Traditional cable is under pressure, but calling it a “dead business” is Dan Goman’s judgment—not a neutral description of an industry that has already disappeared. In an April 11, 2024, TechTimes interview, the Ateliere Creative Technologies CEO argued that cord-cutting is weakening the economics of cable’s channel bundles, while streaming aggregation could revive some of the same bundling dynamics.
Why Goman says cable’s business model is under pressure
Traditional cable combines many channels into a bundle, including popular networks and niche programming. Operators distribute those channels under carriage arrangements that involve fees. The model can offer breadth, but Goman said it frustrated viewers who wanted to choose and pay for individual channels rather than accept a package.
That structure depends on scale. As subscribers leave cable for digital streaming services—a shift commonly called cord-cutting—operators have fewer customers across whom to spread content costs. Goman’s argument is that subscriber losses make existing content-fee arrangements harder to sustain. The interview does not provide current subscriber totals, fee data, or operator-level financial results, so it supports an explanation of the pressure, not a complete accounting of cable’s profitability.
What the reported audience figures show—and do not show
TechTimes reported Nielsen figures showing fewer cable networks averaging more than one million primetime viewers over time:
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| Year | Cable networks averaging over one million primetime viewers | Attribution |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 19 | Nielsen data as reported by TechTimes |
| 2022 | 5 | Nielsen data as reported by TechTimes |
| 2023 | 3 | Nielsen data as reported by TechTimes |
These counts indicate a decline in the number of cable networks reaching that audience threshold; they are not a measure of total cable subscribers, revenue, or the financial condition of every network or operator. TechTimes did not link to the underlying Nielsen publication, so the figures should be understood as its report of Nielsen data rather than independently verified Nielsen findings.
What might replace cable’s role for operators
The interview describes two possible directions: providing internet service and aggregating digital channels. The first would give an operator a role beyond selling a traditional television package; the second would organize streaming channels or services into a more unified offer. TechTimes reported a Spectrum example through Goman’s account, but the article does not independently verify the company’s plans or establish how broadly operators are pursuing either approach.
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These options address different parts of the cable problem. Internet provision changes what the operator sells, while digital aggregation changes how viewers find or buy programming. Neither, by itself, proves that a company can replace the economics of a large cable bundle.
Could streaming bring the bundle back?
Goman argued that streaming bundles could recreate elements of cable’s model, including a more predictable revenue stream for providers. “The only thing that’s happening is a recreation of that original cable model now on streaming, digital streaming, because that’s what the industry knows, that’s what’s worked,” he said in the interview.
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Aggregation could make a broad set of channels or services easier to access, but it could also reduce the ability to select only individual offerings—the same tension Goman identifies in cable. The interview presents bundling as his analysis of the direction streaming might take, not as an inevitable industry outcome. It supplies no plan prices or service-by-service comparisons with which to judge whether a particular bundle benefits consumers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is cable a viable business?
Goman’s headline assessment was blunt: “The cable industry is a dead business.” That is an attributed opinion, not a demonstrated conclusion about every cable company. The interview’s evidence describes a real business challenge—declining audience reach and subscriber losses can strain a model built around bundled channels and carriage fees—but does not establish that all cable operations are unprofitable or have no future.
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A more precise takeaway is that the traditional pay-TV bundle faces pressure to adapt. The interview suggests internet service and digital aggregation as possible responses, while warning that streaming may reproduce parts of the bundle structure that viewers once resisted. Because the source is a single April 2024 interview and includes no current subscriber statistics or direct Nielsen citation, it cannot establish how the industry stands today or whether Goman’s forecasts have come to pass.
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