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I'm reasonably certain the $231/year figure the author quotes is not the amount paid for a single set-top box (as he says), but the average total paid by a hous
by BonesJustice 8y ago
I'm reasonably certain the $231/year figure the author quotes is not the amount paid for a single set-top box (as he says), but the average total paid by a household for all their set-top boxes. That averages out to around ~3 boxes per household at rates similar to those quoted in the story, which is about what I'd expect.
That said, the charges are still a ripoff, and just one of many reasons I do not miss paying for cable TV.
- treve 8y agoThe average household has 3 set-top boxes? That sounds like a lot. Even median would be a lot. Who needs to be able to watch basic cable in 3 rooms in a house?
- randomdata 8y agoNo one needs to watch basic cable at all, but having a living room with a TV, a rec room with a TV, and a bedroom with a TV seems fairly common amongst my travels to different homes. Anecdotally less common in big city homes, presumably because space is at a greater premium.
- BonesJustice 8y agoI think the average number of TVs used per household is something like 2.x a month. But many households probably have a set top box hooked up to a lesser-used TV (guest room, rec room, etc.) that they're paying for even when it sits unused. My parents are middle-class empty nesters, and IIRC, they have boxes in the kitchen, living room, home office, and maybe another in the master bedroom? Clearly they do not 'need' that many, yet they have them. This is just another way in which the rigid, inflexible model of legacy television generates excessive revenue: one cannot carry a TV and cable box around the house as easily as they can a tablet PC or iPad.