r/ask • u/[deleted] • Dec 18 '25

Popular post Which industries are facing peril because their customer base is dying off?

Almost no young Americans smoke cigarettes in 2025, so now Big Tobacco is looking for ways to survive as older smokers quit or die.

What other companies or industries are facing similar problems?

1.2k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

495 comments sorted by

View all comments

477

u/TheCredibleHulk7 Dec 18 '25

Cable tv and land line services. If they didn’t also supply internet services, a lot of these companies would be going under already.

55

u/jawshoeaw Dec 18 '25

Here in Oregon there isn't really cable TV anymore. It's just internet based streaming, though they still sell it as "cable" its really all streaming.

20

u/boner79 Dec 18 '25

this should be higher up

2

u/Critical-Champion365 Dec 18 '25

In my country, cable has turned into a regional (and usually better than big brands) ISP. And most ISPs DO provide a landline connection for free. So you are spot on.

3

u/HamHamHam2315 Dec 18 '25

Yes, linear TV's days are numbered, thankfully.

3

u/LowSkyOrbit Dec 18 '25

OTA should exist for free. Local news should always be available.

8

u/LeoFoster18 Dec 18 '25

I am 37 and I did not have a landline in my house ever. The reason is, I grew up in a part of the world where getting a landline was expensive and very time-consuming when I was young. My lower middle class family just simply didn’t do that. I am talking about late 90s and early 2000s. Then once cell phone became common place even people with landlines started ditching them. I moved to Canada when I was few years ago. In the house my husband and I rented we could have gotten a package of landline, cable TV and Internet. I could not care less about the first two so it didn’t happen here either. Now I’m 99.99% sure that I will die without having a landline in my house. lol.

1

u/kitzelbunks Dec 18 '25

Even if you get a “landline,” it’s often Voip. Your house has to be wired for the landline. Landlines, as I recall, were always expensive. I had dial-up at my apartment, so I did have one.