Cutting the cord

[AZK]

Well, I have finally done it. Over the last 2 years I have gone from not understanding how anyone could survive without cable TV, to downgrading my service so that I only receive the local broadcast channels. Even though I have an antenna for the local channels, I kept them because bundling the minimum TV with my internet service was less expensive than internet alone!

I paid for Starz for the few months that Outlander is on, I streamed HBO while Game of Thrones ran its last season, and now that Disney Plus is available here in the USA, I'm thinking of subscribing to that for a few months to catch up on all the offerings they have.

What about you? Are you a traditional cable TV fan, or a lover of streaming services? Which of those are your favorites?

 

[bcgal00]

If I lived in the US I would not bother with cable, preferring Hulu, Netflix and Amazon. But, being in Canada our Netflix and Amazon isn't anywhere as extensive in content as the US and our Amazon doesn't get much. I would love to have Hulu but it isn't available here.

 

[veer]

I am not a real TV fan, the TV is always on, but either I am sitting at the PC or I fall asleep. We have the usual cable TV.

 

[vivaartistry]

Our family has been streaming the last 10 years. I have basic TV with 10 channels (?) only because it's part of the internet bundle. Netflix (we've had this since 2010??) and Hulu. I stopped Amazon as we were not really utilizing it enough to pay for it. We also have PBS Passport since we donate monthly. I'm thinking about Disney Plus since the new Star Wars series is on it...

 

[faerywings]

we are stuck with a tv bundle at the moment, with Netflix and Amazon Prime tacked on. We want to get rid of the tv part but we are grandfathered in at an intro price so if we drop it, we will never be able to resubscribe at that low cost.
I am getting aggravated by all of the streaming services. By the time they are all available, you are going to need 20 different packages in order to watch what you like

 

[scrap-genie]

We never had a TV until married almost 30 years. Then bought one for FiL's room in nursing home and when he died we brought it home. We now have a really nice one, but only have the "free" channels with rabbit ears. So, none of this is anything I know about. :biggrin:

 

[Madi]

we have a cable package, that includes about 80 channels. 25 are maybe installed on our tv and we watch 10 of them regularly.
and still some days there is nothing interesting on tv!
Maya has netflix, the family package, so we have access to that too!
more than enough to watch!

 

[zanthia]

been thinking of cutting the cord as i watch less network tv - most shows i like have ended and would prefer to watch netflix and hbo( Already have hulu with ads and amazon prime) . but if i do my internet skyrockets in price. as i live in an apt i have no choice in carriers.

every few months i do subscribe to netflix or hbo for a month or 2 to catch up on some shows

 

[AZK]

been thinking of cutting the cord as i watch less network tv - most shows i like have ended and would prefer to watch netflix and hbo( Already have hulu with ads and amazon prime) . but if i do my internet skyrockets in price. as i live in an apt i have no choice in carriers.

every few months i do subscribe to netflix or hbo for a month or 2 to catch up on some shows

That's exactly my situation! I had to keep the minimum TV bundle, which is just the network channels, to keep the cost of the internet down. I don't understand the rationale behind that, but it seems to be pretty universal!

 

[Danesa]

Well, I cut the cord, about 4 months ago. The price skyrocketed from $154/month to $234, for internet & cable plan. They would not negotiate a decent rate, like all the previous years I've had them. (over 15 years) so I just kept the unlimited data internet. It went down to $60/mo. I thought I'd "die" without cable but I got a window antenna and I get about 20 channels, which I watch about 4 of them, occasionally. haha I'm watching a lot of shows & movies on Netflix, Amazon & YouTube. I never knew YouTube had movies?? I also am enjoying instructional videos & my new favorite Tim Janis relaxation music. (Yeh, I'm not really up-to-date, with what's out there.) I do miss my premium channels, at times, but I really enjoy having the extra $$ it affords.

 

[Nickel]

I don;t have a tv at all (Ther's one in the room but not connected) I don't miss it. I prefer unlimited music above unlimited television
If I want to watch something, I watch via internet

 

[Cherylndesigns]

We still have Xfinity because their internet is the best we can get and I need high speed internet. My husband re-negotiated with them by telling them we were going to Dish and we got a good price (for Xfinity). We don't ever go to a movie theater, so when we want to watch a movie, even if we have to pay a little for it, it's WAY cheaper than going to see it. We have Amazon Prime and Netflix too, so we hardly ever have to pay for a movie. No, we talked about cutting the cord, but won't. I know several people who did (including my brother) and they've all gone back.

 

[felis]

In my country streaming services are with subtitles (HBO, Netflix ) most of the time or not translated at all (Amazon Prime), so I quickly getting bored to watch english production, except when it's with some very favorite actor!

Bundling the minimum TV with my internet service gives you faster internet, so we are on that. I'm not sure the right number of the channels, but they are around 50.

 

[mywisecrafts]

After months of badgering my husband.... we finally cut the cord..... LOL. It took me a year to convince him....

 

[timounette]

At home we have Netflix and Prime Video.
The kids are addict, more than me.

 

[zanthia]

we finally cut the cord in may - currently have hulu and prime - both had for years and alternate other ones. this summer had paramount plus mainly for big brother but got to watch a couple of good shows on it and next couple of weeks will be able to see the emmys and tonys thru it. i will not be renewing it once it ends late september.
hulu is going up in price but the disney bundle is not. i have no interest in espn ,hubby says he does not too but you never know once you have it. last month dropped netflix to give us achance to catch up on some hulu/prime shows but will have t o get it back as i want to see the end of lucifer.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we miss Xfinity SO much!!! I know - we went for almost a year after we moved to the country with no real WIFI or TV except what we could get on our mobile hotspot. We have a reasonable facsimile now but it isn't Comcast/Xfinity.

 

[VickiStegall]

We cut the cord a while back but still have things like Disney, YouTube premium, Prime and Netflix

 

[scrapinmom]

I have directtv for regular tv, but we opted for a smaller package. We have Directv for the NFL Sunday Ticket as we are football junkies. We have several add ons that our kids use. My daughter is in Japan and relies only on streaming services. Hulu, Netflix, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount (was CBS all access), and Discovery+. It's for the kids. The SIL is a Netflix junkie!!! and I figured Disney + for the grandson!!

 

[scribler]

We have been cord cutters for over 10 years. We already pay for Prime with Amazon so we get the video for free and these days Netflix is included with our T-Mobile. (Am I the only one that started with Netflix when they sent you DVDs in the mail?) Like @VickiStegall we also have YouTube Premium because it is essentially free for us and cheaper than paying for Spotify. (Years ago, when Google first introduced Google Play Music they offered subscribers a special rate of $7.99/month. We took it. Then they eventually added YouTube premium for no additional charge when that became available. Sometimes it pays to be an early adopter. lol) I also pay for several other streaming services but I really should go through them and figure out what ones we are actually using. Regardless, it is still cheaper than cable.

I have a pretty good idea of why the bundle of Internet with some cable is cheaper. If they can get you to take that package then they can still report you to their shareholders as subscribers. It keeps their shareholders happy and it keeps the number of unsubscribes the media reports to a minimum.

 

[zanthia]

dont understand the attraction of sites like hulu live or you tube tv one if you do those, why not stick with cable - both are over 60 per month

scribler - you are very lucky to get free streaming services like netflix.

years ago i did belong to netflix when there main business was sending you dvd's and the streaming was so little.

hulu is going up in price next month but the disney bundle is not - think they want people to do that. wish there was another option other than espn.