Cutting the Cord: An Examination of Changing TV Viewership

On October 2, 1925, John Baird successfully transmitted the first television image. Since the early days of the new medium, television technology has constantly changed. Similarly, as the decades have passed the means for receiving television programming has also changed. Today, programs are delivered to millions of customers via cable connections and by satellite transmissions as those technologies were chosen by consumers to replace antennas as a means for receiving signals. The newer delivery mechanisms also provided many more channels to consumers compared to the handful of channels they could access in the antenna-only days.

The television programming delivery industry is still changing. More recently created services for receiving television programming include Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, and a variety of other online streaming services. Thus, consumers now have many ways to watch programming without having to purchase channels they do not wish to receive and pay for. In fact, the day of paying a monthly cable bill may be coming to a close as the phenomenon referred to as “cord-cutting” becomes a greater trend in the American society.