Cord Cutters

Eric

Mama's lil stinker
Posts
11,293
Reaction score
21,743
Location
California
Instagram
Main Camera
Sony
It's been just over a year for me and I couldn't be happier, Comcast with their constant rate hikes, additional taxes and contracts can stick it, ala carte TV is the way to go. I've been using YoutubeTV as my primary provider and then I'll add or cancel some of the other cheaper services as needed. What's key to me is having my own choices more than anything else.
 

JBaby

Power User
Posts
129
Reaction score
233
I’m cord never, but I’m in a cord cutting household. We cut the in 2017. But I cut it years before that. I had Dish in my room but I never watched it. I preferred Hulu and my tv. I hate appointment tv. Tv comes on when I say it does. I only used our login for apps and by apps I just mean MSNBC. But now I just use my sister’s login. My sister is forced to have cable by her apartment complex so I don’t feel bad about using her login. All but 3 of our subscriptions aren’t tv Channels. I split Hulu with Mom because on the regular ad-free tier you can only have two simultaneous streams. Everything else is split 3 ways with Mom and Sister. Monthly my sister pays 25.45. Mom pays $32. I pay $48.99 because I have YouTube Premium. I watch a ton of YouTube so it’s worth it to me. We also have a year subscription to Disney+ and we have Prime that we split 3 ways but we have it more for shipping than for video. I can’t wait for the tvOS app Prime Video to be able to handle profiles. Right now only Mom and I can watch. I was also gifted a year of CuriosityStream with Nebula for my birthday this month.

We all think we’re getting over like fat rats. Our Dish bill was $190. For us it wasn’t just about saving money. It was about getting exactly what we wanted and it was about not having channels we never watched.

ETA: I’ve been cutting the cord since 2007. I joined Hulu the day it came out of beta. I still had a PC back then.
 
Last edited:

DT

I am so Smart! S-M-R-T!
Posts
6,405
Reaction score
10,455
Location
Moe's
Main Camera
iPhone
Feb 2015 for us, so ~5-1/2 years :cool: We had been DirecTV for years.
 

Yoused

up
Posts
5,508
Reaction score
8,681
Location
knee deep in the road apples of the 4 horsemen
I bought an antenna about seven or eight years ago, along with a signal box for the old TV. We get some OTA locals, which provide a pretty good picture. Had C-Band (big dish with tracking motor) and, later, "4DTV" digital on it, but the content was getting progressively crappier over time. Then they just stopped offering reasonable C-Band, so we dropped it.

It feels to me like TV is just dying. In a few decades, it will be gone, as we know it, completely.
 

lizkat

Watching March roll out real winter
Posts
7,341
Reaction score
15,163
Location
Catskill Mountains
I didn't just cut the cord, I had them uncable the house. At first they said they didn't do stuff like that. Then I asked for the phone number of their legal counsel so I could have my attorney call that office. Then they said they thought they could have a truck out to my place next day first thing, and actually sent out two trucks in about an hour and a half, one to do the work and the other with some guy who wanted to apologize if there had been any misunderstanding about their desire to accommodate my request. Wow!

Anyway that was sometime around 2004 or so. No regrets but meanwhile happy my copper line DSL got fast enough to support streaming so I can pick and choose stuff to watch when I want to and subscribe to some options as well. I don't miss televised "news" which imo doesn't compare well to newspapers.
 

Edd

It’s all in the reflexes
Site Donor
Posts
2,725
Reaction score
3,307
Location
New Hampshire
I didn't just cut the cord, I had them uncable the house. At first they said they didn't do stuff like that. Then I asked for the phone number of their legal counsel so I could have my attorney call that office. Then they said they thought they could have a truck out to my place next day first thing, and actually sent out two trucks in about an hour and a half, one to do the work and the other with some guy who wanted to apologize if there had been any misunderstanding about their desire to accommodate my request. Wow!

Anyway that was sometime around 2004 or so. No regrets but meanwhile happy my copper line DSL got fast enough to support streaming so I can pick and choose stuff to watch when I want to and subscribe to some options as well. I don't miss televised "news" which imo doesn't compare well to newspapers.
What’s the thinking behind removing the cable physically? Never heard of that.

We cut whenever Hulu Live came out (3 years ago?). We had Comcast and I’d developed an irrational hatred for them because prices always increased. Hulu Live has done a couple of price bumps though, and now that costs $60/month.

Throw in $100/month for Comcast internet. Now add Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, Showtime/CBS All Access, and certainly we’re paying more than when we had cable. The last two of those we picked up during COVID because we don’t travel or go out much. Hopefully, we start stripping down if things get back to normal.
 

Alli

Perfection
Staff Member
Site Donor
Posts
5,886
Reaction score
11,792
Location
Alabackwards
I doubt we’re saving any money at this point, but it’s nice not to lose tv every time it rains. My greatest fear is that the ISPs suddenly decide they are the new version of the cable company and double their rates to cover our media consumption.
 

Eric

Mama's lil stinker
Posts
11,293
Reaction score
21,743
Location
California
Instagram
Main Camera
Sony
What’s the thinking behind removing the cable physically? Never heard of that.
I have never asked to have it removed myself but they do come and run it all along your house when they install, I would think that if you cancel and want it removed that they should pull it also.

We cut whenever Hulu Live came out (3 years ago?). We had Comcast and I’d developed an irrational hatred for them because prices always increased. Hulu Live has done a couple of price bumps though, and now that costs $60/month.

Throw in $100/month for Comcast internet. Now add Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, Showtime/CBS All Access, and certainly we’re paying more than when we had cable. The last two of those we picked up during COVID because we don’t travel or go out much. Hopefully, we start stripping down if things get back to normal.
Yeah, it can really add up if you're not careful. Even with everything we have now we've estimated we're still saving around $50 a month and we can add/remove services as we see fit and almost all of them offer a free trial. This is one area where I'm glad to see the free market stepping in.

What really burned me about Comcast is all the hidden fees and taxes, that adds up and you may not notice if you're not really looking at the bill. Then they "increased" my internet speed without telling me and tacked on another monthly fee for that, that was the last straw.
 

lizkat

Watching March roll out real winter
Posts
7,341
Reaction score
15,163
Location
Catskill Mountains
What’s the thinking behind removing the cable physically? Never heard of that.

Oh it was a completely ideosyncratic if carefully considered decision, in aid of spending far less time being passively entertained at a time when my real life offered ever more intriguing options, just as I was also becoming aware that a human lifespan is not infinite. I hasten to say I'm in that age group that learned to read before there were TVs and I am pretty sure that has influenced my attitude towards video. I've never understood how a lot of people leave their TV sets on while not watching, as though they are part of the room's furnishings, and expect themselves and guests to conduct conversations around whatever's on that little (or huge) screen.

Anyway I was happy to leave cable television of that particular era behind: the middle of the first decade of the new century brought infotainment as permanent supplanter of TV news, the rise of artificially discordant cable "talking heads" programs, more gratuitously violent dramas, voyeuristic, hypernarcissistic "reality TV" and a raft of mediocre cable channels from which "to choose" a package.... albeit without ability to construct la carte bundles of viewing options.

My then ongoing old house renovations beckoned, and I had moved upstate permanently, so my gardens became a main attraction in daylight hours during the season. My quilting-related interests more than filled the evening hours then and shared winters with a booklist as long as interstate 80. So what was I paying a cable company for? The right to catch the latest scripted soundbites of ever more contentious politicians? I could read about the issues related to those remarks in the newspapers.

My decision to detach from the whole cable thing came after I had lent my TV set to an elderly neighbor while his kin were shopping for a new one for him. Realized my life didn't miss a beat the whole time, and so when the set was returned to me I didn't hook it back up right away.... a dangerous moment there for the cable company, as it turned out. Meanwhile iTunes had begun to offer digital downloads...

No regrets, even if it's fun to stream entertainment sometimes over DSL that finally got fast enough here to bother with it. Still feel like life's too short to sit in front of a screen for how long it takes video to get the point across while demanding you invest your eyesight. Don't mind audiobooks or podcasts because I can sew or cook or do chores at the same time.
 

Yoused

up
Posts
5,508
Reaction score
8,681
Location
knee deep in the road apples of the 4 horsemen
The thing that pissed me off was the ad encroachment. We did have a premium or two, but they added up to six or eight channels that offered about 20 or 30 movies a month, cycling over and over, and a few Bills Maher and such. But one can only watch so many movies. The rest of the content was getting thinner and thinner, and channels like Bravo and History that used to have interesting content went to shit. "Queer Eye" ? Come on. At some point I thought, why should I pay them to bombard me with commercials? (Granted, it made TV a less sound-intensive experience, thanks to heavy use of the mute button.)
 

JBaby

Power User
Posts
129
Reaction score
233
I doubt we’re saving any money at this point, but it’s nice not to lose tv every time it rains. My greatest fear is that the ISPs suddenly decide they are the new version of the cable company and double their rates to cover our media consumption.

I totally agree with you. It’s especially bad for people with the live streaming service and sports fans. But if you don’t care about either you can still save quite a bit. Best part about steaming is not having to have the weather maps in the corner.

Yeah, it can really add up if you're not careful. Even with everything we have now we've estimated we're still saving around $50 a month and we can add/remove services as we see fit and almost all of them offer a free trial. This is one area where I'm glad to see the free market stepping in.

What really burned me about Comcast is all the hidden fees and taxes, that adds up and you may not notice if you're not really looking at the bill. Then they "increased" my internet speed without telling me and tacked on another monthly fee for that, that was the last straw.

I love being able to pick and choose services instantly. I subscribe to STARZ and EPIX once a year.
 

Renzatic

Egg Nog King of the Eastern Seaboard
Posts
3,895
Reaction score
6,816
Location
Dinosaurs
I cut the cord about 4 years ago now, ditching Charter for DirecTV Now, moving to Youtube TV once they started getting flaky, then finally bailing on them, and sticking to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, backed up by the 30+ channels I get for free over the antenna.

I've cut my TV expenses by 2/3rds, and have sacrificed nothing.
 

Eric

Mama's lil stinker
Posts
11,293
Reaction score
21,743
Location
California
Instagram
Main Camera
Sony
I cut the cord about 4 years ago now, ditching Charter for DirecTV Now, moving to Youtube TV once they started getting flaky, then finally bailing on them, and sticking to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, backed up by the 30+ channels I get for free over the antenna.

I've cut my TV expenses by 2/3rds, and have sacrificed nothing.
I'm with you here, over the air offers way more than it used to. I went as far as ordering the Amazon Fire TV Recast so I can record all of my OTA content, I use it for older shows that I can't get on YTTV and with the exception of the one time purchase for the recast it's all free.
 

Renzatic

Egg Nog King of the Eastern Seaboard
Posts
3,895
Reaction score
6,816
Location
Dinosaurs
I'm with you here, over the air offers way more than it used to. I went as far as ordering the Amazon Fire TV Recast so I can record all of my OTA content, I use it for older shows that I can't get on YTTV and with the exception of the one time purchase for the recast it's all free.

It amazes me how much better over the air content is these days. Every channel I get comes in crystal clear, with only occasional interruptions when the weather's particularly bad, or my neighbor's giant dog is out bouncing off the antenna.

I remember what it was like living out in the deep country when I was a kid, too far away from town for access to cable. We only got 3 channels semi-reliably, and even then, there were still moments when I had to run outside to adjust the antenna to get a clearer picture.

If it weren't for dad programming the VCR to bootleg movies off of HBO and Cinemax overnight when he worked at Radio Shack, I never would've had anything to watch.
 

Eric

Mama's lil stinker
Posts
11,293
Reaction score
21,743
Location
California
Instagram
Main Camera
Sony
It amazes me how much better over the air content is these days. Every channel I get comes in crystal clear, with only occasional interruptions when the weather's particularly bad, or my neighbor's giant dog is out bouncing off the antenna.

I remember what it was like living out in the deep country when I was a kid, too far away from town for access to cable. We only got 3 channels semi-reliably, and even then, there were still moments when I had to run outside to adjust the antenna to get a clearer picture.

If it weren't for dad programming the VCR to bootleg movies off of HBO and Cinemax overnight when he worked at Radio Shack, I never would've had anything to watch.
Those late night Cinemax movies were a rite of passage for any teenager in those days. 😁
 

JBaby

Power User
Posts
129
Reaction score
233
I cut the cord about 4 years ago now, ditching Charter for DirecTV Now, moving to Youtube TV once they started getting flaky, then finally bailing on them, and sticking to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, backed up by the 30+ channels I get for free over the antenna.

I've cut my TV expenses by 2/3rds, and have sacrificed nothing.

I wish OTA was a viable option here, but it isn’t.

Those late night Cinemax movies were a rite of passage for any teenager in those days. [emoji16]

Skinemax and late night Showtime FTW. And HBO’s Real Sex was a thing!!! I remember watching with hardly any sound so I could hear my Mom walking by. Those were the days.

[emoji444]Memories
Light the corners of my mind[emoji444]
 

Eric

Mama's lil stinker
Posts
11,293
Reaction score
21,743
Location
California
Instagram
Main Camera
Sony
I wish OTA was a viable option here, but it isn’t.



Skinemax and late night Showtime FTW. And HBO’s Real Sex was a thing!!! I remember watching with hardly any sound so I could hear my Mom walking by. Those were the days.

[emoji444]Memories
Light the corners of my mind[emoji444]
Hey, your emojis are working now! Not sure if it's something from tapatalk but they were broken before.
 

Renzatic

Egg Nog King of the Eastern Seaboard
Posts
3,895
Reaction score
6,816
Location
Dinosaurs
I wish OTA was a viable option here, but it isn’t.

How far out in the boondocks do you live? You should be able to get PBS at least. PBS is EVERYWHERE!

Skinemax and late night Showtime FTW. And HBO’s Real Sex was a thing!!! I remember watching with hardly any sound so I could hear my Mom walking by. Those were the days.

That's dredging up some bad memories for me, man. Watching some half-scrambled show on Cinemax, getting all involved, then hearing the door open behind me...
 
Top Bottom
1 2