TV and Movies

[Must Love Dogs]

Hello, all!

I have been a cable TV hold out for 25+ years.  I live on a single income and do not travel or live in an expensive house, and cable is my main source of entertainment.  However, today, when I went to switch on one of my favorite shows, I discovered that the channel was missing. 

I dialed the help desk and got an automated message telling me that the channel line up had changed.  No notification of the change via mail nor email. This irks me.  I realize there is more to life than TV and will survive, but I enjoyed certain shows as my entertainment and relaxation. 

Here is my question:  For those of you who cut the cable cord, do you miss it?  Is it worth cutting my current cable company to switch to another who still carries the channels I like, knowing full well, in time, they, too, will make changes?  I am not exactly "Miss Technology" so am hesitant to string together things like Hulu, Amazon TV, etc.

Any thoughts out there? Many thanks!

[CAcableGirl2]

@Must Love Dogs  I guess it matters what channel or show is missing.  I would call your company and ask about the channel change with a live person.  Did the channel just move to another channel, to a different channel package, or was is removed from their service entirely?. 

Are you able to subscribe to this channel on line or are the shows all repeats or a current program that you might be able to watch on video on demand?

Not exactly the same issue, but I used to watch "All My Children", and had pretty much kept up with it for 40 years and it was taken off of ABC (much to the anger of the many fans) and was eventually revived on line, and then the new company dissolved.  I miss the show but rarely even think about it anymore.  I just moved on and you will too.

It's sure worth a call to your company and get the details on this change, and don't hesitate to ask for a promotional offer or discounted offer. 

[patbz]

@Must Love Dogs :  Call and ask for a discount (probably only $5 but it's something).  When I called about my missing station (CBS) I also asked the Retention Specialist to cut my bill: it went down by $20 mthly!  Cable cutting isn't an option (I live three hrs from where the broadcast originates and I'm at 6500ft!

[Must Love Dogs]

Thank you for the reply!  You are right: Eventually, I will simply move on from the shows I like.  Even now, I can catch glimpses of scenes just be checking my social media pages.

[Must Love Dogs]

I am going to take this advice--won't hurt to ask!

[Nuttmeg]

Here are a few resources I Iike, No cable.org, and DSl Reports.com. DSL has a forum for most cable and fiber companies. They even have a cord cutting forum.

You may want to ask questions about the best speed.for streaming. The best box, Roku or Fire products.

Comcast has the largest DSL forum.  A place to get the most info.

YouTube.

[chiclet]

I feel the same as you.  I really don't want to figure how to use roku, antennae etc.....I just want to turn on the tv and what I want to see is there.  I lost CBS for about two weeks and was so mad because quite a few shows I watch is on that network.  It came back before the new season begins so I am fine but expecting it to happen to another network.....Nothing stays the same.

[lenapecci]

I have Comcast in NEPA and just lost the ID channel. I was told by three reps that Comcast no longer has a contract with ID channel WGN and one other channel I have not heard of. I watch the ID channel all the time. It has been a little bit of an adjustment. In time I imagine i will forget about that channel.  

I just think they are all just greedy. JMO

[SilleeMee]

The way I surf and use my TV, yes I would miss having my Directv service. I enjoy the top-quality picture of which satellite has no comparison. I did not purchase a my big 4K TV to watch streaming...that's not what I prefer at all.

ETA -  I do have a Roku device and also a few streaming subscriptions, too. But when I view programs on those things I notice the inferior picture quality. Like I said, satellite offers the best picture quality and there is no comparison to it.

[Meowingkitty]

We cut the cord 2 months ago. Do I miss it? NO. In my area (Phoenix, Az) we only have 3 choices. DirectTV, Cox and Dish. We had Cox and their prices kept going up,plus their internet was horrible.  We then switched to DirectTV. We had them for about 5 years. Every year they would raise my rates and every year I would call a retention specialist and get them lowered again. Except this year. They were going to raise my rates $65 a month. All they would offer me was free HBO for 6 months. I never watch HBO. I had been thinking of dropping DirectTV for over a year when I counted the number of channels I was paying for that we’re nothing but informercials. HSN and QVC, EVINE are included in that number.  It was over 60 channels. We now have ROKU, Antenna, Amazon Prime shows, and we subscribe to HULU Plus. We now pay $45 a month vs $150. Fewer commercials, lots of stuff to watch. It’s very easy to navigate.