7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1.) Opportunity: Consumers are ending business with cable companies because of the presence of high cable prices and better, low-priced alternatives

2.) Who: Cable consumers.
     What: Ending business with cable companies.
      Why: High costs of cable and better, low-priced alternatives.

3.) Testing the who:
Are there others who have this need? Or, does everyone in your current 'who' share the need?
There are others that do have this need. First-time homeowners, young adults, and perhaps even older generations that are not cable consumers but want to enjoy media entertainment at an affordable price.  Another group of people would be people who have limited access to cable or where cable television would be hard to install, e.g. apartment dwellers, etc.

Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need?
Are cable companies experiencing a high rate of customer abandonment? Is it just cable companies, or can we include satellite television providers?

Testing the why: What are the other reasons why?
1.) Not enough positive innovation has occurred in the cable television industry.
2.) The customer service model is not effective at making consumers happy with the service.
3.) People don’t like the idea of commercials. 
4.) Convenience is key: people want to be able to pause the show while watching from their phone on the way to work.

4.) Summary of findings after interviews
Every person I interviewed was subscribed to at least one online streaming service. Four of the five did not have cable.  Regardless of this, all of them expressed negative opinions of cable television providers. The price, limited access to the television shows that they wanted, and the lack of good movies were key reasons that they switched or added the streaming component.  One interviewee stated that movie nights were a rare occasion for her prior to Netflix.  Now, she has one once a week. 
Regarding the “who,” the interviewees thought that younger generations are more likely to want streaming services compared to older ones. 

5.) After the interviews, I realized that I had overlooked a key aspect of streaming services: movies.  The interviewees expressed that access to quality movies is a big deal for them and cable companies were not providing this need as effectively as the larger streaming services were. 
Another realization I made is this: if the current generation is cutting cable, then the younger generation must be growing up without it. An interesting opportunity could exist in future generations.