What's Your Monthly Cable Bill?

That caught your attention, didn't it?  

The above statement was actually an estimate made by the NPD group back in 2012, for the year 2015.  So who is the NPD, and were their estimates right?

From the NPD's website:  
"The world’s most successful brands turn to The NPD Group for unmatched information and insight that gives them a winning business advantage.  With expertise in more than 20 industries, we combine consumer and retail point-of-sale data with analytic solutions to interpret today’s market trends, while anticipating tomorrow’s—so you can get the right products in the right places for the right people.

We’ve been in the business of understanding consumers for more than 50 years. We were the first to bring sales tracking – and game-changing insight – to many industries. Today, we’re the definitive source for sales and market share in more than 20 industries. That’s why clients, media, the financial community, and others see us as the authority on market size and trends in our industries."
Source:
https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/about-npd/

So then, the NPD seems like a legitimate source for this info.  But did they get this estimate right?  Well it appears they don't actually post that information on their site, so it's difficult to say for sure.  But even if they were completely wrong, and the 6% annual increases didn't continue, and even if we are only paying the same rates as in 2011, we would still be paying $86/month on cable TV.  
That to me, is an outrageous amount of money to spend on content that most of us, not that long ago, got for free, with our cute little 'bunny ears' antenna.  
So what's really changed here?  We're still forced to watch the commercials (which seem to take up 75% of the show now days...), so why must we pay so much more?   

Well the good news is, we don't have to.  With today's technology there are now many, money saving alternatives, to traditional cable TV.  

To find out more, have a look at these great articles:

Start here

How to Get Over the Air TV