Is streaming going to be the new cable

[MillauFr]

That's like saying no one writes checks anymore.

Yes checks are pretty much dead. Even credit cards are starting a slow decline.

 

[frannn]

We keep our cable because the package allows us to stream paid channels on demand. I cant remember the last time I actually watched tv when it was being aired and not on demand. Prob American Idol

 

[robinb]

Has been for a while.

Yes, along with the same cost. I was hoping that streaming would cost less or that I could choose my channels but steaming follows the same cable/satellite model.

 

[crazylady]

Haha. I double checked the date on this thread to see if it was a zombie thread.

We ditched cable @10 years ago. Still have a landline though. . Some of the streaming services now feel no different than cable to me. We switched to save some money but now I think the cost is pretty similar between streaming and cable.

 

[sam_gordon]

The scammers thank you. How else can they bait people if they don't have phone service?

By calling cell phones?
Sending emails?
Setting up websites so you get redirects of "You've already won!" (I'm looking at you DIS).

 

[barkley]

I'm guessing the same people who still have cable TV are the same ones who still have landline telephones.

cable has never been available nor ever will in the area i live in-it's too cost prohibitive for any company to deal with the infrastructure to install. before satellite tv (and to this day for some) people use antennas (strange sight for visitors to see 7 figure homes with tv antennas on their roofs-younger people can't figure out what the heck they are).

we still have a landline-when weather is bad cell reception can be spotty at best. even in good weather one provider may have decent service at your neighbors house but no bars in the same neighbor's front yard (not good in an emergency). family member in california had his neighbors go running in droves to reinstall landlines when pg&e took down the power which included their area's cell towers. unless you had a landline (and an old school corded phone) you were cut off from 911

The scammers thank you. How else can they bait people if they don't have phone service?

i haven't gotten one on my landline in years-it's all via calls and texts on my cell.

Yes checks are pretty much dead. Even credit cards are starting a slow decline.

i'm finding that more and more companies and vendors are up charging 3% or more for use of both debit and credit cards so i'll stick with my checks. i wouldn't mind it so much if it was an occasional smaller purchase but when it's an ongoing service like pest control, landscaping and such it adds up up over time.

 

[Wendy1985]

Haha. I double checked the date on this thread to see if it was a zombie thread.

We ditched cable @10 years ago. Still have a landline though. . Some of the streaming services now feel no different than cable to me. We switched to save some money but now I think the cost is pretty similar between streaming and cable.

Apparently Hallmark is starting a new streaming channel only it’s not available on cable

 

[Miffy]

Re: checks. We have to use a check to pay our water/sewer bill. The company doesn't accept any other kind of payment, although perhaps one could go there in person and give them cash.

We ditched cable many years ago when our introductory rate went up into the stratosphere and we realized we watched practically nothing via the cable anyway. No way do we pay as much per month for internet + streaming. I don't count Prime in this cost since I've had Prime for years, even when I had cable.

The hardest part of ditching cable was unbundling things. DH wanted to keep our "landline" (it's not really a landline, it's also over the internet), so we got Ooma, which costs about $5/month.

Internet $70
Ooma $5
Netflix. $15
Apple $7
Hulu $13
D+ $7 (altho I paid for a couple of years upfront)

Total. = $117/month

Hardly the cost of cable, which would be at least $170/month, and we'd still have a couple of those streaming services in addition to cable.

We occasionally subscribe to a service for a month to see something or pay for a movie we want to see.

One of the great things about streaming is the flexibility. Nothing on a streaming service you want to watch? You can cancel it until something you want to see appears.

 

[MillauFr]

cable has never been available nor ever will in the area i live in-it's too cost prohibitive for any company to deal with the infrastructure to install. before satellite tv (and to this day for some) people use antennas (strange sight for visitors to see 7 figure homes with tv antennas on their roofs-younger people can't figure out what the heck they are).

Which makes you wonder how can any company make any money by providing any utility in a remote area. Do the phone company and electric utility get government subsidies?

 

[Sinder]

By calling cell phones?
Sending emails?
Setting up websites so you get redirects of "You've already won!" (I'm looking at you DIS).

Yeah I’m pretty sure scammers have figured out plenty of other ways to get their hand on your info and money.

 

[Sinder]

Which makes you wonder how can any company make any money by providing any utility in a remote area. Do the phone company and electric utility get government subsidies?

I have remote property in the mountains. There are towns nearby and 1 phone/cable company that serves the area. When we bought the property their were already service lines to it and a couple years ago they added DSL lines.
After that we decided to get their internet service but not the phone or cable. It’s pretty expensive compared to bigger companies, we pay more for just mediocre speed internet than we pay at home for Fios.
They probably do get subsidies but they also charge more to the consumer too. It’s most likely a combination of the two that pays for the infrastructure.
I know it was very expensive to have electric service brought up here but luckily the previous owner and a couple other property owners footed that bill years before we bought the property.

 

[bcla]

Yes checks are pretty much dead. Even credit cards are starting a slow decline.

I got a new checking account. The bank didn't even give a new set of starter checks and frankly I can pay nearly everything I needed with ACH transactions using the routing and account number.

 

[kymom99]

As for checks, but daughter threw in the towel and ordered checks because after she bought her house three years ago, she discovered many of the services she needed, landscapers, etc, take cash or check only.

LOL on microwave. Sacramento was the last major city to get cable TV back in 1986. Prior to that all we had was a MICROWAVE TV programming service that offered one channel, HBO. When cable started being installed, they switched to a channel called ONTV that was mostly adult content.

I remember ontv

 

[disneychrista]

I still have one show on dvd technically it is available on YouTube but I don’t know for how long so till I can purchase the digital format I will be keeping the dvds

I wasn't specifically saying anything about DVD's per se. Just that my parents were getting DVD's from Netflix & not using streaming on Netflix. I watch DVD's all the time. Why pay to stream a movie when getting the DVD from the library is "free." Yes, I might have to wait a little bit longer but I'm okay with that.

 

[bcla]

I wasn't specifically saying anything about DVD's per se. Just that my parents were getting DVD's from Netflix & not using streaming on Netflix. I watch DVD's all the time. Why pay to stream a movie when getting the DVD from the library is "free." Yes, I might have to wait a little bit longer but I'm okay with that.

I've gotten too used to high def, so DVD just doesn't cut it any more for me. I used to buy Disney home video copies, which usually came with a Bluray and DVD copy, and most of the newer ones came with an HD video download code (that also gave Disney Rewards points). However, I haven't bought one since Cars 3 since we can watch pretty much anything on Disney+.

 

[sk!mom]

Has been for years. I’m older and we have had streaming only since maybe 2014-15 ish. My millennial offspring have never had cable.

I think it will continue to evolve. One of my favorite parts is that we can get a service like Apple TV for a month and binge everything of interest and then cancel. I like the flexibility of streaming.

 

[barkley]

Which makes you wonder how can any company make any money by providing any utility in a remote area. Do the phone company and electric utility get government subsidies?

the phone company admits to losing money in our neck of the woods-they stopped allowing new residents the option of internet about 10 years ago (as people move/cancel service they don't allow for someone to back fill their slot-they just maintain for those still on the system). electric? we are on a not for profit electric cooperative that was started in 1938 when investor-owned utilities bypassed the nation’s rural areas because of sparse population. our electric rates are MUCH lower than most experience AND every year or two we receive a check in the mail from the utility (as a not for profit any profits are refunded to the membership, currently about 40,000 members who have shared in about $16 million in refunds over the past 12 years).

 

[disneychrista]

I've gotten too used to high def, so DVD just doesn't cut it any more for me. I used to buy Disney home video copies, which usually came with a Bluray and DVD copy, and most of the newer ones came with an HD video download code (that also gave Disney Rewards points). However, I haven't bought one since Cars 3 since we can watch pretty much anything on Disney+.

I honestly don't see any difference between what I can stream, DVD or Blu-Ray.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Cable/Dish/DirecTV is fine - except the price. Jeebus we were paying a lot for something we barely used! I kinda miss the DVR and live sports (but not enough to justify how much we were paying) and that's about it. We get local channels free OTA good enough. On-demand streaming is the way to go beyond that. We are saving over $100/month over what we were paying and frankly are paying for 1-2 streaming services we could probably live without.

 

[kymom99]

Which makes you wonder how can any company make any money by providing any utility in a remote area. Do the phone company and electric utility get government subsidies?

I think it’s part of the duty of our local government to support access to basic needs. Years ago one of our state governors allotted money to put water lines down some rural roads in our area. Many do not have sewer but that can be remedied with septic systems.

Once the infrastructure is in place it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to provide the services.