Thinking of ditching cable tv, thoughts

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:17 am

I ditched cable a couple of weeks ago. My bill jumped from $70 to over $100, so I needed to make a change. I called Comcast but they insisted that I was getting a bundled deal and if I were to drop the TV my internet alone would jump up to $110. After several rounds of phone calls and trying to find other options I told them that my current speed was 30MB, and that I was willing to drop the speed of my internet in order to get a better price. The lady on the phone came back and said that there was actually another plan that would increase my speed to 50MB and drop the price down to $50.

WHAT THE

COMCAST!? YOU COULDN'T MENTION THAT PLAN SOONER!?

Anyway, we dropped TV and use Netflix and Hulu. So far it's been perfect. Hulu ads don't bother me. The commercial breaks happen at the same time they would if I were watching live TV and are significantly shorter, often being just a single 30-second spot. I've watched more ads through Hulu in the past three weeks than in the previous three years of having TV. I stream everything through my Xbox to the TV in the living room and have a Chromecast to watch things on the TV in the bedroom. I have no complaints.

At least until football season starts.

Oh, and just this week I got a notice in the mail saying I was selected to be part of the next Nielson TV ratings survey. Crappy timing guys, thanks.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:19 am

Also, I know we've covered this in other threads, but as of this summer you will be able to buy HBO Now with no cable sub. One more barrier to dropping cable that's falling.

ESPN, you hear me?

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:27 am

Zaxxon wrote:ESPN, you hear me?

That's the one that is going to hurt. I only really watch the NFL, but having to go to a bar on a Monday night to see my team is going to be rough. Same with the NFL network.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:28 am

Zaxxon wrote:ESPN, you hear me?

Is that because you want ESPN? I never watch ESPN unless they black out a local sporting event I want to see to put it on ESPN. And yet

http://blogs.wsj.com/numbers/how-much-c ... nnel-1626/

ESPN is $6.04 a month. ESPN2 is another $.74 a month

According to Kagan’s data, the cable industry currently charges on average $54.92 per month for basic service.

So those two channels alone that I never watch, account for about 12% of a monthly bill that is only second to my auto insurance bill (and medical insurance, if it didn't directly out of my check).

Not that long ago, it was cheaper to have the city pump water to my house and get rid of water based waste than it was to have ESPN channels that I don't watch pumped into my house.

A la Carte, you year me?

killbot737 · Post by **killbot737** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:28 am

Since I haven't paid for TV in about 10 years I have a question for the cable/dish people. How much is an HBO subscription these days?

I remember ages ago at my parents' house the premium cannel bundle of HBO/Showtime/Skinemax was something like +$20, just how much worse is it now?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:32 am

killbot737 wrote:Since I haven't paid for TV in about 10 years I have a question for the cable/dish people. How much is an HBO subscription these days?

HBO Now will be $14.99 (no cable/dish). So HBO + Netflix + Hulu + antenna is not exactly cheap, but $31 for any device / any episode viewing of what I want feels cleaner than $50 for some of what I want and a ton of crap. And all it will really be missing is ESPN. Which isn't the end of the world. If I could get WatchESPN for $10/mo, though, I'd pay for it during certain sporting seasons, at least.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:36 am

Zaxxon wrote:HBO Now will be $14.99 (no cable/dish). So HBO + Netflix + Hulu + antenna is not exactly cheap, but $31 for any device / any episode viewing of what I want feels cleaner than $50 for some of what I want and a ton of crap. And all it will really be missing is ESPN. Which isn't the end of the world. If I could get WatchESPN for $10/mo, though, I'd pay for it during certain sporting seasons, at least.

Is the "how to get every thing but ESPN for $31 a month" in tgb's streaming thread? The last time I checked there were too many holes and too much effort to jump ship. FX was the big hole I remember.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:37 am

LordMortis wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:HBO Now will be $14.99 (no cable/dish). So HBO + Netflix + Hulu + antenna is not exactly cheap, but $31 for any device / any episode viewing of what I want feels cleaner than $50 for some of what I want and a ton of crap. And all it will really be missing is ESPN. Which isn't the end of the world. If I could get WatchESPN for $10/mo, though, I'd pay for it during certain sporting seasons, at least.

Is the "how to get every thing but ESPN for $31 a month" in tgb's streaming thread? The last time I checked there were too many holes and too much effort to jump ship. FX was the big hole I remember.

I should include the caveat that 'everything but ESPN' translates to 'everything Zaxxon cares about but ESPN.' You'd be missing FX, as well as other more niche cable channels like AMC, the-network-formerly-known-as-Sci-Fi, etc.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:46 am

Doesn't SciFi let you watch episodes online though? That's always a last resort (since I'm missing a smart TV), but it's not like those networks would force me to go without. Well, except ESPN.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:47 am

stessier wrote:Doesn't SciFi let you watch episodes online though? That's always a last resort (since I'm missing a smart TV), but it's not like those networks would force me to go without. Well, except ESPN.

Most of the cable channels that let you watch online make you first sign in with a cable provider account. Not sure if SciFi is one, though. Also, if the solution is watching on a laptop, that's not a solution (for me). Too kludgy. It's on Roku or it's not on.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:38 pm

We had a couple weeks last year without a cable service due to some "mistakes" by an AT&T guy. Anyway, I was able to use the ESPN App on Roku to get ESPN. My question is...

If you activated that app before canceling your cable service would the app disappear when you dumped the cable service, or would it stay activated?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 1:44 pm

Scuzz wrote:We had a couple weeks last year without a cable service due to some "mistakes" by an AT&T guy. Anyway, I was able to use the ESPN App on Roku to get ESPN. My question is...

If you activated that app before canceling your cable service would the app disappear when you dumped the cable service, or would it stay activated?

Good question. Except for MNF, I don't really watch ESPN at all, but that's a big exception. I had to request a pin to get to the details of my Comcrap account, so I won't know that for several days. There is an ESPN app for the Amazon Fire thingy that also requires cable TV to activate.

I am thinking they get monthly subscriber info from the cable companies and can process terminations accordingly.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:02 pm

It's been about 4 months since we've cut the cable. Between OTA, netflix on dvd, and amazon prime, we're not regretting it. My only issue is a weak signal for NBC and PBS. Should have that resolved this weekend.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:50 am

FIOS gets closer to a la carte.

Verizon FIOS will start letting customers opt in -- and out -- of the cable channels they get as part of their pay television service -- the first move by a major provider toward a la carte service.
...
Starting Sunday, Verizon will begin to offer customers what it calls "Custom TV." It will have a base package of 35 networks, including CNN, AMC, HGTV and the Food Network. Then, seven different bundles of networks will be grouped by types of programming. Customers can chose any two packages of networks as part of the basic fee, and can get additional bundles for $10 a month each.

The bundles include a sports package that includes ESPN and Fox Sports 1, and a second sports package that includes the NFL Network, the MLB Network and 18 regional sports channels that carry the games of local teams. An entertainment package will carry some of the most popular cable networks such as TBS, TNT and USA.

A news package will carry Fox News, MSNBC and CNBC, while a kids' package will include the Disney Network, Nick and the Cartoon Network.

Finally, a pop culture package includes Comedy Central, E! and MTV, and a "lifestyle" package that includes Animal Planet, Bravo and Lifetime.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:55 am

I'm not sure how unique that is. Providers have had tiers of bundles with various add-on bundles for a decade or two. Weird. I don't read what FIOS is doing as a big move toward a la carte, since zero of its options are actually choosing specific channels (they're just bundles of channels). I guess they view pulling ESPN from the base (which has already been done elsewhere in basic cable packages) as the big move? Seems like CNN is giving more credit here than is due.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:56 am

I don't know where I read it, but it is a baby step. Previously Disney required that if you show ESPN, you have to show their other channels. They are now in different packages. A very baby step to be sure.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:01 am

Having seven bundles is more granular than most.

Charter: 125, 175, 200
Time Warner: 20, 75, 200
Uverse: local, 200, 300, 450
etc.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:06 am

Zaxxon wrote:Also, I know we've covered this in other threads, but as of this summer you will be able to buy HBO Now with no cable sub. One more barrier to dropping cable that's falling.

ESPN, you hear me?

SlingTV has ESPN and a handful of other channels for $20. It worked fine for me when I wanted to watch the women's BBall tourney, although I've heard some complaints. They have a bundle with HBO for an extra $15.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:18 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Having seven bundles is more granular than most.

stessier wrote:A very baby step to be sure.

Seven bundles is not a la carte. I maintain CNN is giving far too much credit. If I go to Bob Evans and ask for hash browns a la carte with my meal, I don't also buy the home fries and fruit dish in order to get the hash.

PLW wrote:SlingTV has ESPN and a handful of other channels for $20. It worked fine for me when I wanted to watch the women's BBall tourney, although I've heard some complaints. They have a bundle with HBO for an extra $15.

I tried the Sling trial and was underwhelmed. No in-browser viewing, only one stream at a time, no time-shifting (not even pause for heaven's sake, much less back catalog stuff). HBO (and ESPN) continue to refuse to actually take money to provide a service. Frustrating.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:54 am

Zaxxon wrote:
I tried the Sling trial and was underwhelmed. No in-browser viewing, only one stream at a time, no time-shifting (not even pause for heaven's sake, much less back catalog stuff). HBO (and ESPN) continue to refuse to actually take money to provide a service. Frustrating.

I agree. But for someone who only wants live ESPN, it's an option to try out.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 11:55 am

PLW wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:
I tried the Sling trial and was underwhelmed. No in-browser viewing, only one stream at a time, no time-shifting (not even pause for heaven's sake, much less back catalog stuff). HBO (and ESPN) continue to refuse to actually take money to provide a service. Frustrating.

I agree. But for someone who only wants live ESPN, it's an option to try out.

Absolutely. I don't mean to totally trash it--it's a step forward for cord-cutters. Just not as big a step as I'd hoped. If I could sign up solely for HBO Now and ESPN through the service, I'd strongly consider it.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Apr 17, 2015 1:39 pm

AT&T Uverse is hitting our neighborhood hard trying to get people to switch from Time Warner. Today was about the third time I've seen a rep canvassing the neighborhood. This guy was giving quotes on the spot. They're offering some great deals for new customers but I'm just wary of switching from the devil I know to the devil I don't know.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 1:03 pm

That didn't take long.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 10:53 pm

I'm looking into getting the Sling TV on a Roku 3 and finally getting rid of Comcast -- as long as I can get HBO Go.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 10:59 pm

HBO Go? No. HBO Now? Yes.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 11:04 pm

Zarathud wrote:I'm looking into getting the Sling TV on a Roku 3 and finally getting rid of Comcast -- as long as I can get HBO Go.

I KNEW you coveted mine!

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 11:57 pm

I am going to make you show me how to find Venture Brothers and all the other fun shows, hepcat.

Sling TV is technically a $20 "cable" subscription, so I can add HBO Go for $15 and $5 for the kid channels. That will reduce the cable bill by at least $70.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:36 am

YellowKing wrote:AT&T Uverse is hitting our neighborhood hard trying to get people to switch from Time Warner. Today was about the third time I've seen a rep canvassing the neighborhood. This guy was giving quotes on the spot. They're offering some great deals for new customers but I'm just wary of switching from the devil I know to the devil I don't know.

Uverse is pretty good, I switch from TWC to them and I have no complaints. Got a great deal to sign but my 2 years is up now. I need to move back to TWC for their latest deal.

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 9:18 am

Grifman wrote:
YellowKing wrote:AT&T Uverse is hitting our neighborhood hard trying to get people to switch from Time Warner. Today was about the third time I've seen a rep canvassing the neighborhood. This guy was giving quotes on the spot. They're offering some great deals for new customers but I'm just wary of switching from the devil I know to the devil I don't know.
Uverse is pretty good, I switch from TWC to them and I have no complaints. Got a great deal to sign but my 2 years is up now. I need to move back to TWC for their latest deal.

I've had Uverse for several years. Called a month or so ago after the latest cable raise, told them I was going to switch to Comcast for better deal (I really was), they gave me a deal to stick around. Was on 18MB internet, Uverse 200 and unlimited LD home phone - think $193 w/ all the taxes/fees - down to 147$ (not counting taxes and fees) - and upgraded internet - they had to send a new box and installation - 54mb now I guess (can't say I've noticed a significant difference, but other than email/web surfing, Steam would be the only thing I might notice). Though 8$ of savings was from getting rid of the 2nd cable box (kid wasn't watching TV anymore). Good for a year. See how much that upgraded internet will really cost me next year.

Service-wise, generally satisfied, though not sure the home phone is all that great (haven't tried any other VOIP, just had a regular land line before) - quality issues. Cable is usually good (I don't use HD though the few times we've had it for free, looks good to me). Do have to reboot the DVR periodically. Never had to do that with Comcast, but that wasn't a DVR and was nearing 10 years ago now.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 9:51 am

Zarathud wrote:I am going to make you show me how to find Venture Brothers and all the other fun shows, hepcat.

Plex and the add in channels they offer is the key!

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:40 pm

The only reason I never switched to UVerse, even in the face of frankly ridiculously tempting packages ($400 refund at one point), is that the compression/bit rate of their HD signal sucks compared to traditional cable companies (i.e. it's HIGHLY compressed, leading to macro blocking, stuttering, coor banding,. etc).

It is known.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Apr 24, 2015 1:21 pm

Zenn7 wrote:
Grifman wrote:
YellowKing wrote:AT&T Uverse is hitting our neighborhood hard trying to get people to switch from Time Warner. Today was about the third time I've seen a rep canvassing the neighborhood. This guy was giving quotes on the spot. They're offering some great deals for new customers but I'm just wary of switching from the devil I know to the devil I don't know.
Uverse is pretty good, I switch from TWC to them and I have no complaints. Got a great deal to sign but my 2 years is up now. I need to move back to TWC for their latest deal.
I've had Uverse for several years. Called a month or so ago after the latest cable raise, told them I was going to switch to Comcast for better deal (I really was), they gave me a deal to stick around. Was on 18MB internet, Uverse 200 and unlimited LD home phone - think $193 w/ all the taxes/fees - down to 147$ (not counting taxes and fees) - and upgraded internet - they had to send a new box and installation - 54mb now I guess (can't say I've noticed a significant difference, but other than email/web surfing, Steam would be the only thing I might notice). Though 8$ of savings was from getting rid of the 2nd cable box (kid wasn't watching TV anymore). Good for a year. See how much that upgraded internet will really cost me next year.

Service-wise, generally satisfied, though not sure the home phone is all that great (haven't tried any other VOIP, just had a regular land line before) - quality issues. Cable is usually good (I don't use HD though the few times we've had it for free, looks good to me). Do have to reboot the DVR periodically. Never had to do that with Comcast, but that wasn't a DVR and was nearing 10 years ago now.

We recently had to renew with Uverse and they wouldn't give us a deal so we did end up leaving them for Comcast. We had done it twice before though.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:40 pm

Well, I finally ordered the antennas. Should be here early next week. I still don't know what I'm going to do about ABC - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get it where all my neighbors have failed. I find willful ignorance is very freeing.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Thu Jul 16, 2015 9:16 pm

I WAS thinking about this thread the other day.

I mostly watch online - if I watch anything - via Netflix and Hulu and etc. And my sisters allow me to access their accounts.

So that monthly $100+ cable bill is close to wasted - with regard to me.

However, my wife and kids watch it often enough that we can't easily justify doing away with it. I suppose it's a relatively small price to pay to distract the brats while we try to get things done.

I don't hate the cable bill - we're not forced to subscribe - but I, nevertheless, resent Comcast's pricing policies. Plus, they moved some of my wife's channels to a 'premium' package recently and they want more dinero to switch.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:14 am

I dropped cable for the summer, and have begin looking into getting it back. I checked into deals, and I just can't justify it, after having a pretty good experience with SlingTV in the early summer. It can only get better, so I'm getting ready to sign back up with them once football season starts back up.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:07 pm

PLW wrote:
Zaxxon wrote:
I tried the Sling trial and was underwhelmed. No in-browser viewing, only one stream at a time, no time-shifting (not even pause for heaven's sake, much less back catalog stuff). HBO (and ESPN) continue to refuse to actually take money to provide a service. Frustrating.

I agree. But for someone who only wants live ESPN, it's an option to try out.

That is all I would want. I don't record sports (well, the occasional Sunday golf but that is network mostly).

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:15 pm

Drat, I can't find it now, but I read an article explaining that ESPN doesn't offer itself for streaming because if it did so, it's contract let all the cable companies take it out of their tiers and offer it as a stand alone product. It also allows the operators to offer it for streaming as well and to undercut ESPN's price. So they would be going from ~$7 per cable household to something much, much less.

So yeah, don't expect to be able to get it stand alone any time soon.

Edit: Here's a WSJ article about it, but still not the one I read.

The financial stakes are especially high for ESPN because it earns the most carriage fees of any TV channel, about $6.61 a month per subscriber, according to SNL Kagan.
...

Some networks like HBO and CBS have launched their own stand-alone online video services to target customers that don’t want to buy a cable-TV subscription. ESPN has so far shied away from that route, and it would face some complications in that endeavor.

If ESPN offers its channel as a direct-to-consumer streaming service, some pay-TV operators have the contractual right to boot ESPN out of their most widely-sold channel packages and sell it a la carte, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN would have to charge about $30 a month per customer in an over-the-top offering to make the same money using that model, analysts say. But those distributors would have the right to undercut ESPN in their retail pricing, the people said.

To be sure, there are no signs ESPN wants to offer a stand-alone Web version of itself to consumers anytime soon.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:35 pm

I have the Fire stick; I need to get the OTA antenna next, and then the box for the Filipino channels. Does the Google stick have anything of note the Fire stick does not?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 12:37 pm

I know that the Chromecast will let you throw a web browser video to it from an Android device. I have no idea if Amazon has that functionality or not. But being able to throw anything from my wife's phone to the tv has come in handy on more than one occasion.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Jul 17, 2015 1:00 pm

My wife has already destroyed several phones by throwing them, I don't need her to destroy the TV too by throwing the phone at it. I haven't played with the Fire Stick all that much, but I think it pretty much runs the same video apps the Kindle Fire does. The baby seems to like it better than the baby channel on cable -- probably because the programming is repetitive and he's seen everything a thousand times.

I also need to check out the restaurant/sports bar at a nearby golf club -- that's the closest place to go to watch sports when needed (less than 1 mile walk). The Beer Market is good, but probably a 3 mile walk and is also an expensive option as beers average about $10 a piece.