The future is up in the air for cable and satellite TV companies, as they struggle to keep up with the rapidly evolving and rapidly growing market.
While the likes of Netflix, HBO, HBO GO and Amazon Prime remain kingmakers, the market for traditional television is in disarray.
Many customers are switching to other, less expensive options, like streaming services such as Hulu Plus, which are free or at a fraction of the price of traditional cable, and even cheaper streaming services, such as Amazon Prime Instant Video.
In fact, the industry is in the midst of a transformation.
The cable business has struggled to find the right balance between cost and quality, according to a new study by Nielsen, the largest advertising-tracking company in the United States.
At the same time, the companies are trying to find new ways to monetize the streaming business.
What are the winners and losers of the digital era?
The traditional cable industry is losing money, according the report.
Traditional cable has had to pay more to secure carriage rights to content from companies such as Netflix and HBO GO.
And while cable has seen a surge in subscribers over the past two years, it’s facing a growing number of competitors in the new era of streaming.
One of the biggest winners has been Amazon Prime, which has attracted millions of subscribers in a fast-growing market.
Amazon has also been able to increase its revenue through the Prime Instant video streaming service.
But other traditional cable operators have struggled to make money on their channels.
It is unclear if the industry will survive if consumers are unable to watch a show on their favorite service.
And even if it does survive, many of the cable companies will struggle to survive with so many new competitors.