Author Topic: I'm Cutting The Cord (Read 19604 times)

King Postwhore · « **Reply #35 on:** December 29, 2015, 04:18:52 PM »

kaos, you should have called the thread, "Cut the Cable". It would have been poetic.

TioJorge · « **Reply #36 on:** December 29, 2015, 04:37:33 PM »

Thanks for the input, Hef. I'm getting really close to going this route...

Quote from: Gadough on December 29, 2015, 03:50:56 PM

I'm willing to bet the endless Geico commercials are the sole cause of at least 50% of all recent cord-cutters.

ALL commercials are the sole cause for me wanting to get rid of it. I fucking hate them so much. None of them work. They actually deter me from wanting anything they sell, truthfully. Annoying song and dance (except literal most of the time), horribly grating songs, repetitious lines, weirdly obnoxious and gag-worthy actors, or just downright inbred-level stupidity in what they're saying "Use Zxnolborgltol to lower your cholesterol...may cause HEART ATTACK; BLOOD LOSS; POOP LOSS; PEE LOSS; MASSIVE ANEURYSMS; TUMORS IN YOUR BUTT; TUMORS IN YOUR EARS; TUMORS IN YOUR ARMS; TUMORS IN YOUR PENIS OR VAGINA; YOUR FACE MAY TURN INTO A TUMOR...callyourdoctorifyouhaveanyofthesesymptoms". Fucking shit. I remember one time whilst watching The Walking Dead...THE ENTIRE FUCKING COMMERCIAL BREAK WAS ONE PHARMACEUTICAL COMMERCIAL. One. One fucking commercial took the whole time. I was so mind-fucked that I turned it off and just DVR'd the show on a re-run.

I...I think I just convinced myself to cut the cord. Just now.

P.S. Has anyone else been thinking of umbilical cords this whole time? Cause I have. So many babies having their cords cut. Just snipping away.

mike099 · « **Reply #37 on:** December 29, 2015, 05:15:30 PM »

As a parent of older kids, I thought bum kid still living at home.

Prog Snob · « **Reply #38 on:** December 29, 2015, 05:55:22 PM »

Quote from: Gadough on December 29, 2015, 03:50:56 PM

I'm willing to bet the endless Geico commercials are the sole cause of at least 50% of all recent cord-cutters.

Those I'm fine with. I think it's endless brainwashing of reality tv. I'm at the point where I think I could pitch a perfect reality tv show for this forum and some depraved cable station would gobble it up like Traci Lords with fake ID.

cramx3 · « **Reply #39 on:** December 29, 2015, 06:29:18 PM »

Sadly for cable cutters, the day is coming for you to pay up to the cable companys. They will soon raise internet prices and include caps and data limits like cell phone companys have. They want to do this already and are slowly adopting this practice. It sucks, but the cable companys aren't happy to lose those subscribers and to get back that cash, this is what they will do and are starting to implement.

Podaar · « **Reply #40 on:** December 30, 2015, 06:20:44 AM »

Quote from: kingshmegland on December 29, 2015, 04:18:52 PM

kaos, you should have called the thread, "Cut the Cable". It would have been poetic.

Nah, "Pinching off some cable." would be better.

kaos2900 · « **Reply #41 on:** December 30, 2015, 06:41:01 AM »

Quote from: cramx3 on December 29, 2015, 06:29:18 PM

Sadly for cable cutters, the day is coming for you to pay up to the cable companys. They will soon raise internet prices and include caps and data limits like cell phone companys have. They want to do this already and are slowly adopting this practice. It sucks, but the cable companys aren't happy to lose those subscribers and to get back that cash, this is what they will do and are starting to implement.

That is a good point however even with the cell phone companies you are seeing better "deals" for bigger data plans every year. I just signed a two year contract with Cox who is notorious for raising prices at least twice a year. I'll be paying $59.99 per month for two years with download speeds up to 100mps and 350 gigs of data per month. The other thing is that as more and more internet turns to fiber optic the old school "slow" option will be cheaper. So, I agree that the companies will find a way to recoup some money but it will take a long time. I only know a few other people who have gotten rid of cable so I don't think they're too concerned yet. What I can see happening is a Direct TV trying to buy Hulu or something like that.

Stadler · « **Reply #42 on:** December 30, 2015, 08:31:37 AM »

So, not to be a dumbass, but help me sort the wheat from the chaff: I can pretty much get most of what I watch elsewhere, but how do I get:

Local news (and weather)
Sports, specifically the NFL, and the playoffs for MLB and NHL, in real time?

If I can reliably get those, I would call Frontier this afternoon...

Nekov · « **Reply #43 on:** December 30, 2015, 09:02:34 AM »

I've also been thinking about this but until ESPN and Fox get an online service where you don't need to have a cable provider to use it I'm not gonna cut the cord. My weekends consist of watching as many soccer games as possible.

El Barto · « **Reply #44 on:** December 30, 2015, 09:07:25 AM »

Quote from: Stadler on December 30, 2015, 08:31:37 AM

So, not to be a dumbass, but help me sort the wheat from the chaff: I can pretty much get most of what I watch elsewhere, but how do I get:

Local news (and weather)
Sports, specifically the NFL, and the playoffs for MLB and NHL, in real time?

If I can reliably get those, I would call Frontier this afternoon...

Largely depends on your personal ethics. Local news/weather is as simple as an OTA antenna providing you live someplace with decent reception. That'll also get you the network games. Movies and TV shows are generally available through a half a dozen different services. Problem there is that they each have their own stuff. CATV is essentially your one top shopping, as opposed to paying for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO, Showtime and whatever else. Sports are trickier to obtain legally, but I believe MLB and possibly NHL have their own streaming packages available. The NFL does have something, but there was some catch that made it a non-option for me. I know I'd shell out the $350 for the NFL Sunday Ticket, but I'm not paying for DTV to get it and the online option was for some reason unavailable to me. Like I said before, I believe ESPN is a no-go.

kaos2900 · « **Reply #45 on:** December 30, 2015, 09:32:45 AM »

Sports had always been the deal breaker for me in the past. Luckily I know my in-laws sign-in information so I'll be able to use the ESPN app. That being said, I just don't have time to watch sports like I used to and hopefully by the time I do there will be other options out there for me.

DragonAttack · « **Reply #46 on:** December 30, 2015, 02:13:52 PM »

We downsized a month ago. My wife has talked about it for a long time, was hesitant, but due to some good information from this thread, we downsized again. Couldn't 'cut the cord', but we're down to just the Comcast 'economy' package + HBO + internet. Oh, and we have Netflix that we watch on a small screen in our small and cozy basement. It's what and where we watch a couple hours a night....because there's nothing on cable. Will spend some time switching that upstairs soon.

So, goodbye ESPN (and 2 and news and U and whatever else). And 'hello' to over $100 to our pockets each month. The phrase 'the more you have, the less you have' fits Disney's 'Real Housewives of Bristol' to a tee in recent years.

Thanks to all who posted here.

cramx3 · « **Reply #47 on:** December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM »

My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Prog Snob · « **Reply #48 on:** December 30, 2015, 06:28:48 PM »

Quote from: cramx3 on December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM

My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Be careful with those live streams. Some of those sites come with a ridiculous amount of pop-ups which I do not like or trust.

cramx3 · « **Reply #49 on:** December 30, 2015, 06:34:45 PM »

Quote from: Prog Snob on December 30, 2015, 06:28:48 PM

Quote from: cramx3 on December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM
My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Be careful with those live streams. Some of those sites come with a ridiculous amount of pop-ups which I do not like or trust.

Another reason to hate them, and I work in online advertising. Those types of ads give a bad rep to the business, but then again it's not legitimate so what can you do or say. Just another reason why I will continue to not cut my chord when I would, because of live sports.

Chino · « **Reply #50 on:** December 31, 2015, 06:19:25 AM »

Quote from: kaos2900 on December 29, 2015, 08:26:49 AM

Well, I already had Amazon Prime and I am doing the free trials of Hulu and Netflix. Netflix looks worth it though I'm not sure about Hulu yet. Anyone here really love Hulu?

I use Hulu all the time. We just upgraded our account from the $8 per month option to the $12 option. No commercials

Between internet, Prime, Netflix, HBO, and Hulu, we pay $85 per month.

kaos2900 · « **Reply #51 on:** December 31, 2015, 06:39:21 AM »

We watched one show on Hulu last night with commercials and I promptly upgraded to the no commercial option. We're at around $90 per month with internet, prime, netflix, and hulu. We were at $170 with internet, direct tv, and prime. That's a savings of $80 per month/$960 per year. Also, we may cancel Hulu if none of the show we watch are currently on and just sign up again when they start.

Prog Snob · « **Reply #52 on:** December 31, 2015, 06:46:50 AM »

Quote from: Chino on December 31, 2015, 06:19:25 AM

Quote from: kaos2900 on December 29, 2015, 08:26:49 AM
Well, I already had Amazon Prime and I am doing the free trials of Hulu and Netflix. Netflix looks worth it though I'm not sure about Hulu yet. Anyone here really love Hulu?

I use Hulu all the time. We just upgraded our account from the $8 per month option to the $12 option. No commercials

Between internet, Prime, Netflix, HBO, and Hulu, we pay $85 per month.

That's half what I'm paying now for everything through Verizon. I think I'll be making some changes this coming year. I don't even need Prime or Hulu, and HBO I would only use for Game of Thrones. I'm sure I can find that elsewhere.

DragonAttack · « **Reply #53 on:** December 31, 2015, 08:48:36 AM »

Sports: We will realize the change immediately tonight when we are unable to watch Michigan State-Alabama. No more hockey playoffs from NBCSports, NCAA tourney down to almost zero, same with MLB, MNF etc etc. Then again, as I've gotten older, it's harder to watch with the 8-10 camera changes between plays/pitches, and often tune in for only ten minutes because of the late endings. Oddly, the 'economy' package has FoxSports. For the rest, I'll just have to tune in to the old radio. I lived through the days of games one day a week, as well as strikes, and survived. SOME DAY, though, we'll all have the option of 'bundling'.

Also a shame is how 'basic' cable used to be simply channels 2-30. ESPN, TBS, WGN, CNN were amongst those channels. A good deal for those who wanted 'basic'. Those days are sadly gone.

We have a TV in the guest bedroom, with the digital adapter and rabbit ears. It receives the local stations and some of their extra weather and 'TV Land' type of channels. I live in the metro Baltimore area. I also ran a wire up to our old rooftop antenna, and can pick up a few DC stations for football games. Also a good backup when the cable goes out.

dparrott · « **Reply #54 on:** December 31, 2015, 08:50:36 AM »

Quote from: Prog Snob on December 30, 2015, 06:28:48 PM

Quote from: cramx3 on December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM
My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Be careful with those live streams. Some of those sites come with a ridiculous amount of pop-ups which I do not like or trust.

I use Firefox with the ad-blocker plugin. Works fine.

El Barto · « **Reply #55 on:** December 31, 2015, 11:23:12 AM »

Quote from: dparrott on December 31, 2015, 08:50:36 AM

Quote from: Prog Snob on December 30, 2015, 06:28:48 PM
Quote from: cramx3 on December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM
My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Be careful with those live streams. Some of those sites come with a ridiculous amount of pop-ups which I do not like or trust.

I use Firefox with the ad-blocker plugin. Works fine.

Yeah, and you learn their tricks pretty quickly. My favorite is the Close[X] that's actually a link to some other page full of popups.

Prog Snob · « **Reply #56 on:** December 31, 2015, 11:31:25 AM »

Quote from: dparrott on December 31, 2015, 08:50:36 AM

Quote from: Prog Snob on December 30, 2015, 06:28:48 PM
Quote from: cramx3 on December 30, 2015, 03:53:51 PM
My problem has always been watching live sports. Specifically because I like college sports it gets even tougher. There are lots of free live streams you can find, but its not every game and they aren't always reliable. When I was in Amsterdam I wanted to watch a PSU football game, ended up resulting to an illegal stream. It worked, but not how I like to watch my sports. HD and surround sound from the cable provider is still the best way to consume live sports. Even netflix can't match that service. Im at a point where I hardly watch TV shows besides when I dvr and get around to watch it so from that perspective it would be easy for me to cut the cable, its the damn sports and ESPN is a large reason for the high cable bills.

Be careful with those live streams. Some of those sites come with a ridiculous amount of pop-ups which I do not like or trust.

I use Firefox with the ad-blocker plugin. Works fine.

I never really install those ad-blocker programs because I've never really go to sites that gave me lots of pop-ups, except the obvious ones, but I'll give it a try.

faizoff · « **Reply #57 on:** December 31, 2015, 12:33:30 PM »

adblockers aren't just for popups. They block in line ads quite effectively as well. I would never ever use a browser without an adblock installed. Some of the pages I've seen are just obnoxiously riddled with ads. In fact I'm so against ads, the jailbroken phone I have also has a system wide ad blocker that blocks 95% of the ads out there.

Getting back to the topic, I might revisit Hulu to see how much they've improved or changed.

Prog Snob · « **Reply #58 on:** December 31, 2015, 12:59:51 PM »

Quote from: faizoff on December 31, 2015, 12:33:30 PM

adblockers aren't just for popups. They block in line ads quite effectively as well. I would never ever use a browser without an adblock installed. Some of the pages I've seen are just obnoxiously riddled with ads. In fact I'm so against ads, the jailbroken phone I have also has a system wide ad blocker that blocks 95% of the ads out there.

I know what they do. I've just never been bothered so much by them until I tried going to one of those streaming sites.

gmillerdrake · « **Reply #59 on:** January 18, 2016, 10:10:24 AM »

Made the first step in 'cord cutting' this past weekend. Bought a 50" SHARP 'roku' LCD TV. It's nothing special....but, after a couple days playing around with it I've got Netflix, HBOgo, HULU, Crackle, Amazon along with a host of other 'free' streaming services fired up. Honestly, if I could get Fox Sports Midwest online it'd be a no brainer for me...I'd cut the cord tomorrow. Just can't do it without knowing I can watch the Cardinals and Blues.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sharp-50-class-49-7-diag--led-1080p-smart-hdtv-roku-tv-black/2821014.p?id=1219562539637&skuId=2821014

Shadow Ninja 2.0 · « **Reply #60 on:** January 18, 2016, 10:20:22 AM »

When I do move out on my own, I can't really imagine paying for anything other than Netflix. Might not even need a TV; I use my laptop for just about everything.

#broke

Cool Chris · « **Reply #61 on:** January 18, 2016, 10:27:03 AM »

Quote from: mike099 on December 29, 2015, 03:47:04 PM

I would love to get rid of cable, but the wife says no! I know, I am whipped.

I have this same issue. Mine has to have her daily fix of 'reality' garbage on channels like Bravo.

kirksnosehair · « **Reply #62 on:** January 18, 2016, 01:23:47 PM »

I've got my mom living with me and she would be completely lost without cable TV so I don't see myself getting rid of it anytime soon.

Cable · « **Reply #63 on:** January 18, 2016, 02:48:35 PM »

RE: original post, welcome to the club!

I've been a member since 2011. I have Netflix now, but may cut that when I get divorced- I'm watching a lot more Youtube and listening to podcasts now. Streaming audio also, so my time watching stuff on a TV is very limited now.

Also, my converter box just crapped out for live TV. My wife's TV has a built in converter, but I went to buy a new one and apparently they come with a built in DVR. Score!

Regarding this;

Quote from: kaos2900 on December 30, 2015, 09:32:45 AM

Sports had always been the deal breaker for me in the past. Luckily I know my in-laws sign-in information so I'll be able to use the ESPN app. That being said, I just don't have time to watch sports like I used to and hopefully by the time I do there will be other options out there for me.

There are "ways" to watch sports without paying an arm and a brain for it. It's not ideal, but it's an option. I noticed I get creative when watching sports- go to someone's house, watch something at the gym, my phone for NFL (hooray verizon), and of course going to a restaurant. More expensive of course, but good for singular big games.

hefdaddy42 · « **Reply #64 on:** January 19, 2016, 08:26:59 AM »

Most NFL games are on regular network TV, so with cutting the cord, you could still get most of those OTA.

However, a lot of college basketball is on the ESPN networks, and the College Football Playoff is also on ESPN, as are a shit ton of regular season games. So that sucks.

However, I believe that ESPN is available on Sling for around $20.00/month, which can be run through a Roku unit. Which would be a significant reduction in my cable bill lol.

cramx3 · « **Reply #65 on:** January 19, 2016, 08:49:27 AM »

I recently read an article about ESPN and how they drive up the price of cable (ESPN package is something like $6 a month of your cable bill) and for them to survive with the cable cutting would mean they would have to offer a netflix streaming package over over $20 a month to be able to make the money they are currently making. For which when polled, people said they wouldn't pay that. ESPN is going to really struggle in the future (hence around 300 layoffs this past year, they see where this is going).

El Barto · « **Reply #66 on:** January 20, 2016, 02:13:44 PM »

Quote from: cramx3 on January 19, 2016, 08:49:27 AM

I recently read an article about ESPN and how they drive up the price of cable (ESPN package is something like $6 a month of your cable bill) and for them to survive with the cable cutting would mean they would have to offer a netflix streaming package over over $20 a month to be able to make the money they are currently making. For which when polled, people said they wouldn't pay that. ESPN is going to really struggle in the future (hence around 300 layoffs this past year, they see where this is going).

Techidirt recently covered this. The skinny is that it costs $8/mo for every cable subscriber, which 56% of them would just as soon not pay. However, as we all know they have no choice since the cable companies aren't allowed to move ESPN to a premium tier. The problem for ESPN is that the contracts that lock them into basic cable also preclude them from offering a direct to consumer option. So basically as soon as ESPN offers a streaming option the cable companies will immediately switch them to a sports tier and their revenue craters. Without the forced subscription model they currently enjoy, it's very unlikely that even the $20/mo streaming option would cover their staggering overhead. But, since very few people would actually pay that it's not an option either. In a nutshell, they're pretty much fucked. People are cutting the cord, due in no small part to the exorbitant costs of programming they don't actually care about, like ESPN, but they've put themselves in a position where they can't actually make a transition away from CATV since the initial costs would be insurmountable.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160114/06532833339/56-would-drop-espn-heartbeat-if-it-meant-saving-8-month-cable.shtml

I've been of the opinion for a long while that ESPN is an albatross. Their programming costs are so high that they can only exist by bullying the cable companies, but that belligerence is killing those companies. Moreover, they've been plenty fucking arrogant about it all along. They've scoffed at cord cutters, much like the major cable companies have, on the basis of the consumer's inability to choose. Now it's coming back to haunt them, which pleases me to no end.

cramx3 · « **Reply #67 on:** January 20, 2016, 02:30:59 PM »

Great write up Barto, was literally just talking about this with my friends. ESPN is really fucked in the long term, but I don't mind.

I feel like ESPN has become unwatchable besides the live sports, which if ESPN fails would be picked up somewhere else (I don't fear not being able to watch my teams in the long term essentially).

Cable · « **Reply #68 on:** January 21, 2016, 02:24:51 AM »

Agreed, solid El Barto.

My one question or retort is doesn't blame fall somewhere else too? Some actors make big bucks still- I think the action star is gone mostly for being big $$$ earners however. Last I heard Depp got $55mil for Pirates4 in 2011. TV shows though too. With the Sopranos trend, a lot of TV moved to continuing stories with high production value. As such, cost went up. And some higher tier actors went to TV. Or even the higher tier movie actor is not high tier anymore because of TV gaining steam.

But I feel something had to make content cost go up. And not all of that is getting spent on actors and crew, or is it? But even still, if it is, the model will explode soon. It happened to music, it is probably happening presently with video games, and TV/film is slowly starting with cord cutting.

And yeah if ESPN fails, others will pick it up. The sports leagues will take a huge hit in revenue, and it may have terrible results on the smaller sports. But the NHL has been ok I think since ESPN dumped them. With modern internet options, there will be a home somewhere.

I didn't switch my phone carrier for this reason, but due to being on Verizon, I can watch all of my local games and Thur and Mon gridiron american football on my phone. So those Thur and Mon games are things I could only watch legitimately on a cable device.

TioJorge · « **Reply #69 on:** January 21, 2016, 03:35:56 AM »

It's situations like this that I'm glad that other than actual good games that are close with really talented players, I couldn't care less about sports. That said, it's really sad to see greed completely swallow up everything whole and in the end everyone gets fucked.

News: Untethered Angel official video: https://youtu.be/gylxuO6dKOw

Author Topic: I'm Cutting The Cord (Read 19604 times)