Blogs

Quick question: when was the last time you opened your cable bill and had a smile on your face?  OK, I get it. You never actually opened any bill and smiled, but the cable bill has a reputation to sting a little more than the rest. There are all kinds of extra charges in there. Rates always appear to fluctuate, and you know that you are locked into a deal that is tighter than a supermax prison. However, like everything else in the evolving world of tech, the days of basic cable service may soon be on the way out. The number of TV shows, movies, and other online content is growing every day, and not surprisingly, the number of people jumping off the big cable cruise ship is growing as well. So, are you ready to swim? I’m not quite there yet, but I am standing on the diving board.

My personal entertainment setup is without a doubt an overly costly one. I still have my basic cable contract which includes HBO. Plus, I subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime that I access through Apple TV or an iPad. Currently, I’ve got too much stuff, and 2015 will likely be the year to trim things down.

The big sticking point for me is live sports and HBO. Interestingly, 2015 will make access to those things easier. For the first time ever, cable behemoths ESPN and HBO are expected to make their content available to non-cable subscribers, and this is going to be huge. That means all you’ll need is wifi and a tablet to watch your favorite show or game. Instead of signing up for a basic cable service that includes hundreds of channels, you can pay a monthly fee to access just ESPN on your favorite device. The big cable networks will have all the power in this shift since millions of people want their channel and will pay for it. However, what will happen to all those ancillary channels you only watch randomly while flicking through the channels on a boring Thursday night? How much will you pay for a channel you only watch once or twice a month? 2 bucks? 3?

Personally, I think that I’ll be scaling back. Outside of sports, news, HBO, and of course the Q, there isn’t much else out there that I need. Channels like QVC already stream live on an app which is free, so I don’t have to turn on the television. My favorite TV series currently running isn’t really on TV. It’s House of Cards on Netflix. I can also watch previous seasons of shows like Downton Abbey or Breaking Bad through Amazon Prime. Sure, I have to wait a few extra months to see them, but I don’t mind. Trust me, I’m not going to miss any channel that is running a Real Houswives of Sante Fe marathon or another angry cook/designer/restaurateur screaming at people. I like my screaming when it’s directed at a ref who blows a call.

The one thing for certain is that change is on the way. How is it going to look, and how can we save some money? Those questions are yet to be answered, but like everything else in the world, I suggest you just hang on and enjoy the ride.