Recent Blog Posts
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Episode Seven: In Which We Build a U-verse
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In 2006, the newly branded AT&T launched U-verse T.V. as part of its triple-play package, including broadband internet and IP Phone (VOIP). The first market launch was in San Antonio, Texas, in June 2006, but AT&T had an aggressive expansion campaign throughout its twenty-two-state franchise. After successfully lobbying each state…
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Episode Six: I Want My AETV
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Cable Television started as a service for rural and suburban areas that were too far away to receive the broadcast signal. The Big Three television networks were happy to extend their broadcast signals to their distant viewers. More viewers equaled higher ratings, and they could charge higher rates for their…
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Episode Five: The Fine Art of Tubing
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YouTube is what MTV never dreamed it could be. Broadband Speeds Keep Getting Faster- Average speeds by year. (Kbps= One thousand bits per second) (Mbps= One million bits per second) I first saw the new music television cable network MTV at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center. While waiting…
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Episode Four: How We Reaped the Wind for Free Content
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In 1946, only 6,000 television sets were in operation, mostly in greater New York City, where there were already three broadcast stations; by 1949, the number had increased to 3 million sets, and by 1951, it had risen to 12 million In 1951 there were 64 American cities with television…
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Episode Three: What Kind of Viewer are You?
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Five years ago, I began this project as a work of spite. My original title for the book was “The Cord Cutter’s Guide to the Galaxy.” I was determined to help cleave the cord for as many people as possible and free them from the high costs of their home…
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Episode Two: The Myth of Cord Cutting
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In 2012, the term Cord-Cutting became the popular way to describe the growing number of consumers fleeing the rising costs of their cable-TV subscriptions. Millions left cable companies; however, few disconnected. 2012- 66% of households in the U.S. had a broadband connection. 2024- 93% of households in the U.S. have…
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Episode One: The Cord Curator’s Guild Newsletter
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An Introduction to the Cord Curator’s Guild In 2020, the Direct-to-Consumer revolution began, and disrupted the Cable TV business model. Analysts predicted streaming video subscriptions would surpass three hundred and eighty-five million in the U.S. alone. The Direct–to–Consumer market provides a dizzying number of choices and an infinite amount of…