How much longer will analog cable hang on

[W3XWT]

Just like over-the-air TV, the cable companies face a finite amount of spectrum. Going QAM-256 allows up to six decent quality (by my standards) 480i channels to fit in the same spectrum of one NTSC analog channel. And, since few cable systems are willing to experience the pain and agony of going switched digital (which preserves quality while conserving spectrum), you’ll see the digital channels get progressively compressed beyond death as the demand grows for more channels. I expect analog cable to be history by 2020...