Cutting the TV Cable

[Bull City]

I have had Spectrum cable TV and internet for 20+ years. I got an email today announcing yet another price increase. I have the no frills TV package, and it is going to $109. In addition, there is a $22 Broadcast TV Surcharge, which comes to $1,600/yr. when you add the taxes.

I took a look at what I have paid for cable TV since 2004, and it is quite sickening to see how they have raised the price. It has more than tripled since 2004, and has doubled since 2015. I'm fed up.

I like to watch English and European soccer, and this plus DVR has kept me manacled to the cable company. I pay about $6 for Peacock, which has most of the English games, and about the same for Paramount which has the UEFA Champions League.

I read a piece in The Economist a few weeks ago in which they discussed the decline of cable TV, and it's strategy of milking sports addicted customers through frequent price hikes. It's very evident.

I seem to recall having to enter my Spectrum user name and password for some streaming services. I'm trying to find out if I can cut cable TV and still stream these services. Do any of you have any experience with this?

Thanks.

 

[Snaggletooth]

I finde our Alltice waye to expensieve, butte wifey is enamoured of allotte of bullshitte programmeng. Soape Opereres dissguized as dramas. If you haive a waye thruoh the "bs" plesae helpe us.

 

[Israel Hands]

Bull, free yourself from the madness! We live in the sticks, and had Hughsnet via dish for 20+ years. I think by 2018 we decided we had wasted enough time watching CNN and other basic programming for a ridiculous sum, so we cut the cord and have only had local programming using an antenna, or Netflix, Amazon Prime and any other internet-based programming via the internet connected to our smart TV. Sometimes I just plug my iphone to an hdmi cable and run programming off that. We've never missed a thing that we care about seeing.

 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

They just laid underground fiber on our street. The local Internet company is promising gigabit fiber into our house. All for less than ATT <spit> is charging for "Up To" 10 MBPS of sketchy service.

Friend here in the Floriduh swamp has StarLink. He finds it acceptable, but misses the days before Elon started supporting the Ukrainians.

 

[DRIFTW00D]

With a Roku stick and over the air antenna, we are Watching streaming apps. Beware of the YouTube rabbit hole! Now I’m finding we sit around reading on iPads with the flatscreen on or off most of the night. CUT The Cable. …I’m mirroring FaceTime calls on to the old flat screen through roku, or anything on the iPad screen realy. There is a roku tv thing which has news weather and hundreds of bad old and new tv channals free on it. I never go there though.

What channels can I watch through the Roku Live TV Channel Guide?​

With over 350 channels to choose from, there’s not enough room to list them all here. Nevertheless, here’s just a sample of what’s available, broken down by channel type:

News: ABC News Live, NBC News Now, Fox Live Now, WeatherNation, Fox Weather, Newsy Live, Bloomberg Quicktake, Reuters, Cheddar News, Euronews English

Sports: Live Sports Coverage Stadium, Bein Sports Xtra, Adventure Sports Network, Edge Sport, ACC Digital Netrowk, Swerve Sports…More

 

[Point Break]

Streaming You Tube TV is working for us. Our speed is pretty good though.

 

[Wet Spreaders]

I have 20 mbps from a fixed directional wireless link to some access point on the top of the next mountain. That connects to Google mesh boxes in the house to give me Wifi coverage. Cellphones are enabled for WIFI calling, security uses the wireless, and I watch TV using YoutubeTV. There's plenty of bandwidth for me to watch an NFL game on the widescreen, my kid to watch what appears to be complete nonesense on his phone and for Mrs. WS to indulge in Fox News conspiracy theories and other mindless right wing "talking heads talking drivel over each other" for 18 hours a day on a TV in the kitchen.

YouTubeTV works, it's cheap and seems to have most of what we want (soccer world cup, rugby world cup, America's cup, NFL, idiot talking-head pseudo-news). If I want to watch a movie, I pay 3.99 for it on Amazon Prime.

Overall, it's a better and cheaper setup than cable + phone + internet. Also, if the power goes out, I run the generator and everything still works. I ordered StarLink to up my bandwidth and make my comms even more immune to the loss of local mains power. Hopefully it will show up before this year's installment of PGE deciding that it's too hot and windy to run the power grid (fires), and turns off the mains instead of simply trimming trees properly.

 

[sunseeker]

I have had Spectrum cable TV and internet for 20+ years. I got an email today announcing yet another price increase. I have the no frills TV package, and it is going to $109. In addition, there is a $22 Broadcast TV Surcharge, which comes to $1,600/yr. when you add the taxes.

I took a look at what I have paid for cable TV since 2004, and it is quite sickening to see how they have raised the price. It has more than tripled since 2004, and has doubled since 2015. I'm fed up.

I like to watch English and European soccer, and this plus DVR has kept me manacled to the cable company. I pay about $6 for Peacock, which has most of the English games, and about the same for Paramount which has the UEFA Champions League.

I read a piece in The Economist a few weeks ago in which they discussed the decline of cable TV, and it's strategy of milking sports addicted customers through frequent price hikes. It's very evident.

I seem to recall having to enter my Spectrum user name and password for some streaming services. I'm trying to find out if I can cut cable TV and still stream these services. Do any of you have any experience with this?

Thanks.

For some of your apps that you had to register with a cable account, I suspect at some point you’ll lose access. Maybe immediately, maybe never. Won’t know until you cut cable.

I cut the cord a couple of years ago, mad I didn’t do it sooner. Only thing I sort of miss is some NBA stuff on TNT, though I get to see the entertaining clips of Barkley and Shaq on socials. Stopped watching Monday night football probably 25 years ago, basically hate the dumb jock mentality of ESPN. Was never much of viewer of any news channel.

I could say I want my MTV, but that started sucking in about 1990.

 

[Throatwarbler-Mangrove]

They just laid underground fiber on our street. The local Internet company is promising gigabit fiber into our house. All for less than ATT <spit> is charging for "Up To" 10 MBPS of sketchy service.

Welcome to the 21st Century. Since I follow these things for my day job, I’m curious… what is the name of the local Internet company?

 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Welcome to the 21st Century. Since I follow these things for my day job, I’m curious… what is the name of the local Internet company?

Florida High Speed

 

[Bus Driver]

Finally cut the cable a few months ago. Went from $189/month for "Basic Plus" to $48/month for a tiny box that grabs wifi and pushes streaming into the set. Only 2 streaming services - Netflix and HBO Plus. A $19 aerial from Best Buy gives us a bunch of local digital channels. Saving nearly $100/month and not missing anything I previously had.

 

[Throatwarbler-Mangrove]

Florida High Speed

Never heard of them. Probably because they don’t turn up in the trade media. According to their website, they do business Internet, not residential. Maybe that’s changed. Lots of Federal $$ sloshing around for rural broadband projects and lots more to come.

Where are you located, if you don’t mind?

 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Never heard of them. Probably because they don’t turn up in the trade media. According to their website, they do business Internet, not residential. Maybe that’s changed. Lots of Federal $$ sloshing around for rural broadband projects and lots more to come.

Where are you located, if you don’t mind?

Southern end of the Spaced Coast.

 

[Gissie]

Soape Opereres dissguized as dramas.

Sounds like the soccer BC wants to watch. 🤣

 

[Grande Mastere Dreade]

For some of your apps that you had to register with a cable account, I suspect at some point you’ll lose access. Maybe immediately, maybe never. Won’t know until you cut cable.

I cut the cord a couple of years ago, mad I didn’t do it sooner. Only thing I sort of miss is some NBA stuff on TNT, though I get to see the entertaining clips of Barkley and Shaq on socials. Stopped watching Monday night football probably 25 years ago, basically hate the dumb jock mentality of ESPN. Was never much of viewer of any news channel.

I could say I want my MTV, but that started sucking in about 1990.

well if you have a friend with cable who trust you with his login id and password you can use those for those channels with cable access.. i used my dads for years until he passed ...

the streaming services have gotten off the rails , you can get a disney bundle that includes espn, but you don't get all of espn's content, like live football games.. you have to hit the 70$ service for live tv to get that ... i find most of my live sports via euro web sites that "broadcast" live games... just have a good anti-virus and ad blocker etc and don't download any software they suggest and it's fine.. for movies, vpn and a few movie sites i download off of ... local channels i get with an antenna and a signal booster... the only good thing about the pay streaming channels is no contracts, it's month to month, so if you wnat to watch a certain series, pay for a month and binge.. when you're done , cancel..

 

[vibroman]

I have had Spectrum cable TV and internet for 20+ years. I got an email today announcing yet another price increase. I have the no frills TV package, and it is going to $109. In addition, there is a $22 Broadcast TV Surcharge, which comes to $1,600/yr. when you add the taxes.

I took a look at what I have paid for cable TV since 2004, and it is quite sickening to see how they have raised the price. It has more than tripled since 2004, and has doubled since 2015. I'm fed up.

I like to watch English and European soccer, and this plus DVR has kept me manacled to the cable company. I pay about $6 for Peacock, which has most of the English games, and about the same for Paramount which has the UEFA Champions League.

I read a piece in The Economist a few weeks ago in which they discussed the decline of cable TV, and it's strategy of milking sports addicted customers through frequent price hikes. It's very evident.

I seem to recall having to enter my Spectrum user name and password for some streaming services. I'm trying to find out if I can cut cable TV and still stream these services. Do any of you have any experience with this?

Thanks.

T Mobile home internet via 5g still going strong here. $45 per month plus what ever you want to stream netfix, amazon prime, peacock f1 tv, sling during CF season etc etc. have digital for locals but hardly ever watch Them.

 

[billy backstay]

T Mobile home internet via 5g still going strong here. $45 per month plus what ever you want to stream netfix, amazon prime, peacock f1 tv, sling during CF season etc etc. have digital for locals but hardly ever watch Them.

How much does that cost after adding all the streaming services? And will we still be able to get the Missus BB morning girl talk shows on NBC? I just spent nearly a month fighting with Paramount to get their premium service that we paid for, to remove the adverts from Yellowstone and others, but gave up and cancelled them altogether, when they told me the only way to make it work was to create a new email address! That was a bridge too far after hours and hours on hold. With 3 TV's, internet, WiFi and regional sports package we are at $210, then $220 a month when we added Paramount Plus, which never worked.

 

[justsomeguy!]

which never worked.

Told you.

 

[billy backstay]

Told you.

Did you? I don't recall that....

 

[justsomeguy!]

Did you? I don't recall that....

Anyone watching 1883?

Sorry: Is safari man the father OF Costner's character? Yellowstone is nowish

forums.sailinganarchy.com