If you can stream content to your TV, have you cut the cable cord?

[Anonymous]

We haven't had cable for 5 years together and I haven't had it for 10 years. Yeah we miss sports so we pick the games we care about and go watch at a bar or afriends house. Also radio for local football.

[Anonymous]

I steam Netflix and Hulu through the blue ray and don't miss cable.

[Anonymous]

Comcast is the worst company. They were so rude to me on the phone, wanted to charge me 17 dollar "activation fee" to move our TV and cable box to another live jack in our house.

So I put it out on our 3500+ moms listserv how to cut the cord, other ISPs, how to get and use a digital antenna for hi def channels for free. At least a dozen people contacted me offline for more details on how to get rid of cable. And there was a lively discussion on the listserv on how to do it.

So their stupid 17 dollar charge to me cost them a lot more than than just me leaving. Fuck Comcast.

[Anonymous]

Not legally.

[Anonymous]

You can use your Wii to stream Netflix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sports are tricky. We use the mlb & nhl network stuff to watch baseball/hockey and don't see as many of the football games. But local football is always broadcast on local networks, so that helps. End up missing most of the NCAA tournaments (especially women), which sucks but it's not worth it to get cable for just that little bit.

I cut the cable cord two years ago and don't miss it at all. This year I streamed the NCAA tourney games on my computer. That said, I do miss a lot of my pro football team's games now. (And to the FIOS PP, we're not wired for it in our area and won't be for years).

[Anonymous]

Can someone tell me exactly how do you get sports and which sports you get without cable? That is DH's sticking point, too.

[Anonymous]

Nope, Dh loves sports. Especially college football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me exactly how do you get sports and which sports you get without cable? That is DH's sticking point, too.

I get sports on the main TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) with a Mohu Leaf HDTV indoor antenna.

[Anonymous]

bloomberg had a huge special on the economics of the cable industry last friday.

essentially, sports is the dam that keeps subs from flooding out of cable.

people aren't really cutting cable - they are 'shaving cable' - dropping to lower tiers.

However since many people get broadband via their cable sub, those with ultra fast broadband aren't really disconnected from their cable operator. and cable operators are designing new packages where the difference between cable+broadband and just broadband isn't that great once you add the monthly service fee for netflix, hulu plus, etc.

For example, im looking up prices right now:

fios 50/50 internet would be : 60 for one year, then 80 for year 2, if you do a two year agreement.

fios with 50/50 internet and 230 cable channels (the most common cable package on fios - it is the medium tier), is 90/month for two years.

Over two years that's 480 difference - though lets you pay extra 20 a month for dvr/equipment - so 720 extra over 24 months for cable.

If you take home phone service/landline, the delta shrinks by a bit.

720/24 months = 30 dollars a month is worth it to get espn, espn 2, tnt, tbs, cnbc, bloomberg, discovery, animal planet, nat geo, history, cspan1,2,3, tcm, etc.

trust me, i'm not a shill for cable - even though i pay for cable, i pirate everything i watch via torrent except for sports so i would cut cable tomorrow if it made sense.

That said, even if it was JUST sports, 30 a month isn't bad. but it is sports + cable so atleast for fios, it is tough to see where the value is in cutting the tv.

[Anonymous]

Yes, years ago. Will never go back. You couldn't pay ME enough to watch cable TV. (We're not into sports, so that may be a concern.)

[Anonymous]

given the above, i do have a friend who was somehow able to roll over his unlimited data on verizon to lte unlimited for the old fixed fee data price (i.e. he's paying the same price for unlimited lte that you would pay for 2 gb data on vzw) - he cut cable, internet, and phone and uses his galaxy note for everything. surfing, paying bills, email, downloading tv shows via torrent, etc.

He's really saving a truckload.

[Anonymous]

I'm embarrassed to admit it but I tried cutting the cord and what I missed was Bravo (love my Housewives and other ridiculous reality crap). Also, DH missed the sports. I also missed the convenience of the DVR for network shows (not all are available on Hulu, etc.). Right now, we also watch a lot of new HBO shows that we couldn't get streaming (though HBO just announced a new streaming only option that is in the works). All in all, we may watch more TV than regular people so we couldn't cut the cord.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me exactly how do you get sports and which sports you get without cable? That is DH's sticking point, too.

My husband is an NBA fan, and watches the games online. I don't know exactly how though--I think via European broadcasts or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone tell me exactly how do you get sports and which sports you get without cable? That is DH's sticking point, too.

My husband is an NBA fan, and watches the games online. I don't know exactly how though--I think via European broadcasts or something like that.

you can get league pass directly through the league and pay for it.

or pirate foreign streams.

however teh consistency and quality isn't there vs cable.