Cutting the Cable Cord? Savings Aren't What They Were

Wierdo said:
I cut the cord because the programming style is for an older generation, why get 50 channels of pre-programmed shows broken into year long series and chopped into five minute chunks with overly intrusive advertising between them?
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Cable and OTA are only watchable if you have a decent DVR.
My kids are so used to the ability to pause the TV (even when watching live), or the ability to record shows when ever they want, I don't think they could handle real live TV :p
 
Tivo OTA (life time service) + Netflix + Prime + internet service = $60.00 vs $155.00 cable tv.

No brainer.
 
Every little bit of leech you can get rid of snowballs into big savings. I got rid of cable and netflix months ago; likewise I got rid of Verizon for internet and phones; replaced the phones with pay as you go SIM (tracfone). For internet I've actually not bothered getting another provider as I and my wife can access it at our jobs before and after work. All that rolled up to about $400 savings. My wife and I will buy a TV series that lasts us 2 months for $30-$50 and the occasional redbox movie rental; so about 1 month of those savings will cover our tv entertainment needs for a year.

All those little things really add up to make a difference; same reason I axed my Office 365 and Adobe subscriptions; plenty of free or cheaper ways (maybe not as fancy) to get that stuff done. It's really kind of liberating to shake off the leeching.
 
zero2dash said:
$120 for DirecTV
$45 for Sling + Hulu + Netflix
Nah, no savings here. :rolleyes:
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Did you know that Sling is owned by Direct TV?

Anyways, I did the 7 day trial for Sling TV. I liked it but I kept having audio syncing issues with my soundbar, I was using Optical Audio so I don't know if it was because of my wifi signal or through the cable. If I could fix the problem, I'd probably switch back to them again.
 
I haven't watched a regular network show since Lost. Everything I follow is on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Fire TV + PS Vue take care of the rest. Dumping Xfinity saved me about $75/month. Not Rockefeller-sized savings, but I'll take it.
 
A few other points.

1. If you pay for cable you are paying for Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, etc. If you have strong feelings against one of those media outlets, cutting the cord does real damage.

2. 4k content, there is very little 4k content on torrents and is very large. So I do not mind paying to get the most out of the TV's I own.

3. I LOVE contributing directly to the creators of content. I like the idea that I am contributing to HBO, HULU, and Netflix continuing to make great content. The moment they stop, I cut them off.

4. GIFT CARDS, check ebay, if you can afford to pay up front it is not that hard to buy a year in advance for 50% off or more... I did for HBO now.

For these reasons, the only things I torent now are shows that do not have a good streaming provider. (Yeah, Sling SUCKS over Chromecast). Fubu TV is a great option for people looking for local sports, and basic cable channels :)
 
Regular price for Spectrum Internet 60/5 in my area is now $85. Just a couple years ago TWC service started at $39 or $49. Moving up to Spectrum Ultra 100/10 bumps that to $105.

For $90 I can get Internet + Phone + TV for 12 months (on a promo). Then only the lord knows what that move up to after 12 months :eek: But yes they are trying to kill cord cutters by making it almost the same price to just get all three services.
 
I have Netflix and Prime, and the only reason I have cable TV is because Spectrum will give me 300/30 for $85/m as long as I bundle with basic, rather then 100/m pure internet. Admittedly, the basic from Spectrum is way better then it was from TW, but the only time it's plugged in is during NBA season. Even with cable, I'll usually watch games OTA if I have the option because it looks better. Plus you get the local Spurs HEB commercials, that make commercial breaks much less odious.

I remember when you bought cable to avoid commercials.
 
At least there are no commercials with Netflix, HBO Go and Hulu (if you chose). That's worth a bunch to me.
 
Broadband + Netflix...

Anything outside of that finds its way to me while I'm out on the account.

Seriously The fragmentation won't last... at some point the first major non-netflix content house will talk Netflix into doing a +$2-5 a month (it will be fun to see which studio is first to break ranks) netflix add on package and then the rush will begin. Lets just hope netflix keeps it non-evil. All hail the newest Cable company... Netflix.
 
Cord cutting has worked well for me. $340 for TV, landline, and internet down to $125 now. Main thing is tonot sign up for everything. If I lived alone I could cut down even more as I only need netflix, HBO, and internet.
 
YARDofSTUF said:
Cord cutting has worked well for me. $340 for TV, landline, and internet down to $125 now. Main thing is tonot sign up for everything. If I lived alone I could cut down even more as I only need netflix, HBO, and internet.
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Amen to that. I sincerely regret not taking this approach years ago.
 
Megalith said:
It is starting to become apparent that getting rid of cable may not necessarily save you more money: the reason is that more and more digital platforms and internet TV services are entering the market, adding to fragmentation and the need to pay up for exclusive programming. It could be too costly to subscribe to a sufficient number of products to build the range of content a consumer desires.

“If cord-cutting was originally seen as a cost-saving measure, I would say that’s no longer the case. I don’t really see that happening,” eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna told MarketWatch. “Once you total up the cost of all your digital platforms, and then if you’re a sports fan, too, you’re probably not really saving money.” As cord-cutting has eroded the traditional cable bundle, the variety of new and existing streaming and internet TV offerings could give way to a new kind of bundle, and the industry is beginning to think that way.
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Who can compete with the $12 a month for Netflix and $12 a month for Hulu+? That's all the TV shows and movies I could ever watch for $24 a month. Cable isn't anywhere close to competing with that.
 
That depends on which direction you go after you cut the cord. You could be honest john and just pay for multiple services, or you could be smart and pirate most of the stuff you want. I'm not surprised that Netflix and other similar services are fragmentating just like Steam, GoG, Origin. It's super easy to setup an online service that allows you to stream content. How easy? You can download similar services like Plex and Emby and do it yourself, or download Kodi and install Exodus and watch how many other people are doing it. So when Disney looks at Netflix, they think to themselves, "that's so fucking easy, why aren't we doing it?". Soon enough every studio is going to think the same thing and create their own services.
 
As far as the best of all worlds for simple, expansive while affordable choices we've had for the last 3-5 years with streaming services, well their quickly coming to an end. At least, until whatever the next frontier is. I do expect the usual pattern that's already happening of everyone jump in, grow their own brand, and the eventual gobble up by the biggest sharks in the pond. Along the way, of course, will be the tier levels for each service which is the same as the cable model we've already had and also exist for some streaming services now. At the moment we've got a decent comcast bundle along with amazon and netflix. Once the contract is up, who knows what'll be next.
 
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Cord cutting. Getting rid of cable only to replace it with 10 other services isn't cable cutting. Cable cutting is to get rid of cable and replace it with nothing.
 
The biggest problem is sports.

However with politics entering the sports realm on a more vocal and outward way it is easy to not watch it.

Cut the cord a few years back. OTA for a few shows and Netflix and Prime for everything else. Even with the other players entering the market they aren't offering anything substantial as new or changing anything.

They are essentially holding the "pick me" sign hopes ngbto get those who aren't paying attention.

Too little too late
 
I had cable tv for like 6 months. Discovery Channel, the only damn station I wanted, came in like shit. Nothing Verizon did fixed it, so I got rid of the cable. Just kept the internet service.
 
It fascinates me that they can have an article about cord cutting not saving any money yet not actually talk about the cost anywhere, about all I can find is a quite from an analyst (wonder if eMarketer got funding grants from Comcast & AT&T)

“If cord-cutting was originally seen as a cost-saving measure, I would say that’s no longer the case. I don’t really see that happening,” eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna told MarketWatch. “Once you total up the cost of all your digital platforms, and then if you’re a sports fan, too, you’re probably not really saving money.”
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So if we compare throwing everything together like cable, so you get your Disney channels, your sports channels, this channel that channel, then sure if you have all the choices that you watch maybe 10-20% of with cable then you're probably not saving money. However if you compare to just something as simple as Netflix off a Roku or something, and you DONT count the "New Customer" limited price of something like Xfinity or DirecTV, then there's no way you aren't saving money by cutting the cord.
 
So I've tried Hulu, Sling, Directv now. Each had pros and cons but I figured I could live with one if it was drastically cheaper. Unfortunately, those "deals" like the FIOS gigabit deal for $70 are only for new customers.
When I called Frontier (they bought out Verizon for FIOS here in TX) and asked what better deal they could do for me less than the $170 I was paying a month... they said nothing and it's going up $10. I said "oh, then I want to cancel and I'm going to Spectrum". Then the lady said hold on a second and transferred me to customer retention. She got me down to $88 a month for TV+DVR, 50mb intenet, and unlimited phone (I work at home sometimes and I have to have a real phone, cell doesn't cut it). I asked about the gigabit plan, and she said it would be $120 a month ($30 more). I asked about 50mb internet only, and she said it was $10 less. TEN FREAKING DOLLARS to go from internet only, to internet + HDTV + DVR + land line phone. All of those streaming services are more than $10. So I took the $88 option.

The stupid providers don't want to sell you just internet, they don't make as much money from that. Better to almost give away the TV service and hope you'll use on-demand PPV or at least watch all the commercials.

If/when I could ever get 50+mbs by itself for under $50 a month, I might reconsider the streaming options.
 
We cut the cord 6 years ago, and haven't missed it at all. I guess we're technically cable customers now, since there's a cable package tied in with our internet, but since we don't actually own a TV, I hardly think it counts.

Besides, it's not a great comparison between cable and streaming services. Streaming is on-demand, pause, rewind, etc, and you can watch any episode any time. On cable, you have to have a DVR (and pay extra for the privilege), and you're limited to the space on the DVR. No commercials when streaming, while cable is basically unwatchable because of the ads. Hopping on and off streaming services is easy. Cable companies want to tie you to 2-year contracts. Streaming services have constant prices. Cable companies give you a decent price for a year, then jack it up (unless you upgrade your package).

raz-0 said:
Paying $X/month is exactly the fullest interpretation of ala cart. The other is paying $X/month per channel. The point of ala carte is paying for the bits you want.
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Any time I see channels bundled, whether it's in a cable package or in a single online service, I have a hard time calling it "a la carte". I'd be more inclined to agree if each channel were priced separately, but even then, a lot of channels have a lot of filler content. True a la carte would be more akin to a pay-per-episode model.

Which leads to an interesting thought--What would it look like if you paid per show/episode/game? Let's assume you watch 2 hours of TV per day, and you pay $120/mo for it. That means $2/hour of content. Content providers could then price content according to demand and cost-to-produce. Reality shows might only cost $0.25/hour to watch, while an NFL game might cost $10.

It's an interesting thought--rather than channel surf, you could watch a bunch of 2-minute trailers for shows, and then pick one to watch entirely. Hmmmm....
 
Not really.

I have Amazon Prime and Netflix. Mostly because I can share the streams with family members.
Not because I'm an insatiable watcher.

I'm not. I haven't had actual cable/satellite TV in nearly 15 years.
So if there's anything I can't get my hands on, I do without. Period.
It's fucking TV. NOTHING is so important it's a "must have".
 
Cyraxx said:
Yes, if you subscribe to the likes of HBO Go ($15/month), Hulu ($10/month I think?), and Netflix ($10/month I think?) you're already talking $35/month and you aren't that much better off.

That's why I cut the cord and haven't subscribed to any. Either a 'la cart in full or nothing. I'm not paying $X/month to get Show#1 and $X/month to get Show#2.
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Vudu.com

Other than iTunes, it's the best way to buy or rent a la carte. TV and movies.
 
I cut the cord probably some 5 years or so ago and I am still saving money.

I used to have pretty much everything, HBO, Starz, all the expanded channels, etc. I want to say my bundle price (with internet, DVR, and modem costs) in the +$180 range after taxes and franchise fees ($65-$70 was internet). And even then I had a Netflix subscription to supplement it. Then I started to look closer at what I was getting for all that money. HBO's and Starz's movie selection wasn't that stellar while Netflix's was improving, so those were the first to get nixed. Then I continued for another month or so and looked at the different channel lineups with each package upgrade. I would find that there might be one or two channels I would watch on occasion in a certain package upgrade. I then asked myself if the one to two channels was worth the extra $10, $15, $20 and then would downgrade my package even further.

After a few months, I managed to get it down to just expanded basic cable but was still paying around ~$65 plus taxes and fees for TV. Looking at the difference between it and basic cable, I decided to downgrade to the lowest bundle of basic cable with an HD DVR. Even then, for basic cable (local channels and QVC, that's about it) I was paying ~$48 before taxes and fees every month. I then compared what I got with what I can watch on Netflix and Hulu Plus. I determined I could watch at least 90% of my shows with just those two. And since I was already paying for Netflix and would have continued to do so with cable, I didn't include its cost. So for basically $10 a month versus $48-$65 (before taxes/fees) I could get at least 90% of what I watched. It was a no brainer for me and I ended up dumping cable. And, I want to add, the video quality from my cable company sucked. I was often getting better video quality from the streaming subscription services.

Back then, it came down to around $450-$500 in savings each year. Now, as with everything, prices have crept up. My Netflix and Hulu Plus each cost a few dollars more than back then and I now have Amazon Prime too (which I didn't subscribe to for the video streaming content, so that was just a perk), but the cost of cable has crept up as well. My internet is now $77 a month for their fastest plan (150/15), but their cable packages have also gone up $5-$10 for each package tier too (basic is now $52 a month with HD DVR and expanded basic is $70). So again, not factoring in Netflix or Amazon Prime since I would have those regardless, I am saving ~$42-$62 a month (taxes and franchise fees add up). If you do factor in Netflix and Amazon Prime, I am still saving at least $24-$44 a month. That's enough money each month to either pocket, buy a movie or few, or even purchase a season pass for a show I might want to watch that isn't available on the services I subscribe to.

The only thing I don't really get is live sports. But lucky for me, I'm not a big sports person. Short of the Olympics, Super Bowl, Formula 1, or Indy Car racing, I don't really miss it. And most of those I can stream on my Apple TV for free.
 
Megalith said:
It is starting to become apparent that getting rid of cable may not necessarily save you more money: the reason is that more and more digital platforms and internet TV services are entering the market, adding to fragmentation and the need to pay up for exclusive programming. It could be too costly to subscribe to a sufficient number of products to build the range of content a consumer desires.

“If cord-cutting was originally seen as a cost-saving measure, I would say that’s no longer the case. I don’t really see that happening,” eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna told MarketWatch. “Once you total up the cost of all your digital platforms, and then if you’re a sports fan, too, you’re probably not really saving money.” As cord-cutting has eroded the traditional cable bundle, the variety of new and existing streaming and internet TV offerings could give way to a new kind of bundle, and the industry is beginning to think that way.
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Probably for some, but I am having no problems with creep. First off, I am coming from a situation where I was paying $165 a month for satellite TV + $50 a month for cable internet service. Add them up and it's north of $200 a month.

Now my current status is still paying for internet though that's up to $60 a month, paying for Amazon Prime because my wife orders all kinds of makeup and vitamins and stuff so the free shipping mostly covers it, the video service I call a side benefit. But I also pay $15 a month for HBO NOW, so I call it $75 a month and a real solid win. In fact, I'm about ready to cut off HBO NOW because they don't rotate content fast enough to make it worth keeping now that I have binged most of what's interesting to me. I don't know what I'll turn to, perhaps I'll turn NetFlix back on for awhile, or Hulu, it doesn't really matter. I'll turn on something, watch all I can find that is what I like and switch to another.

What I don't do is try and subscribe to several services at once in order to fill my menu hoping that they rotate / add content at an acceptable rate, that's just crazy talk.
 
Even if I ever end up paying more (at the moment I'm not) being able to watch exactly what I want and not having to pick up the remote every 2 minutes to fast forward through all the commercials will be worth it.
 
I cut the cord back in 2009-ish I think. I use Amazon Prime (+Starz), Netflix, Hulu, and HBO. I carefully monitor how much I'm spending for those as I never want to go near what I had been spending on cable for the (literally) two channels I watched. Disney just starting up their new streaming is a pass for me. I'll miss some of the stuff, but I see no reason to buy into another service at this point.
 
Burticus said:
So I've tried Hulu, Sling, Directv now. Each had pros and cons but I figured I could live with one if it was drastically cheaper. Unfortunately, those "deals" like the FIOS gigabit deal for $70 are only for new customers.
When I called Frontier (they bought out Verizon for FIOS here in TX) and asked what better deal they could do for me less than the $170 I was paying a month... they said nothing and it's going up $10. I said "oh, then I want to cancel and I'm going to Spectrum". Then the lady said hold on a second and transferred me to customer retention. She got me down to $88 a month for TV+DVR, 50mb intenet, and unlimited phone (I work at home sometimes and I have to have a real phone, cell doesn't cut it). I asked about the gigabit plan, and she said it would be $120 a month ($30 more). I asked about 50mb internet only, and she said it was $10 less. TEN FREAKING DOLLARS to go from internet only, to internet + HDTV + DVR + land line phone. All of those streaming services are more than $10. So I took the $88 option.
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Yeah it really is a game you need to play with these companies, know what deals are out there, and when you talk to them to cancel after your 12 month promotional period is over let them know full well you're going to switch to (brand X) because it's cheaper, the key is to be committed to changing before you make that call to customer service.

Just remember most of these companies will consider you a "new customer" if you don't have service for 24 months, so each year you hop from one company to the next if need be, or you get a CS rep who's willing to deal.
 
My kids don't watch TV for the most part, we watch some sitcoms together but my wife and I like a fair amount of broadcast and other pay TV programs. There are lots of good shows and there is a lot of crap too.

For sports and broadcast if you live within 50 miles of the broadcast antennas an OTA antenna and DVR solution (Tivo, Tablo, etc) covers that and if you watch things like the AMC, Nat geo, HGTV etc there is Sling TV. I share my Netflix with my in-laws and they share HBO with us.

What really drove up my Direct TV was leasing 5 boxes, we have a lot of TV's.
 
It probably isn't available now but this summer I watched some Bob's Burgers for free with the Fox app, it had ads but free is free.

I rented the Blu-ray for movies like Ant-Man at the public library for free. Depends on the city.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Yeah it really is a game you need to play with these companies, know what deals are out there, and when you talk to them to cancel after your 12 month promotional period is over let them know full well you're going to switch to (brand X) because it's cheaper, the key is to be committed to changing before you make that call to customer service.

Just remember most of these companies will consider you a "new customer" if you don't have service for 24 months, so each year you hop from one company to the next if need be, or you get a CS rep who's willing to deal.
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That's worked for me almost every year, until the last few years. Three years ago, AT&T basically abandoned the residential DSL market. The half of our neighborhood that has AT&T fiber is still fine, but the half that doesn't (mine) can only get 3Mbps DSL for >$50/mo from AT&T. At that point, we switched to Comcast, staying on their lowest internet-only tier for $20/mo. Each year, we'd call to "cancel," and the CSR in the retention department would allow us to get/stay on the "new customer" discount. This year, they wouldn't do that for us, so now we're paying almost $40/mo for faster internet (which we don't need) and basic cable (which we don't watch).

Fortunately, hope is on the horizon--MetroNet is laying fiber in our neighborhood, and they're offering $60/mo (all in) for 100Mbps. I figure we'll use MetroNet for a year, then go back to Comcast for a year (or however long they'll keep us as "new customers"), and alternate between the two. The average cost over the years will still be $40/mo, but 1) I'll get super fast internet for at least a year, 2) a year after we go back to Comcast, they might let us stay on the $20/mo plan, and 3) it just feels so good to stick it to Comcast.
 
Good, next step, people start cracking a fucking book!

OTA cost hasn't changed and the online trick is to be selective and start watching less, not finding a way to still watch it all cheaper than what you paid with cable.
 
Amazon, Hulu Plus, and Netflix have pretty much covered everything for me and the wife.

Our only reason at all to watch cable is to watch 80s movies. Even then, that's only in the on-demand section.
 
Cost isn't why I cable-cut / don't watch cable/satellite TV.

Commercials. Same reason I don't watch Hulu or most network-run Internet services either.

If I can't watch it without commercials then I don't care to watch it at all. I'm so glad they haven't started putting obnoxious in-your-face advertising in video games yet.
 
This article is fucking bullshit. OTA antenna + Plex + Netflix + Amazon (really just for the shipping we don't even use the video).

I quit cable and no longer follow sports that aren't OTA because I HATE GARBAGE BEING SHOVED DOWN MY THROAT. Provide us sports that aren't greater than 50% advertisements, we will watch them again.

I just recently went to a few college basketball games. The one that wasn't televised was FUCKING AWESOME. Like I remember growing up. People played basketball, the action continued, and I didn't end up in the arena until midnight and have to work the following day (even Jordan era NBA games didn't last as long as shitty college teams farting around on the court).

The next game was televised. I honestly wanted to leave by half. Literally 30-45 minutes added to the FIRST HALF so they could squeeze some fucking bullshit advertisements down the throats of people paying to watch at home.

Shit isn't acceptable. Some of us have shit to do (mostly work to pay off student loans) and don't want to waste an entire night watching commercials interrupted by a brief sporting event. When I watch reddit streams that cut out the commercials, literally half of the event is some drab music playing with a COMMERCIAL BREAK picture sitting in the middle of my stream. NO FUCKING THANKS, I'll go play videogames, jam marbles into my asshole, I don't care...I'm not sitting here another minute having advertisements jammed in my throat or watching FUCKING NOTHING so you can brain-wash the remaining sports fans a bit further.

In conclusion, sports are a delivery mechanism for advertisements these days. I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY MORE ADVERTISEMENTS, LET ALONE PAY FOR THEM. #cordcutter10yearsandcounting.
 
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