I sooo want to cut the cord

[yankebabie]

but... I watch a lot of TLC & HGTV shows. Can anyone tell me how I can still watch those shows if i quit cable . Thanks

 

[Tomh]

Have you looked into any of the streaming services such as DirecTV NOW, or Sling? There are options that can be used in conjunction with the FireTV stick, google is your friend!

 

[Albort]

Have you looked into any of the streaming services such as DirecTV NOW, or Sling? There are options that can be used in conjunction with the FireTV stick, google is your friend!

this, if u have ATT u can watch them on mobile without using your data.
if your in the right market area, youtubetv gives u a chromecast.

 

[Senk]

We have Playstation Vue TV. Even their lowest package has both TLC and HGTV for like $30 a month. Still pay for Internet but it's much less expensive than our satellite was

 

[DisneyEater]

We have Playstation Vue TV. Even their lowest package has both TLC and HGTV for like $30 a month. Still pay for Internet but it's much less expensive than our satellite was

This is what I was going to say. We are going to make this change from cable.

Also, google Kodi Fire Stick.

 

[redsonja76]

I just stopped watching and noticed that I barely miss it anymore. You might surprise yourself.

 

[magik]

There are a few options. SlingTV would get you HGTV, but not TLC ($20/month). PlayStationVUE would get you both of those channels ($30/month).

Hulu has certain TLC shows, but usually a season behind, so that can be a good option if you don't mind not being totally up-to-date. Hulu is also good for current seasons of ABC, NBC, and Fox shows as long as you don't get more than 5 episodes behind, so it is a good cordcutting option for that if you don't get good antenna reception. CW is no longer on Hulu, but it has its own app that streams current seasons for free (with commercials). CBS is the only major network that you'd have to pay to stream current seasons from their CBS All Access service if you can't get CBS from antenna. Hulu has some older CBS stuff, but no current seasons.

If there are only certain shows you watch, it's also usually (but not always) an option to buy a streaming subscription to just those shows through Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, or VUDU. Then you can keep up-to-date but only pay for the shows you care about. It's usually $15 - $30 for one season of a show depending on the particular show and whether you buy standard def or high def quality. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. Episodes are usually available 1 day after they air. With this option, the show is yours to "keep" and rewatch whenever you want (until the technology changes or they decide to stop support of the streaming service). The price is pretty much the same between all three services, so the best option will depend on what decice you use for streaming. If you have a roku, don't buy from iTunes, but either Amazon or VUDU will work. If you have an AppleTV, obviously iTunes will work fine there. If you have an Amazon Fire stick/TV, I think the only choice will be to purchase through Amazon. If you're using a video game console like Xbox, Amazon or VUDU would work, but iTunes won't.

Honestly though, I would try not watching any of your usual TLC and HGTV shows for a month and see if you really miss them. When I first cut the cord, I thought it would be hard not having certain channels. It really hasn't been. In reality, Hulu and Netflix (which I had before cutting the cord anyway) plus an antenna have been more than enough to keep me entertained. Yes, I'm a season behind on certain shows, but it doesn't matter. It has also prompted me to discover new shows. For the couple shows I really missed staying up-to-date on and can't get through antenna, hulu, or netflix, I buy a season pass. In the long run, it's still cheaper.

 

[Goldilocks07]

We have Playstation Vue TV. Even their lowest package has both TLC and HGTV for like $30 a month. Still pay for Internet but it's much less expensive than our satellite was

I am also planning on ditching cable, in my second home. I have a house in the mountains that I use maybe 2 weekends a month and can you believe that with only 2 tvs in the whole house, I'm paying $240??!!!!!!

So, next month I'm giving the finger to cable, getting Apple TV, and also paying for Playstation Vue, which is an app through Apple TV (or whichever provider you use). Then, I only have to pay for the internet in my house and the app, which gives you 'cable-like' listings.

 

[melanielll]

We had Playstation Vue. It was great if you wanted to watch the loading circle instead of an actual show.

Neither of my daughters have HGTV. I spend a decent amount of time at their places. The longer that I am without it, the less that I miss it. I gave up on TLC years ago. Duggars, hoarders, really obese people and that scary woman from Long Island chased me away.

We would ditch cable - except for my husband and his sports problem. All of the pieced together things that he "needs" for that cost almost as much as cable - so we keep paying.

 

[DawnM]

I am also planning on ditching cable, in my second home. I have a house in the mountains that I use maybe 2 weekends a month and can you believe that with only 2 tvs in the whole house, I'm paying $240??!!!!!!

So, next month I'm giving the finger to cable, getting Apple TV, and also paying for Playstation Vue, which is an app through Apple TV (or whichever provider you use). Then, I only have to pay for the internet in my house and the app, which gives you 'cable-like' listings.

$240/mo for one house or was that the cost for both houses?

 

[firefly_ris]

We haven't had cable TV since 2006. I too used to enjoy HGTV and TLC shows back then. I honestly don't miss them whatsoever. Occasionally I will flip through a few stations when I'm down visiting my parents... I have tuned to those stations and was not incredibly interested anymore.... and it felt like I was watching the same exact sort of things they were airing in 2006. I do have some favorite TV shows, most of them are on network TV, but if I miss them I find that I don't really mind that much, and I definitely watch significantly less TV than I did in general 10 years ago. I do love feature films so I probably watch one or two movies per week, depending on how busy the household schedule is that week, and probably about 3-4 hours of TV shows per week, tops.

All that said, we have cable internet (I'm a web developer so it's kind of a requirement) and a Netflix account. Between those two we're at about $67/month. My parents still have a cable package (Comcast and I think it's something close to $300/month...!!) and we do occasionally take advantage of one thing on that -- certain sports. There are other ways to watch sports online, so if my dad ever decided to ditch his cable we could still find a way -- but for right now having access to cable is much easier for a sports fan.... although with SlingTV you can at least get ESPN.

Anyway... I think you would find after a while that you don't miss it. We save approximately $1200/year by not having cable, which gets put towards other more fun things instead (usually...).

 

[Goldilocks07]

$240/mo for one house or was that the cost for both houses?

$240 for ONE house with 2 televisions inside. I know. CRAZY. And I called and tried to lower it and they basically said that's the cost. Even if I take it down to basic cable it only shaves off less than $20. So, I'm cutting them off and getting just the internet, which I think I remember them saying was $70.
This is in Upstate NY, so there aren't great options in terms of cable/internet.

 

[DawnM]

$240 for ONE house with 2 televisions inside. I know. CRAZY. And I called and tried to lower it and they basically said that's the cost. Even if I take it down to basic cable it only shaves off less than $20. So, I'm cutting them off and getting just the internet, which I think I remember them saying was $70.
This is in Upstate NY, so there aren't great options in terms of cable/internet.

Yeah, that is nuts.

 

[DawnM]

We have Playstation Vue TV. Even their lowest package has both TLC and HGTV for like $30 a month. Still pay for Internet but it's much less expensive than our satellite was

But you can only use it with Amazon Fire TV or a Playstation, am I reading that right?

It can't be used with Roku or Apple TV????

 

[biminibigblue]

HGTV has a lot of full episodes on their website with no login necessary.

 

[Senk]

But you can only use it with Amazon Fire TV or a Playstation, am I reading that right?

It can't be used with Roku or Apple TV????

I'm not sure, we have a Fire TV so I never really thought about it. I just Googled and I think they launched on both Roku and Apple TV end of 2016

Also, someone mentioned the loading circle, we don't have that problem but it could be a geographical or Internet speed things.

I would like to go without all together but DH and kids couldn't do it. We upgrade out PS Vue in the fall to have the Big Ten network for football season.

 

[wwffan7385]

We cut in September 2015 and get by with OTA, Hulu, and Netflix. We miss some shows and I sometimes go to BW3 if there's a big game on cable, but overall we are happy.

We might go back on live TV once Hulu comes out with their live service in a month. Not sure yet.

 

[DawnM]

We cut in September 2015 and get by with OTA, Hulu, and Netflix. We miss some shows and I sometimes go to BW3 if there's a big game on cable, but overall we are happy.

We might go back on live TV once Hulu comes out with their live service in a month. Not sure yet.

Hulu is getting a live service? I will have to take a look.

We went without cable from about 2008-2012, but then got it back when they offered it for just $30 more or so. But it keeps creeping up and is now about $75 more than internet alone.

 

[wwffan7385]

Hulu is getting a live service? I will have to take a look.

Sounds like it's going to be pretty similar to their competitors. Won't have Viacom or Discovery channels.

 

[DawnM]

Sounds like it's going to be pretty similar to their competitors. Won't have Viacom or Discovery channels.

Wondering if I really need it though. We have Tivos and and antenna, and they are paid for.

I didn't realize Hulu live was $40/mo. That isn't cheap. I think I only pay $60 for cable TV.

I plan to call and ask if I can get my cable bill down, if not, we may just go to over the air for a while.