Over the last couple of years, the way of watching entertainment has changed immensely as new ways to watch emerge all the time. Streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and so many more have been a main focus point of homes for their form of television, which brings up this question: Is cable even used anymore? With that being said, streaming will eventually take over, but it will take some time.

According to ‘Streaming vs Cable: Which One Saves You More Money’ by Kourtnee Jackson and Ty Pendlebury, they state that 83% of homes use some sort of streaming service, and over 50% are subscribed to four or more services. Streaming has seen such an increase over the last several years, and nothing is going to stop it, as almost every show on one of these services now, so why would anyone wait for it to be on TV when they can go and watch it at any time they want? With hundreds and hundreds of shows and movies on these services, Cable is becoming an afterthought for efficient TV.

The accessibility of streaming has become a lot easier too. We can have as many streaming services as we want on our televisions with smart TVs and Fire TV Sticks that allow us to access almost every service with the click of a remote. Not only that, now our computers, phones, and gaming consoles which normal cable has never been known to access can be used for the exact same streaming services. With the amount of accessibility streaming has, I cannot see it getting any less popular than it is right now, and it will continue to grow over the years. Although, I believe it has one drawback.

Sporting events are some of the most viewed types of television. According to the nfl.com article, ‘Super Bowl LVIII is Most-Watched Telecast in History,’ over 123.4 million watched the Super Bowl on one of the many platforms that it was broadcast on. Football fans span all ages, from young kids to die-hard grandpas. Recently, the NFL has been experimenting with broadcasting more and more games, including a playoff game on streaming services such as Peacock, which made some people outraged, and I completely understand their outrage because I was frustrated too. Sports have been free to watch for as long as I can remember, and I despise the idea of making it on streaming services because some might not have the privilege of having internet or access to it, and that’s why I think streaming has not 100% taken over yet. Not football, but other sports like baseball and hockey are only broadcast on their local channels and will not be accessed through streaming.

Streaming is one of the most innovative features we have in today’s world and it will do great things for the entertainment industry. However, that one issue is what prevents it from taking over cable. I will not be surprised though if one day every sporting event will be streamed, and cable will become obsolete.