As the cord-cutting trend continues to rise, the streaming war with cable goes hand in hand. In the last 5 years, the number of satellite and cable TV subscribers has dropped to almost half due to these services being costly and users being limited to the content they want to watch.
We see new streaming services being introduced every other day with the rising trend. They have come up with new and exclusive features to fill the void and offer a better watching experience.
However, we still cannot say that streaming kings like Netflix and Amazon Prime have taken over Cable completely. This is because cable TV has something they do not. Sports and news fanatics can’t think of cutting the cord as of yet, doesn’t matter how good quality they will get, streaming services cannot cater to the sports, news, local channels, and weather.
Considering the increasing debate, we have decided to compare Netflix with Cable in the terms of their quality, content, and prices.
Content
Honestly, there is no such comparison in the type of content they provide. Netflix boasts of a library of movies, documentaries, and TV series. The days of sneaking into pirate sites to get your favorite films and TV shows are long gone. You can stream any popular TV show on Netflix whenever you want. Streaming eliminates the hassle of downloading when you have high-speed internet. The Netflix original content like Suits, Black Mirror, breaking bad, and Ozark have attracted audiences like never before.
Cable, on the other hand, has a unique offering. You can get a service that brings all of your favorite political and news programs under one roof. Cable TV is a reliable way to watch all the historic Presidential debates with the elections just around the corner.
Additionally, Cable TV includes all sports programming. You may follow the progress of your team, watch all of your favorite games live, and take in all of the major baseball, basketball, boxing, and football tournaments. Finally, you get access to a vast library of TV channels, films, TV shows, and documentaries with providers like rcn tv en vivo. These are a fantastic addition but do not compare to what Netflix gives.
Binge Watching
There used to be a time when you had to wait for a week to watch another episode of a TV show. This was to intact the curiosity and build the hype, which would keep the excitement levels high. This strategy was commonly practiced to increase the revenue from advertisements as well.
Since the launch of Netflix, everything turned upside down. It was created totally ads-free and had no intention of increasing revenue through ads. With Netflix, you get to watch all episodes of the whole season in a few hours. This had given us all the freedom to watch any of our favorite series or movies at our free preferred time.
Cable TV is outshined by Netflix when it comes to Binge-watching.
Pricing
With prices starting at $12.99 a month, Netflix is the clear winner in this regard. There are no extra charges, taxes, or surcharges, and your monthly payment does not increase yearly. Also, you are not required to pay additional for High-definition or equipment.
Each month, cable TV costs you a significant amount of money. The plan price, equipment rent, sports surcharges, broadcast fee, taxes, and DVR fee are all extra costs associated with Cable TV.
Service Quality
Internet connection is required to watch Netflix. Your streaming will suffer if your internet speed is not up to the mark. Of course, you may download all of your preferred seasons at once and watch them later, but if your internet is slow, you won’t go very far as it will take a lot of time.
Similar issues also affect cable television. You may become quite frustrated by frequent power outages, cable box troubles, and wiring issues. You will need to wait for a specialist to arrive and fix things if something similar happens.
Accessibility
Cable TV comes with a number of difficulties. When moving into a new home, you must ensure that the wiring is sound and that the cable port is close to the location where you want to install the TV. On the other hand, using Netflix is really convenient. It is portable, so you can carry it everywhere along with your TV.
How do you choose the one that’s right for you?
The answer to this question is ambiguous and differs from person to person. Netflix should be your first pick if all you want to do is binge-watch TV shows and do not care about sports, news, or long-channel lineups.
Additionally, you keep cable or have both if you can’t live without your sports, news, weather, and local channels. Also, if you want to enjoy streaming services, you need to have high-speed internet to avoid lags while watching. With cable TV service, you may bundle up the internet and get a discount on the services.
Keep all these factors in mind and see which service suits you better.