Posted on 04/22/2016 7:57:49 AM PDT by DrJeff
Cancelled DishTV today. I have "cut the cord" on and off for many years, and it's time again. I was paying $60/month on a discount plan and it went up to $120 for the same programming. I'm just not getting that kind of benefit from the cable channels. On a personal level, I don't see the value.
A recent article found that more than 1,000,000 [US] consumers cancelled paid TV subscriptions in 2015, according to SNL Kagan, a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Last year's decline was four times greater than the losses of 2014, and it represents the third consecutive overall annual drop for the industry, SNL Kagan says.
In Canada, it's similar: According to the Convergence Consulting Group, 190,000 Canadians ended their ties with traditional TV in 2015. That's an 80 per cent increase from the previous year when 105,000 people cut the cord.
According to his numbers, only 13,000 Canadians cut the cord in 2013, while in 2012 there was actually a gain of 32,000 TV subscribers.
Most expect the big drop in 2015 to be "the new normal."
I have a Roku device and it’s nice. Still need internet service of course. Paperwork says at least 6 Mbps though I have more. There’s lots of free stuff but I subscribe to Sling TV and my daughter gave me Netflix for my birthday.
You could invest in new guns? More prepper supplies?
She likes to watch things like HGTV, Botched, ID and LNM (murder mysteries) and movies. We never watch the “mainstream” serials, reality shows, talk shows or any of that. The services like Netflix seem heavily in favor of the ABC/CBS/NBC serials that we never watch.
You might have to re-orient your antenna occassionally to get better reception for a particular channel, just like with the old rabbit-ears antennas.
Anyway, I got one of those digital antennas when I cut cable. Now I get dozens of over-the-air channels, all for free. You might get more or less, depending on where you live. I was amazed, as I didn't think there were so many over-the-air channels available. I get all the local stations, plus old movie and classic TV channels (Leave it to Beaver, etc.). And that's just the way I like it.
Plus, my blood pressure has improved now that I can no longer get, or watch, Bill O’Reilly.
The qualify of streaming has improved drastically in the last few years. Streaming is the wave of the future. It gives the viewer control over choice. Many streaming sources are absent advertising.
Amazon Prime has a pretty good listing of titles (movie & TV). In addition, one can ‘purchase’ shows and movies. Purchasing TV shows may be less costly than the 500 cable channels of nothing to watch.
Netflix is the #1 in streaming.
CBS has gone streaming, but someone posted in a related thread that they have not cut out commercials.
Hulu now has both pay with commercials and pay-more without (most) commercials.
Crackle has commercials every so-many minutes.
The problem I have found with ‘free’ streaming sources that put commercials in the stream is that the return-to-program stalls out. Try to restart at the last location, and it plays all of the commercials up to that point. I quit trying to watch Crackle and a few others for that very reason.
HBO, STARZ and SHOWTIME have been experimenting with streaming and going with web subscriptions without having to go through cable/satellite companies.
Why fund the enemy's agenda? Why pay for your own destruction?
That's why we've never had cable. We don't even watch broadcast TV (for almost a decade now - don't miss it one bit!).
Also, I keep forgetting that Youtube has a lot of TV series and movies.
Ironic that Youtube, a Google service, has one of the worst location/search capacities on the Internet.
Netflix and Amazon Prime listings are available at:
http://instantwatcher.com
I have not found a good listings website for Youtube.
Beer
I dumped DirecTV. Looking at Roku 3.
Upgrade your Internet and stream. Hulu, netflix, amazon.
We recently signed up for Playstation Vue (playstationvue.com). They have an app for Amazon Fire TV/Stick, iPhone/iPad, Chromecast, and Playstation 3/4.
It’s $29.99 for 55 channels.
Interacting with “real” humans is overrated.
Paying $100/mo for cable/internet. Package does not include espn. NFL draft coming up. I’ll stay at a hotel. FOX News regurgitates opinions on the news after Special Report. Different contributors. Getting sick of it. To think that those 2 channels are all I want!
What carrier?
same here
Everyone has missed the obvious FReeper answer. BLOAT.
Works great, there are many free channels on ROKU!
We have Roku and a digital antenna for local stuff. Honestly, even that isn’t worth it. I hardly watch any TV now. I just get stuff online.
Two words: Smith and Wesson.
Managed to cancel Dish?
What is your secret?
I have tried to get them to tell me how to return their equipment for months. In the meantime, they keep billing me.
And I keep not paying.
The last phone call wa 45 minutes, got transferred 3 times and finally disconnected.
I just hope enough fed up people have filed a class action suit so I can join it.
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