1.) You probably don't have a lot of student loan debt like my generation has. I have cable still but it's Comcast's lowest package and it's not HD. It's just for sports and TWD on Sunday nights. I would have to pay $50 more a month just for HD and while I have the funds, technically, to do that it cuts into my discretionary income.

2.) You're not a millennial that often watches things online. My parents are in their late 50's, early 60's and I've tried to get them to use Hulu and Netflix. For me, it's just as easy to stream using those services as it is to turn on my cable box and find a channel I want to watch. For them, they still prefer "TV" as they call it. It's simple. They know how to use it. Thus, they stick with it.

3.) I live outside of DC where fiber internet is king. So, no speed issues or connectivity problems (well... most of the time)

4.) WatchESPN is also terrible quality for me on a good many occasions. I'll have to let someone on here with more technical expertise explain this to me but it seems like ESPN's live sports use far more bandwith than say an HD episode of House of Cards. Thus the poorer quality. Or, perhaps ESPN's technology isn't as good though it's hard to believe that's the case.

Even after those four points, I agree with you that full-time streaming for the majority of Americans is still a ways away. However, Facebook is making a huge leap into live video (they're going after the NFL, specifically) as is Twitter's Preiscope and Snapchat. It's a HUUUGE market and these social media companies will start slicing into it very soon. Where we used to have no choice between Comcast or satellite TV, we will soon have up to 100 choices.

This is something that will flow with the generations. My generation (the Millennials) won't use Comcast/standard TV services in the future. We didn't grow up necessarily with those services. If we did, a lot of us have denounced them for other options. As we age, Comcast's pool of customers will continue to shrink. They'll still have a nice base for 10-20 more years but it's going to continue to shrink every year moving forward. With Tech giants like Facebook and Twitter joining the fray, things the amount of change will start accelerating soon. I do think normal TV will remain viable for awhile but like all technology it will morph into something different and hopefully better.