topic Re: I cut the cord in Community Chat

I cut the cord

catter70 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:59:03 GMT

I finally did it. I recently got my cable/phone bill and the price went up by $40.00. It was also at the end of my $15.00 loyalty credit they gave me last year, so the next bill would have been $247.00. Just the middle cable, no pay channels. With my neighbors help, I got a cell phone and had my home # ported to it and got a firestick. I don't like any of it as much as my landline and cable, but I think $55.00 raise in price was just too much for me and I was tired of having to call them every year for a discount. I'm not a techie person, so learning curve for me, but I'll figure it all out eventually.

Re: I cut the cord

CalminHeart — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 10:07:40 GMT

I went to satellite about 10 years ago and haven't once considered returning to cable. My satellite bill is 1/3 of my cable bill and I get all the same channels. In addition, I negotiated a discount with satellite which helps a lot! Cable wasn't open to negotiating.

Re: I cut the cord

Miss Pepsi — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:38:36 GMT

I cut the cord about a year and a half ago. I switch up streaming services. Right now all I have is Netflix, and I do have the Amazon Firestick. I don't watch a ton of TV as these days I am just not home that much. Right now it fills the need. I miss local news stations and I live in a place where one of those Antenna things won't work. I get one local news station and it would not have been my choice but it is better than nothing, especially during hurricane season.

It was quite the adjustment for me but in the end, I find myself with the TV on less often which in my opinion for me, it is not a bad thing.

The Cable companies and satellite companies are going to price themselves right out of a job if they don't watch out.

Re: I cut the cord

Snoopp — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:45:01 GMT

@catter70 wrote:
I finally did it. I recently got my cable/phone bill and the price went up by $40.00. It was also at the end of my $15.00 loyalty credit they gave me last year, so the next bill would have been $247.00. Just the middle cable, no pay channels. With my neighbors help, I got a cell phone and had my home # ported to it and got a firestick. I don't like any of it as much as my landline and cable, but I think $55.00 raise in price was just too much for me and I was tired of having to call them every year for a discount. I'm not a techie person, so learning curve for my, but I'll figure it all out eventually.

I applaud you for doing this. I have been thinking about doing the same when I move. I still haven't moved though. The best I can do is cancel a cable box for now.

Re: I cut the cord

CelticCrafter — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:55:09 GMT

We are getting ready to do it, waiting until Sunday when we go to our nieces house to see how the subscription version of YouTube TV works.

We have cable, phone and internet bundled and it's going from $157 to $283 because the promo is over.

We know it won't be the same but $126 increase a month is too much. We're not willing to play the game with the cable company anymore.

Re: I cut the cord

kaydee50 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:01:24 GMT

And we've decided to keep our cable company. When it increased the price $80 I called and the increase wound up being $15. We have cable with 3 TVs, internet and phone for $248. The convenience of just turning on the TV without having a couple of services plus the fact that the streaming services are increasing their prices, makes it worth it to us to stay with what we have.

Re: I cut the cord

JeanLouiseFinch — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:09:51 GMT

We are currently using cable service but also stream a little. Hubby is in the process of researching other streaming services to find the channels we want so we can eliminate cable altogether. Cable charges are ridiculous, and we don't even do any premium channels.

Re: I cut the cord

SilleeMee — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:26:35 GMT

I'm a happy Directv customer, over 20 years going. I've thought about cutting them off but when I checked the price of high-speed internet needed for streaming it was too much...close to $80 per month around here. Then add the cost of streaming services. The price would not be much lower than what I'm paying for satellite. Plus satellite is the best picture you can get, hands down. I didn't buy a big 4K TV to watch streaming.

ETA-

I live in an area where there are lots of mountains, hills and valleys. Antennas of any kind work but are very limited to how far they can go. People here don't use them.

Re: I cut the cord

ValuSkr — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:25:59 GMT

Congratulations on taking the plunge! You could save even more by cutting cable TV altogether and switching to antenna and/or one of the streaming services. I still have a landline mainly because my elderly parents can hear me better on it than a cell phone. It's kind of crazy, maybe I should get rid of it.

Re: I cut the cord

Carolina925 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 12:58:32 GMT

I finally cut mine...the day BEFORE the tornadoes breezed through my area! Discovered the drawback is that I can't get current news and was kind of lost during the warnings I couldn't access. I can get one "local" station, we have none in my town, but the news is on a half hour delay so that wasn't very helpful during emergency circumstances. I'll have to figure it all out before hurricane season begins. Surprised that The Weather Channel is not available unless you have a cable company! My cost kept rising and I spent the last couple months realizing that on the weekend nights when I usually watch TV had only sports events, which I am not remotely interested in watching. Between the sports and the mindless games and watching people who believe they're talented, I just couldn't justify cable any longer. I have a Roku device and it's taking some getting used to but I know I'll be all right. I have friends nearby who will look out for me, I've let them know I need to call on them during emergencies. My cable provider told me that they have to keep raising the costs because of the price sports companies are charging them. Don't even get me started on that one!

Re: I cut the cord

beckyb1012 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:09:39 GMT

I cut the cord in Oct. 2015 and all I have is antenna t.v. I do not watch much television ever since I prefer to read. So when they were forcing me to expand for more I said come get it. Never looked back or regretted the decision. There is way more to life than cable t.v. Plus I have two local stations so that is fine with me on what is going on outside.

Re: I cut the cord

bmorechick — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:33:49 GMT

@catter70 I hope you love it as much as we do...we cut it about two years ago, signed up for a few streaming services and saved A LOT of money. I have more TV than I ever did and still can't watch everything. Got that little 25$ indoor antenna for local stations and it's all good. My adult 20-30 something kids helped us navigate initially and yep, there's a learning curve but it comes quick. Best thing we ever did for home entertainment.

Re: I cut the cord

SeaMaiden — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:39:35 GMT

@CalminHeart wrote:
I went to satellite about 10 years ago and haven't once considered returning to cable. My satellite bill is 1/3 of my cable bill and I get all the same channels. In addition, I negotiated a discount with satellite which helps a lot! Cable wasn't open to negotiating.

@CalminHeart I hate that "negotiating bull****. I will not go through that on the phone! Dropped Sirius Radio because they made me do that every year...

I just pay my cable bill. I can afford whatever. I am not going to drop cable to save a few dollars.... I am not going to give up channels...pay extra for streaming....negotiate with an air head pawn employee on the phone... and have a dozen remotes with different passwords....

JUST NO.

Re: I cut the cord

Kachina624 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 13:56:29 GMT

@SeaMaiden Now sign up for Netflix if you haven't already, and find a nice streaming service...they all have free trials. Find one that has the programs you like to watch. I've used Sling, Discovery+ and YouTubeTV but there are others.

Re: I cut the cord

Kachina624 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:01:54 GMT

@SeaMaiden You might also get an interior antenna for each of your TVs. Very inexpensive and you'll get all your local, PBS lots of old sitcoms, and some shopping channels. Simple installation.

Re: I cut the cord

lovescats — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:18:40 GMT

@catter70

If you stay off cable for about 3 months they might start sending you new customer offers

Re: I cut the cord

Icegoddess — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:23:32 GMT

@Carolina925 wrote:
I finally cut mine...the day BEFORE the tornadoes breezed through my area! Discovered the drawback is that I can't get current news and was kind of lost during the warnings I couldn't access. I can get one "local" station, we have none in my town, but the news is on a half hour delay so that wasn't very helpful during emergency circumstances. I'll have to figure it all out before hurricane season begins. Surprised that The Weather Channel is not available unless you have a cable company! My cost kept rising and I spent the last couple months realizing that on the weekend nights when I usually watch TV had only sports events, which I am not remotely interested in watching. Between the sports and the mindless games and watching people who believe they're talented, I just couldn't justify cable any longer. I have a Roku device and it's taking some getting used to but I know I'll be all right. I have friends nearby who will look out for me, I've let them know I need to call on them during emergencies. My cable provider told me that they have to keep raising the costs because of the price sports companies are charging them. Don't even get me started on that one!

@Carolina925 our local News stations all have apps that you can use to keep up with the storms. The app streams the newscast whenever they're on doing storm coverage. I often have to use it since my DirecTV goes out whenever we have a storm.

Hubby wants to get rid of DirecTV, but I see the streaming services going up in price and you have to get several to get all the channels you want, so it's going to end up being the same price in the end. I also like flpping channels and looking at the Guide.

Recently, on my ski trip my friend was telling me she had cut the cord and was using only her antenna. All she watches is reruns of old TV shows. Even though I think most of the new content is mostly junk, watching old reruns doesn't float my boat.

Re: I cut the cord

Laura14 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:26:07 GMT

@Carolina925 You can probably go to the local news website and stream it from there if you want to. I've done that before. Also works with QVC as well. You can stream any channel you want to from the website with your phone or tablet.

Re: I cut the cord

geezerette — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:44:40 GMT

@Icegoddess wrote:
@Carolina925 wrote:
I finally cut mine...the day BEFORE the tornadoes breezed through my area! Discovered the drawback is that I can't get current news and was kind of lost during the warnings I couldn't access. I can get one "local" station, we have none in my town, but the news is on a half hour delay so that wasn't very helpful during emergency circumstances. I'll have to figure it all out before hurricane season begins. Surprised that The Weather Channel is not available unless you have a cable company! My cost kept rising and I spent the last couple months realizing that on the weekend nights when I usually watch TV had only sports events, which I am not remotely interested in watching. Between the sports and the mindless games and watching people who believe they're talented, I just couldn't justify cable any longer. I have a Roku device and it's taking some getting used to but I know I'll be all right. I have friends nearby who will look out for me, I've let them know I need to call on them during emergencies. My cable provider told me that they have to keep raising the costs because of the price sports companies are charging them. Don't even get me started on that one!
@Carolina925 our local News stations all have apps that you can use to keep up with the storms. The app streams the newscast whenever they're on doing storm coverage. I often have to use it since my DirecTV goes out whenever we have a storm.

Hubby wants to get rid of DirecTV, but I see the streaming services going up in price and you have to get several to get all the channels you want, so it's going to end up being the same price in the end. I also like flpping channels and looking at the Guide.

Recently, on my ski trip my friend was telling me she had cut the cord and was using only her antenna. All she watches is reruns of old TV shows. Even though I think most of the new content is mostly junk, watching old reruns doesn't float my boat.

Our local news channels also run their storm coverage live on Facebook as well as their websites and apps during bad weather.

That comes in handy when my satellite goes out right as the storm is approaching my area!

Re: I cut the cord

Carolina925 — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:47:32 GMT

@Laura14 , yes that's available. I was afraid to use my phone in case the power decided to go out and I couldn't recharge it quick enough. I can stream on my tablet and will do that. I just wasn't prepared not to be able to stream via TV. Thanks for the advice.