While everyone insists on screaming “internet of things, internet of things” in regards to this year’s International CES in Las Vegas, those that were paying close attention realize the industry that was most shaken up at CES was the cable industry.
For the past few years the notion of cutting the cord has been big at the annual event that’s supposed to dictate the technology sentiment across the globe for the year. Set top boxes, Google TV, Roku, Boxee and even Chromecast have been front in center in the cord cutting world. With one of these devices and high speed internet over 3mbps you can watch just about every network out there in some form or fashion.
But some announcements at CES further signify that even content providers and cable/satellite companies are dealing with the change in the way people watch their tv and get their video content. One of the biggest of those changes was that Dish announced that they would soon offer a new standalone web TV service called Sling TV . They will role out this web based service with ESPN, ESPN2, The Disney Channel, ABC Family, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. The service will cost just $19.99 and you won’t need to be a Dish subscriber to get it. They also may add more channels into the mix.
Of course most of the major networks have apps that allow you to watch their programming on demand after it’s showed on their network. Also premium networks like HBO and Showtime are offering streaming services that aren’t reliant on a cable subscription.
TV viewers are going through the same changes that music listeners went through as technology took over music listening. Viewers are now wanting to watch a la carte programming at their leisure and however they want to do it, which is coming to fruition with the latest round of announcements from CES last week.