topic Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs in Community Chat

So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Sapphiregal — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 03:49:51 GMT

I have tv and internet through a company called Suddenlink. They have increased their prices twice in the three years we have been using their service. We currently pay $155.00/month and as it is, 90% of the time, my husband and I watch one channel - FOX news. I think I may find another internet provider and stick an old fashioned antenna on my roof.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Kachina624 — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 04:01:27 GMT

@Sapphiregal It's easier than that. If you live anywhere near an urban area, you can screw an interior antenna into the back of your TVs and set up the antenna inside. Mine, for which I paid $12. Looks like a 1/4 sheet of poster board and is on the wall near the ceiling. I get 50 or so local channels, including network news, I subscribe to Netflix and stream regular programming through YouTube TV.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Black Cat Back — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 04:43:42 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Sapphiregal It's easier than that. If you live anywhere near an urban area, you can screw an interior antenna into the back of your TVs and set up the antenna inside. Mine, for which I paid $12. Looks like a 1/4 sheet of poster board and is on the wall near the ceiling. I get 50 or so local channels, including network news, I subscribe to Netflix and stream regular programming through YouTube TV.

@Kachina624

How does the streaming work? When I think of streaming, I think of downloading content like You Tube videos on my computer. I don't understand how it works on the TV. I would appreciate any info you can share. Thanks.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Kachina624 — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 05:00:59 GMT

@Black Cat Back You must subscribe to a streaming service and they direct the programming to you I guess by satellite thru your Wi-Fi. It's a lot cheaper than cable or satellite. There are now many options at different prices. I tried Sling and am now on YouTube TV, also tried Discovery+. Most offer a free trial period. I access them thru a Roku unit which also has free programming.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Snowpuppy — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 06:28:59 GMT

I had a Mohu Leaf antenna in the city to free myself from cable. Got it at Best Buy. I placed it on the slider with suction cups. It needs a clear site line. I got about 6 channels.

Call your cable company and threaten to cut the cord. Works wonders at reducing the bill.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

judianne — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 06:51:15 GMT

There are a ton of free channels with a huge variety of stuff free . I have the fire stick from Amazon .

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Nuttmeg — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 08:22:38 GMT

@Sapphiregal wrote:
I have tv and internet through a company called Suddenlink. They have increased their prices twice in the three years we have been using their service. We currently pay $155.00/month and as it is, 90% of the time, my husband and I watch one channel - FOX news. I think I may find another internet provider and stick an old fashioned antenna on my roof.

@Sapphiregal
You have a good provider. I don't know how fast your internet speed is or how many channels you have.

I would look into streaming content. YouTube has lots of news programs free.
Most people cut the cord and buy internet from their provider and add the programs you want.
DslReports. Com has a Suddenlink forum that might be helpful.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

chiclet — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 11:57:55 GMT

I signed a new contract with Dish and a month later lost the two channels I watch most. Now I hardly watch it and still paying for two years. I am thinking of paying the penalty and canceling. The whole streaming thing was overwhelming but I went to walmart and bought a roku device. It took two minutes to hook it into the back of tv. It has a very tiny box. Then you just turn on with the remote it comes with and it will guide you to hooking up to internet. Now you can add what you want to stream through like Hulu, discovery+ netflix etc. etc. You might go online and do some research to see what each streaming channel offers. You can get regular programming on Hulu but a day later than on cable. It is a little work to get it all the way you want but it is so much cheaper because you pay for what you want and you can cancel at any time. I had watched mostly everything I wanted to see on Netflix and cancelled and a couple months later got it back. It is very easy once you get it all down. The part with streaming I don't like as much as with cable I set up all my shows to record and forget about it. I go to the place to watch and they are all there and I watch. I don't have to remember anything. Now I have to remember which show is on which streaming channel. I am sure I still have a lot to learn and will keep trying new stuff since I can cancel it at any time. One thing I learned is set it all up through Roku and I only have one place to go to change it.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

CalminHeart — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 13:11:19 GMT

I changed from cable to satellite 8 years ago and never looked back. I call them every 6 months and they apply a $40-$50 credit per month to my account. It brings the cost down to what's affordable for me.

I recently started streaming. I haven't yet decided but I may cancel satellite and just stream. But the cost of the streaming options I want are nearly what I pay for satellite. So it's a toss-up for now.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

SilleeMee — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 14:02:05 GMT

I'm staying with DirecTV. Using an aerial antenna around here doesn't work b/c of the mountains, hills and valleys. I can only get just a few channels with an antenna. Streaming is out of the question for me b/c of the high cost of the required high-speed internet (average cost of that is $70 mo.). I always get discounts which last a year and that usually saves me about $50 a month on my satellite bill. Satellite picture quality is tops and it's one reason why I bought my big 4K TV. No streaming for me.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Dusty1 — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 14:53:00 GMT

@Sapphiregal I LOVE TV, but I got tired of cable raising the rates constantly.

The only thing I truly miss is the DVR function.

If you have a newer tv you have the apps on it or can add the apps to it, or get a Roku or Firestick device (You just plug them into the back of your tv like you plug in a USB to your computer.)

I do pay $74.99 a month for my internet service, but I would be paying that anyway.

I have an antenna on my roof that basically gets me ABC & channels from the 60's. I can watch Leave It To Beaver or Gunsmoke any time I want.

I pay $13.93 a month for Hulu with no commercials (I also get ESPN with that, but I have never used it.).

I pay $7.51 for Disney (I share these accounts with my son.).

I scam off of my daughter's Netflix account.

I have Amazon Prime which costs $109 a year.

So I have plenty of entertainment. It's kind of a hassle. I have no DVR.

You have no idea how much bad tv is out there!

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Vivian — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 16:44:28 GMT

I get a bundled bill from Spectrum every month. It costs more than my first mortgage. I suppose I should call it a bungled bill. I was added to one daughter's Netflix account and another daughter's Prime account. I've been enjoying both a great deal. My husband's Alzheimer's makes streaming-only impossible. Even cable has become a challenge for him. For now I'm stuck, but I hope I live to see the day when cable TV becomes obsolete.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Nuttmeg — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:03:10 GMT

@Dusty1 wrote:
@Sapphiregal I LOVE TV, but I got tired of cable raising the rates constantly.
The only thing I truly miss is the DVR function.
If you have a newer tv you have the apps on it or can add the apps to it, or get a Roku or Firestick device (You just plug them into the back of your tv like you plug in a USB to your computer.)
I do pay $74.99 a month for my internet service, but I would be paying that anyway.
I have an antenna on my roof that basically gets me ABC & channels from the 60's. I can watch Leave It To Beaver or Gunsmoke any time I want.
I pay $13.93 a month for Hulu with no commercials (I also get ESPN with that, but I have never used it.).
I pay $7.51 for Disney (I share these accounts with my son.).
I scam off of my daughter's Netflix account.
I have Amazon Prime which costs $109 a year.
So I have plenty of entertainment. It's kind of a hassle. I have no DVR.
You have no idea how much bad tv is out there!

@Dusty1

You do not have a Disney+ bundle for $13.99 with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

scatcat — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:10:05 GMT

You pay $155/mo to watch FOX news?

Actually the people I know that watch FOX news have it on 24/7 so maybe a good deal?

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Dusty1 — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:15:41 GMT

@Nuttmeg That is what I have, but I pay the extra because of "no commercials".

Which, again, they lie to you. There are commercials that play before & after certain shows, but not all through the middle.

That is why my bundle is $21.44.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

froggy — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:26:25 GMT

I can't get rid of cable because my husband's favorite shows are not in a streaming bundle. Besides he loves to click through all the channels - you can't do that with streaming. However I think the cost is reasonable. We have every channel tier that Cox offers, our landline phone, our high speed internet and every single premium channel (HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax) for $153/month. Then we have Prime, Acorn, Britbox, PBS Passport and Paramount+. Comes out to little over $200 per month and we have everything we could possibly want to watch. It's our main entertainment so it's worth it.

The shows we watch together at night are all streaming - I'm in charge of the Roku.😊

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

Solar Is My Name — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 19:46:55 GMT

In November we dumped cable. Put Firesticks on all TVs and now have everything we want on YOUTUBE TV. (We also have Amazon Prime and Netflix, but we had those before we dumped cable.) But just going from cable to YOUTUBE TV we cut that bill in half!

-Solar

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

pdlinda — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 20:32:09 GMT

@froggy WOW!! Cox is my provider too (Phx) and I got what I thought was a great deal with them last summer. Not the top tier you're describing; however, I have Contour and they added some channels, like all the HBO's, as part of the deal. It was $167/mo. for cable and hi-speed internet. That rate was offered to me FOR 2 YEARS!!

Well, lo and behold, I got my latest email statement, and they included a letter saying their costs were going up (blah,blah,blah it's the same letter I get every years) and my monthly cable bill would now be $179!!!

I am waiting until next Wed to call their retention crew (I'm a loyal customer for over 20 years) and see how they can get my monthly bill to revert to the $167. they offered.

I'm waiting for that date because I know their best deals occur at the beginning of the month and I read it's best to call in the middle of the week.

It's difficult to express my exasperation, irritation and frustration at Cox that I have to go through this "let's make a deal" song-and-dance with them AGAIN when I thought I was done with "negotiations" for 2 YEARS!!

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

froggy — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 20:57:47 GMT

@pdlinda wrote:
@froggy WOW!! Cox is my provider too (Phx) and I got what I thought was a great deal with them last summer. Not the top tier you're describing; however, I have Contour and they added some channels, like all the HBO's, as part of the deal. It was $167/mo. for cable and hi-speed internet. That rate was offered to me FOR 2 YEARS!!

Well, lo and behold, I got my latest email statement, and they included a letter saying their costs were going up (blah,blah,blah it's the same letter I get every years) and my monthly cable bill would now be $179!!!

I am waiting until next Wed to call their retention crew (I'm a loyal customer for over 20 years) and see how they can get my monthly bill to revert to the $167. they offered.

I'm waiting for that date because I know their best deals occur at the beginning of the month and I read it's best to call in the middle of the week.

It's difficult to express my exasperation, irritation and frustration at Cox that I have to go through this "let's make a deal" song-and-dance with them AGAIN when I thought I was done with "negotiations" for 2 YEARS!!

@pdlinda My rate is supposed to go up $20 after one year - I've had it for about 6 months now. I just happened to go to Cox online and found this offer - of course no one told me about it voluntarily. I'm not going to complain about the extra 20 because before this offer I was paying a total of $225. Lesson learned - keep looking for new offers.

Re: So Tired Of High Cable Costs

pdlinda — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 21:51:29 GMT

@froggy To put things in a bit of context: When I made the deal with Cox last summer, they told me they had an entirely NEW PRICING STRUCTURE. They insisted that instead of me having to "wheel and deal" every year for a bundle rate their NEW approach was to only charge for "services I use" as a flat rate.

They said regardless of any price increases charged to Cox by the providers, that rate was "set in stone."

They told me that even when the 2 yr deal expired I should call and with my long perfect payment history, I would be "taken care of" and the $167 would be renewed.

Now, it seems that was simply a "sales pitch" because it's clear that what they told me was "set in stone" is obviously not so!

I have no interest in giving up cable because I don't watch live TV and DVR everything so I can FF through the banks of commercials.

I'm getting my box of tissues ready to give them a real "sob story" and hope it does some good to hold them to their word. The saga continues....