Here's how you know Netflix is doing well: Even the CEO of Cablevision chooses it over cable.
In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, James Dolan, the chief executive of one of the largest cable providers in the U.S., discussed the future of television, and admitted that when he watches TV it's often on Netflix.
"Mr. Dolan said that on the rare occasions he watches TV, it is often with his young children, who prefer to watch online video service Netflix, using Cablevision broadband," reported Shalini Ramachandran and Martin Peers for The Journal.
There are many reasons why someone, especially those from younger generations, would choose Netflix over cable. Netflix is significantly less expensive, and, maybe more importantly, it offers TV shows without commercials and totally on demand.
There are few TV shows that attract enough viewers to make a new episode into an event. Today, viewership is spread thinner, since there are more and more options each year. People aren't gathered around the TV to watch American Idol like they were in 2005, in part because if they miss it, they know it will be available online in a few hours.
Instead, many people choose to wait for an entire season of a show to finish and "binge watch" it in one or two sittings. Producers are getting the hint and making more original TV shows just for Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Is the end of traditional TV imminent? Perhaps. Dolan said "there could come a day" when Cablevision switches to online-only television, according to The Journal.
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