Back in the days before cable and satellite TV existed, all the TV programs that you watched, you watched for free. Of course, back then the channel selection and variety was rather limited, but there is something about free, that just feels good. Not only that, there is something about coming up with the money for the television, plugging it in, perhaps adjusting the antenna, and instantly having content without having to contact anyone or to do much of anything or to wait for the provider to arrive within their four hour allocation window.
However, people have not only a desire to one-up another, but also have a desire to utilize their products to their maximum effectiveness, so when cable stations came out that offered content for a more mature audience, or variety that just wasn't readily available on their TV, or allowed a TV to function in areas of the country that couldn't reliably receive a TV signal, that extra cost was something that consumers were quite willing to pay, mainly because it added value to their TV experience. Since those early days, cable and satellite TV providers have morphed into providing just about everything to everyone but at a price.
The thing is that in the age of the internet, and our desire for instant gratification, the watching of TV in which you have to wait until it's 8:00pm for your show to start, doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense, especially considering that the programming that you are eager to watch is pre-recorded. So in the absence of a live sporting or newscast event, it would make much more sense for you as an individual to be able to watch the content that you desire, at the time that you desire, for your own convenience. That is exactly what sites such as YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix for the most part provide for their consumers, on demand programming of what you want to watch, when you want to watch it, and the ability to watch it repeatedly, or pause it, and so forth.
For the consumers of cable and satellite TV there will always be a subsection of their consumer base that are pretty happy and satisfied with the status quo, but for those that have grown up with the internet, appreciate the convenience and power of the internet, and are on the go, the current way of providing content on these services seems out-of-touch. These consumers demand not only the flexibility to watch the content that they desire when they desire to do so, they are often also willing to watch such content by providing something in return to the service for doing so. This means, that if in order to watch the program that they desire, that they have to log onto a particular website, fill out a one-time profile, and then their content begins they will do so. Further, this means, that if they have to watch advertisements specifically taking into account particulars in regards to their individual profile, they will also do so.
In many, many cases, consumers will willingly give up detailed information about themselves, in order to watch content for free and at their convenience. While advertisers on mainstream television programs, have a pretty good idea of the general makeup of those watching TV programs that they advertise on, they would certainly prefer to be in a situation in which they know specifically who is watching, when they are watching, and where they are watching their TV content, so as to be more effective in their advertising content.
What cable and satellite providers will find out, for the most part, is that the watching of TV and how it is paid for has come full circle, that is to say, in the future, far fewer people will want or desire to pay a premium for cable, but will gladly provide information about themselves, or go through targeted websites or smart TVs in order to watch their desired content, for free. That loss in revenue can be made up by the satellite providers by advertisers.