About 30 years ago, researcher Max McCombs suggested that consumer expenditures for media were relatively constant, as a percentage of household income. Whether the early 1900s or the 1980s, the percentage of income devoted to media/entertainment content was about the same. In the earliest days, meager household incomes might have been spent on sheet music, possibly recorded music--on wax cylinders, newspaper or magazines and certainly live stage performances. As time progressed, households bought radio and television sets, acquired cable TV and VCRs, and still continued to consume books, magazines and newspapers, plus live entertainment.
Today, the demand for entertainment content seems to be increasing. The New York Times, February 8 edition, features an article titled As Date Flows In, the Dollars Flow Out. Here is an abbreviated link: http://nyti.ms/ciWLDQ
Read this article and then compare your own household expenditures. What media experiences do we value? What tolerance do we have for media consumption spending?
Income Effect is an economics term that suggests an increase in price, without an increase in income, decreases real income. That is, you have less money to spend on other things. Consider also the Substitution Effect. A price increase makes a good or service less appealing; purchasers substitute a good.
Read the article then consider your income effect and substitution ability.
2 comments:
Personally I have chosen to disconnect my cable access after my tolerance for media consuption reached a limit. I was paying $140.00 per month for cable and internet, add a few pay-per-view movies and that is almost $1,800 per year! Now if I want a movie I rent one from the campus library. I use wireless internet at public places that provide access. With the money I am saving on that in an account waiting to help cover some of the cost of an upcoming trip to Europe,I can feel good about not having cable at home.
I reduced my channels two weaks ago because I thought that I didnt have to pay that much money. I was paying $ 85 for internet and $25 for cable. I am paying the half of it now. I thought that I could watch anything I want to watch from online or just like Archacially said i get my movies from the campus library . So, by this way i am saving really good money. After I did this , I thought I should have done this before.
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