Move Aside, Cable—Tablets & Streaming Are Here to Stay

You may have noticed tablet viewing time and streaming video has exponentially increased while traditional TV cable consumption has decreased. The total average viewership for traditional TV dropped 7% this past year, a decline of 3.4 million. This has happened in the most recent years due to the technological boom in smart devices that has led to mass adoption and availability. Additionally, rapid progression in the Internet of Things, a concept where ultimately all our lives will be connected through the internet with our gadgets and wearables as conduits and platforms of engagement, has helped fuel the change. With so much investment in continually improving network connectivity, innovation has truly thrived in the realm of visual entertainment consumption.

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Freedom to choose what to watch at almost no cost is what drives consumers to gravitate towards the modern-day TV on app. Consumers are able to pick and choose what shows they would like to watch and even share passwords to app subscriptions to further save on monthly fees, thus making it an easy choice to move away from expensive cable packages and transition to the way more cost-effective way to consume video entertainment. It’s a trend coined by the term “cord-cutting” and it’s prevailing at full speed because of the supporting tech and telecommunications industries.

Network providers are leveraging the evolution of TV consumption to their advantage, gauging their audience’s interest in video streaming on their smart devices. For instance, T-Mobile offers Netflix for a year for free with

The future of TV is catering to those who view it through the internet. Cable networks are beginning to adapt to the inevitable movement away from the box by creating network applications and subscriptions such as ESPN, ABC and NBC Sports. Advertising is evolving with this change as well due to the new way of viewing that has come about. Sponsored content and short clips between long shows are the new-age “commercial,” which has caused the reallocation of ad dollars and the creative process to be revamped in the marketing industry.

Video streaming on tablets and smart televisions are the future of entertainment. A crucial transition period is currently taking place and affecting the technology, marketing and advertising and telecommunications industries and the perfect storm is brewing for a full cultural adoption of TV on stream.