Mind-boggling as it may sound, the inception of Television featured soundless monochrome picture.

Nowadays, a typical TV set incorporates the 4k technology, unique surround systems, a large number of various channels and content that anyone can relate to. You can even “tivo” everything and never again have to rush back home to catch an episode of your favorite TV show or a sports event that’s about to air.

Still, things are changing and the top networks are compelled to adjust to these changes. We’ve rounded up a list of predictions of what you can expect from the future of television.

Consumer Services

Up until recently, the good old TV didn’t have to worry about its streaming video competition – due to large files and the network and bandwidth capacity requirements. Well, at least this was true up until recently – the network has finally caught up with these requirements. The infrastructure that is required for delivering live linear television content is finally here! This means that the network companies have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the streaming video technology – if they want to stay afloat, they’ll have to adjust.

Television and the New Economics

Subscription and advertising is television’s bread and butter, with the exception of Showtime and HBO, which base their entire businesses solely on subscription models. As a rule of thumb, the majority of channels have to work with hybrid models – selling advertising and receiving fees from Cable providers. However, this is going out of trend; take Netflix for example – they are able to charge less for their services, while achieving approximately the same earnings as the rest of the TV world, thanks to their streaming service – a programing – feature films based blend. If this example doesn’t provide enough evidence, you can easily add the HBO Now to the equation – every network company needs to update their business model.

New Ways of Programming

People are slowly saying their goodbyes to their cable services – simply, there aren’t enough reasons to keep on paying for cable. You can catch your favorite TV shows on HBO and Netflix (the vast majority of modern TV shows are actually the two’s originals nowadays) and, when it comes to the rest of content, simply subscribing to Hulu Plus will do the trick. Additionally, if you aren’t satisfied with the amount of programs you’re getting, you can always go with TV antenna installation. All these costs combined amount to roughly the same amount as paying for cable might set you back, yet brings a ton of extra features that cable doesn’t have in offer. Face it, cable, you are on your last legs!

The Cloud

The cloud has managed to enter every single aspect of modern technology and the cloud-based platforms are slowly overcoming the security risks involved. TV programming is no exception here – the installed solutions are gradually starting to bow down to the cloud! This is why the cloud technology is widely considered to be the most disruptive technology so far – the legacy players are compelled to change their business models entirely – from different pricing strategies to different content. The only way out for the cable TV is offering additional services, such as home security, which may sound ridiculous, but is closer to reality than you might think!

Long story short, cable TV is slowly going out of business. The new ways of programing are both cheaper and offer way more benefits, such as being able to access the content at the user’s own will and not ever missing out on programs. The name of the game for the cable companies will have to be changing their business models, not in the goal of turning more profit, but in order to stay alive!