Community Chat

[Deree]

I would guess it won't be long before the streaming services start majorly hiking their rates.  I cut cable a couple of years ago and went to antenna only.  I don't miss cable one bit and I don't even find a need for streaming. There are programs I'm getting with the antenna that I didn't get with cable and that I'm enjoying even more.  The only cable program I would miss is Billions but i will get a monthly Showtime subscription for the 3 months for around $11 a month when that starts I believe in March.

[Highlands72]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@Bridgegal wrote:

@sunshine45

Same here re:  AT&T cell phone service.    I love their customer service.  We've been with them since 2002 and never ever had one issue.  I could do commercials for them.   

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@Bridgegal @sunshine45

I had AT&T mobile WiFi....their customer service was great.  One time I called to ask a simple question about a feaure and  after he answered my question, he informed me of new pricing tiers, and actually said Let me find a better option and its cheaper and he actually lowered my rate.  

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I have had ATT mobile service for years, and I also have high praise for their customer service. Whenever I have to call for any reason, I am quickly put through to a human who is pleasant and competent.

My satisfaction level with ATT mobile is off the charts; no comparison to the frustration I usually feel when trying to deal with the cable service or other utility-company issues.

I do not have ATT for any other services (tv or internet), so I don't know how they compare to others.

[Bridgegal]

@Spurt

Yes, I've had that experience with them several times.  Love AT&T mobile.

[feline groovy]

PART II:

Americans spend more than $1,000 a year per household on cable TV channels they NEVER watch

• Americans watch an average of 11 channels out of 192 available on cable TV
• The unused channels cost an average of $1,088 per year, per household
• Despite the high cost, four out of five of the most popular TV channels among men and women are local stations that consumers don't have to pay for

DailyMailUK  PUBLISHED: 13:45 EST, 7 February 2019 | UPDATED: 15:48 EST, 7 February 2019

Americans only watch 11 channels of an average of 192 included in their TV package – just 5.7 percent of what's available in the average cable deal, according to a new report.

The unused channels are costing them an average $1,088 per year – and nearly 82 percent of Americans believe they waste money on their television bill, according to the survey of 1,009 Americans by Cordcutting.com.

The price tag is not insignificant, considering 57 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, according to a separate GOBankingRates survey.

The numbers come on the heels of another survey finding that nearly 60 percent of Americans have canceled their cable television subscription. 

That survey of 5,027 Americans by Waterstone Management Group, found that a remaining 29 percent of Americans are considering canceling traditional TV, and just 12 percent are committed to sticking with their cable package.

Experts at Cordcutting used the survey data to determine the average monthly cable bill for Americans is $96.18 – amounting to about $0.50 per channel. But given that the average American only views 11 channels, that's costing them $8.74 per channel, or $104.88 per channel, per year.

Gesa Pannenborg, product manager for the Cordcutting survey, told DailyMail.com that 96 percent of respondents wanted an alternative to cable TV, signaling frustration among Americans about the high cost of internet-TV bundles.

'It seems to me that the cable companies are realizing that more and more Americans are cutting the cord and they want to up the prices and make it more difficult to only have internet,' she said. 

'It shows that more doesn't necessarily mean better,' she added. 

Men watch slightly more channels than women (12 compared to 10). Baby Boomers also tend to watch more channels (12 compared to 11 among Generation X and Millennials).

Baby Boomers spend more ($106.80 a month), on average, than Generation X ($97.33) and Millennials ($93.64) on their cable packages.

Despite cost frustrations, about 69 percent of Americans said they chose their TV provider based on a bundled deal for cable and internet – but only about 35 percent said their monthly bill was cheaper than if they bought internet alone.

If they could choose only five channels, men and women had slightly different answers.

The favored channel among men is ESPN (43.9 percent), while ABC – a free local station – was favored among women (45.3 percent).

However, local channels ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox were favorites for men and women, with women also favoring HGTV (19.1 percent) in their top five channels.

The finding shows that four out of five of the most popular TV channels among men and women are ones that consumers don't have to pay for.

But more than 43 percent of respondents said they have called their TV provider and managed to negotiate a better deal.

The survey also follows news that Netflix is increasing its monthly subscriptions fees by $1 - $2 a month, depending on how many screens viewers want to use. Subscriptions start at $8.99 and range up to $15.99.

Netflix is also preparing to crackdown on illegal account sharing via new artificial intelligence software, which will be able to analyze which users are logged in and then flag shared accounts. 

The move is expected to recoup major money for the video streaming service: a separate report from Parks Associates found that by 2021, credentials sharing will account for $9.9 billion of losses in pay-TV revenues and $1.2 billion of over-the-top (OTT) revenues.

[sunshine45]

i definitely regularly watch more than 12 channels.

the other people in my household watch different channels than i do, so i am sure the number is much higher than 12 total channels watched.