The Content and the Pipeline: Have You Cut the Cord?

We are back with our esteemed industry insiders, Chris Moore, Katie Marpe, and Dennis De Nobile, for another One Moore Hollywood Podcast episode. This week, they’re tackling a topic on many people’s minds since the widely publicized fight this summer between Spectrum and Disney: is it the beginning of the end for cable? 

The Battle Between the Content and the Pipeline

When we talk about people moving on from their cable subscriptions in favor of content accessible via streaming platforms, we’re talking about cord-cutting, which is starting to happen more frequently.

Regarding how media is delivered to the audience, there are two main components: the 'content' and the 'pipeline.’ In the industry, the ‘content’ refers to movies and the companies who make the movies, while the ‘pipeline’ refers to telecom, satellite, and internet providers. The negotiation between Spectrum and Disney exemplifies today's ongoing struggle for power between these two parts of the industry.

While Marpe recognizes that we will likely always need the pipeline in some regard, even if it’s simply in the form of the internet, more and more people have been cutting the cord to cable in favor of the streaming companies, leaving the cable providers and satellite companies in the dust. As Variety reported, within the first three months of 2023, nearly 2.5 million people cut the cord, more than ever before.

What Do We Actually Want to Pay For?

With content shifting from one provider to another and some of the same content available on several platforms simultaneously, it's no wonder people are trying to figure out what’s worth their money and what’s not. 

“You have to start thinking about how you’re going to spend your money and what makes sense for the business as a whole…we can’t do that if people aren’t paying attention.”

–Chris Moore

As Moore emphasizes, the audience needs to continue doing this, to continue paying attention and monitoring the content they're being provided and whether or not it's worth the cost. For too long now, these companies have gotten away with thinking they're in charge, thinking that the audience will pay for whatever content they set in front of them. Moore is definitive that it's the audience's responsibility to take back that power and show these providers what they are willing to pay for and when they’ll choose to cut the cord.  

 Listen to the entire episode here: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio.