fenwaysouth posted:Teaching Elder posted:
I can't believe you pay for MLB network LOL. I refuse to pay for cable, which was supposed to get me things like baseball games, only to be told, "If you want to watch baseball, that will cost you more."
TE - We cut the cord a couple years ago when it made financial sense. We tried all kinds of streaming services (Sling, DirectTV Now, YouTube TV, etc...) but they kept jacking up the prices and our standalone internet service was getting more expensive.
Well a funny thing happened as we were doing this....we looked at the 2 year contract specials being offered by the two cable companies in our area and it was vastly less expensive for them to provide internet and required household channels (Tennis Channel and HGTV) than the streaming services + internet. So, a couple months ago we went back. I suspect we're not alone.
Cord cutting is increasing. Cable subscriptions are in decline. Cord cutting is definitely less expensive. The double play offer in my area is advertised at $79. However, once they add on all their fees for doing nothing it’s $146. After two years it’s $168. If I want Showtime for a month there’s a monthly fee, an install fee for doing nothing and a deinstall fee for doing nothing.
I have 100 Mbps internet service for $65 and You Tube TV for $50. When Billions ends I pay for one month of Showtime without any on/off fees. I watch Berlin Station and Deep State on Epix whenever one of their three or four times a year free trail weeks are available. Otherwise it would be $6 for one month.
Other than sports there are only four shows (two are 10 episode seasons) on tv/cable. Six short season shows I watch are on NetFlix. The other two are on Epix. I had NetFlix when I had cable. So I don’t see it as an extra cost.
When I had cable I had fifteen stations I watched and 150 I didn’t. Now I have the same 15 stations and only 55 I don’t watch.
The best part of You Tube TV versus cable is when I have a problem. If cable can’t fix it over the phone after they blame your tv, any of your equipment attached to their equipment and you they come to your house next week. If a streaming app has a problem you uninstall it and reinstall it. I’ve had three problems in three years with steaming tv. Cable was a monthly issue with three or four on site visits per year.