice that you have when you consider availability. Most of the providers in the US such as AT&T®, Charter Spectrum®, Cox Communications®, Comcast® etc. offers cable TV across all the regions in the country. At TheTriplePlay, we provide an extensive coverage of the offerings and packages of all the major cable providers operating in the US. This will definitely aid you in selecting the right cable provider as to your preferences.
With this website, we aim to take the strain of internet, TV, and phone deal comparisons. We understand that the best triple play deals are not just about the price, but are about what is included in the package, the speeds that are offered and discounts and incentives supplied by the service provider.