Feed Ins and Outs: Is buyshifting the future of television? (part 2) (engadget.com)
Jeremy Toeman contributes Ins and Outs, an opinion column on entertainment technology:
Last time on Ins and Outs we introduced the concept of buyshifting -- what it means, what it is, and where it's going. But now it's time to get down to the brass tacks. That's right, we're talking about whether it's viable for the average consumer -- more specifically, where it falls on the cost scale. The results might actually surprise you. So let's dig in, shall we?
For the "standard" HD+DVR package -- your kind of baseline TV-consuming experience -- the monthly bill for San Francisco's Comcast digital cable service is $78. If the average household watches 8 hours of programming per day (yes, it's true), that comes out to about $0.32 per hour. Comcast also charges $0.99 per episode through its VOD service. iTunes, of course, charges $1.99 per episode, or $34.99 per season ($1.59 per episode at an assumed 22 episodes per season). Buying the DVDs on Amazon ranges from about $25-$40 per season ($1.14 to $1.81 per episode).
Since your cable bill is fixed (well, not really, as the cable industry has managed to increase billing at a rate that exceeds inflation for the past 10 consecutive years - big surprise), it comes out to $936 annually. (Side note: for simplicity's sake we'll assume that your average satellite bill is comparable to cable.) So let's see the results on a per-year, per-month, and per-episode basis, assuming one season per year, 22 episodes per season per show.
For the "standard" HD+DVR package -- your kind of baseline TV-consuming experience -- the monthly bill for San Francisco's Comcast digital cable service is $78. If the average household watches 8 hours of programming per day (yes, it's true), that comes out to about $0.32 per hour. Comcast also charges $0.99 per episode through its VOD service. iTunes, of course, charges $1.99 per episode, or $34.99 per season ($1.59 per episode at an assumed 22 episodes per season). Buying the DVDs on Amazon ranges from about $25-$40 per season ($1.14 to $1.81 per episode).
Since your cable bill is fixed (well, not really, as the cable industry has managed to increase billing at a rate that exceeds inflation for the past 10 consecutive years - big surprise), it comes out to $936 annually. (Side note: for simplicity's sake we'll assume that your average satellite bill is comparable to cable.) So let's see the results on a per-year, per-month, and per-episode basis, assuming one season per year, 22 episodes per season per show.
Continue reading Ins and Outs: Is buyshifting the future of television? (part 2)
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