Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

[Stauber1]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Surprised no one has mentioned Youtube TV.
If you are a sports fan it is hard to beat:
BTN, FS1, FS2, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, CBS Sports, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, MLB Network and an alternate, NBA TV, SEC channel, some golf channel, and I get a regional NBC sports channel as well.

Plus all the local affiliates and a number of the higher demand channels like BBC or SyFy or TBS. All for $40.

As to the OP, you also get the Smithsonian channel and a couple Nat Geo channels in the base package. Don't get some of the others you mentioned, not sure how much more it would be to add them to your package a la carte.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

I dunno. I want to watch college hockey, and so I sign up for a $40/month subscription that gets me practically all the Gopher games plus a good smattering of other college hockey games. At the end of the season I can just drop it and walk away, then pick it up again next season - all in just a couple clicks and for no penalty.

Try to do that with cable or satellite.

$40/month is a pretty steep price to get zero other content. Couple that with an internet bill and you’re already up to half the cost of a premium tier of cable plus internet. Again, with zero extra content. Toss in Netflix or Hulu and you’re up over $100.

 

[unofan]

$40/month is a pretty steep price to get zero other content. Couple that with an internet bill and you’re already up to half the cost of a premium tier of cable plus internet. Again, with zero extra content. Toss in Netflix or Hulu and you’re up over $100.

You'd probably have internet either way. Not really fair to claim it all as replacement costs.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

You'd probably have internet either way. Not really fair to claim it all as replacement costs.

Yeah that’s what I mean. $40 is half of the cost of a premium tier of cable if you take off the cost of internet.

 

[Stauber1]

Yeah that’s what I mean. $40 is half of the cost of a premium tier of cable if you take off the cost of internet.

Exactly. Half the cost (at most) and you can come and go as you please.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

I cut the cord several years ago. I had Hulu TV but switched over to YouTube TV last month. In addition to the excellent sports coverage it also offers tons of movies at no charge (and commercial free) as well as being a portal to YouTube proper. My mom will be 75 next month so a user-friendly interface was very important. Hulu and YTTV have that, PSVue doesn't IMHO.

I still have Netflix, Amazon and Hulu as well as about 70 free apps from Roku. I'll be getting Disney+ as soon as it launches this fall. Some of the perks of Amazon is free two-day shipping which my mom and I use frequently, and a Twitch Prime account that gives you plenty of free goodies and a free membership on any channel for a month (feel free to subscribe to me ) I have a business Internet connection and a cell phone plan - no landline. I'm saving around $1200/year over what I was paying with cable/DirecTV. Those companies really sock it to you if you have multiple TVs.

Just make sure you have a good Internet connection with no data cap. Choppy connections will cause problems and if your download speed isn't fast expect lots of buffering, if it even works. A big problem with the Google announcement this week is that most Internet connections available to consumers in this country can't possibly handle as much data as the company wants to throw at us.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Exactly. Half the cost (at most) and you can come and go as you please.

With zero extra content.

 

[BassAle]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

With zero extra content.

that extra content is worthless if you don't watch it.

plus lots of cable subscribers still pay for Netflix and Prime

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

With zero extra content.

There is so much free content out there. Just get a Roku or a FireStick and you can access it all.

The only reason I subscribe to TV is because my mom wants her locals for news and weather. Just to get that through Comcast would cost more than I'm paying for YTTV.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

There is so much free content out there. Just get a Roku or a FireStick and you can access it all.

The only reason I subscribe to TV is because my mom wants her locals for news and weather. Just to get that through Comcast would cost more than I'm paying for YTTV.

Free content rarely gets it done for me. You can include network TV aim that too. YMMV.

Look, do what makes you happy. I’m not trying to say you can’t be happy with just college hockey. If that’s what works for you, great! I think I’ve beaten this beyond dead.sorry about that.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Free content rarely gets it done for me. You can include network TV aim that too. YMMV.

Look, do what makes you happy. I’m not trying to say you can’t be happy with just college hockey. If that’s what works for you, great! I think I’ve beaten this beyond dead.sorry about that.

What are you trying to get that isn't readily available online either for free or a nominal charge?

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

HBO, a smattering of channels on cable like FX, MSNBC, gopher hockey. A few guilty pleasures like Oak Island, Top Chef, and Alton Brown. I have Netflix and have shared accounts with Hulu and Prime.

 

[bronconick]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Probably that after all that cord cutting over the last decade, your bills are essentially the same, just going to different companies.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

HBO, a smattering of channels on cable like FX, MSNBC, gopher hockey. A few guilty pleasures like Oak Island, Top Chef, and Alton Brown. I have Netflix and have shared accounts with Hulu and Prime.

HBO isn't free on any platfrom, including cable or satellite. FX and MSNBC are available through apps and I have no idea about your individual shows but maybe BBC America or the app for the network they're on. There's always torrenting (but stealing is wrong! ™). Goofer hockey is the tough nut to crack. UMaine offers a free stream and has a deal with Fox College Sports so home games are always available.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

I dunno. I want to watch college hockey, and so I sign up for a $40/month subscription that gets me practically all the Gopher games plus a good smattering of other college hockey games. At the end of the season I can just drop it and walk away, then pick it up again next season - all in just a couple clicks and for no penalty.

Try to do that with cable or satellite.

$40/month is a pretty steep price to get zero other content. Couple that with an internet bill and you’re already up to half the cost of a premium tier of cable plus internet. Again, with zero extra content. Toss in Netflix or Hulu and you’re up over $100.

Yeah that’s what I mean. $40 is half of the cost of a premium tier of cable if you take off the cost of internet.

Exactly. Half the cost (at most) and you can come and go as you please.

With zero extra content.

All in all, the atmosphere's about the same as attending a game at the Mother Mining Morgue Arena. So really, you could either spend $40/mo during the season for what Stauber's getting, or $35-70/game (assuming 2 tickets) for the same exact experience.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Probably that after all that cord cutting over the last decade, your bills are essentially the same, just going to different companies.

Not me. Rather than pay Comcast $250/month for TV, cable and phone I now pay $40 for TV, $55 for Internet (upgraded to business, have a static IP and doubled speed) and $58 for phone. My Netflix, Hulu and Amazon subscriptions all predated my cord cutting. When Disney+ rolls out this fall that will go up slightly (I'm guessing $15) but there is next to nothing I can't access on my PS4 or Roku that I'm interested in watching. If I feel like getting HBO to see the final few episodes of GoT I can pay an additional #15 for the app - the same as I'd pay for it on Cable or Satellite.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Not me. Rather than pay Comcast $250/month for TV, cable and phone I now pay $40 for TV, $55 for Internet (upgraded to business, have a static IP and doubled speed) and $58 for phone. My Netflix, Hulu and Amazon subscriptions all predated my cord cutting. When Disney+ rolls out this fall that will go up slightly (I'm guessing $15) but there is next to nothing I can't access on my PS4 or Roku that I'm interested in watching. If I feel like getting HBO to see the final few episodes of GoT I can pay an additional #15 for the app - the same as I'd pay for it on Cable or Satellite.

First, Disney announced that their Disney+ will be less expensive than Netflix because it won't have the same amount of content. So $12.98 instead of $12.99.

Second, get your HBO through Hulu and you won't have to deal with an extra subscription, just a quick management update to your Hulu account.

 

[Swansong]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Surprised no one has mentioned Youtube TV.
If you are a sports fan it is hard to beat:
BTN, FS1, FS2, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, CBS Sports, NBCSN, Olympic Channel, MLB Network and an alternate, NBA TV, SEC channel, some golf channel, and I get a regional NBC sports channel as well.

Plus all the local affiliates and a number of the higher demand channels like BBC or SyFy or TBS. All for $40.

As to the OP, you also get the Smithsonian channel and a couple Nat Geo channels in the base package. Don't get some of the others you mentioned, not sure how much more it would be to add them to your package a la carte.

I mentioned Youtube TV on page 1. I've used it since last summer and it meets all my "live TV" needs.

$40/month is a pretty steep price to get zero other content. Couple that with an internet bill and you’re already up to half the cost of a premium tier of cable plus internet. Again, with zero extra content. Toss in Netflix or Hulu and you’re up over $100.

This just isn't the case, at least around here. The bare minimum for the channels I want (RSN, NHL/MLB Networks, locals, etc) with Comcast is $130 and currently requires a physical box. With internet only and Youtube TV I pay $115. I don't care about channels I don't watch.

 

[ticapnews]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

First, Disney announced that their Disney+ will be less expensive than Netflix because it won't have the same amount of content. So $12.98 instead of $12.99.

Second, get your HBO through Hulu and you won't have to deal with an extra subscription, just a quick management update to your Hulu account.

Thanks for the tip. If I decide to upgrade to HBO briefly I'll look into it. As for Disney+ if they bundle it with ESPN+ for $15 I'll go for it. If not I'll just take the $12.98 version

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Cord cutting - what service to buy after the cable co goes away

Not me. Rather than pay Comcast $250/month for TV, cable and phone I now pay $40 for TV, $55 for Internet (upgraded to business, have a static IP and doubled speed) and $58 for phone. My Netflix, Hulu and Amazon subscriptions all predated my cord cutting. When Disney+ rolls out this fall that will go up slightly (I'm guessing $15) but there is next to nothing I can't access on my PS4 or Roku that I'm interested in watching. If I feel like getting HBO to see the final few episodes of GoT I can pay an additional #15 for the app - the same as I'd pay for it on Cable or Satellite.

Don't worry. Internet (read: cable) companies are going to start restricting data usage when streaming becomes a real threat to their income. You're just ahead of the curve and getting a discount before the cable companies get theirs again. They're too big and adapting quickly. Comcast already started rolling out data caps years ago. They're going to start tightening those I suspect.