To cut cable or not to cut cable?

[jjwelch24]

We are seriously considering cutting cable because I just can't justify the high cost of paying for so many channels that we never watch. Does anyone have any tips if we do? Has anyone cut cable and regretted it? Should we just go ahead and do it?

 

[Howgreat]

We did it for almost 2 years and have no regrets. We watched less TV and subscribed to Netflix for the kids show and movies. After almost 2 years, our cable provider called and offered us cable for only $12 more than we were paying for just internet, so we took them back. We would definitely have it cut off again if the price went back up.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We were going to, and when I called to cancel they offered me cable with all channels including ShowTime, starz and encore with the fastest wireless internet for $80, so I took it.

 

[letsgoreds]

4 years in, no regrets. We have an antenna mounted in our attic and use our HD TiVo (lifetime subscription) and our Apple TV (Netflix, Hulu) primarily. No regrets. You can always go back if you find you miss it.

We pay around $40/month for internet and subscriptions.

 

[powellrj]

I tried and it was't for us. We watch too many sports and love our pay stations like HBO and Showtime. I know you can get the shows later, but I like to watch them when they are current, so I had to go back to cable. I did cut back.

 

[DawnM]

You can always get it back if you don't like it.

We cut it over 3 years ago and love it. We have a nice set up (IMO). Rooftop antenna, 2 Tivos with lifetime subscription that I picked up for around $200 on ebay, and Netflix and Hulu+.

We had Netflix even with Satellite anyway.

We get about 30 OTA channels.

No regrets.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I always think about just going to streaming services, but then football season comes around. Why can't there be streaming sports packages?

 

[mrsklamc]

We cut it, we love it, highly encourage it. Such an easy way to save $. Sometimes we have watched games on ESPN2 if they weren't offered on TV, but most of the games we want to watch are offered over the air. Also consider whether you could watch at a sports bar - you can buy dinner out for a lot cheaper than a cable bill.

 

[Tinkerdreams]

Cut cable 4 years ago and don't miss it - our bill was $200/month. Now it is $80. We subscribe to Netflix, Huluplus and I have Amazon Prime which offers free streaming through our Roku. I've also found the website, couchtuner, which has shows you can stream from various cable channels including HBO, Showtime, TNT, etc. and its free. We have that streaming from our Ipad through our AppleTV.

With all those choices, no need for cable

 

[crisi]

We don't miss it - but we aren't sports watchers.

We get current shows by buying the season on Amazon - there are a few shows we get this way, but the vast majority of stuff we watch we get either "free" through prime or off a Netflix subscription. A few movies we Redbox

This is our second go at it, though. My husband insisted on getting it back for baseball season one year, then watched three games all year. Cable stuck around as our kids discovered shows on cable that they would DVR. Eventually, we did the math - buying the four or five shows was cheaper.

(HBO just cut a deal with Amazon - a lot of HBO shows are going to show up on Amazon as they are broadcast or within a day or two. HBO has realized that they need to ride the shirttails of someone other than just the cable companies).

 

[JanaDee]

We cut it, we love it, highly encourage it. Such an easy way to save $. Sometimes we have watched games on ESPN2 if they weren't offered on TV, but most of the games we want to watch are offered over the air. Also consider whether you could watch at a sports bar - you can buy dinner out for a lot cheaper than a cable bill.

Dinner out 4 times a month (upwards of $200)to watch one thing is a lot more expensive than paying a monthly cable bill.

We are huge sports watchers here, so we won't ever get rid of cable.

 

[kymom99]

We pay about $85 for DTV and watch 160+ baseball games a year. that is the main reason we keep it. When I hear that lots of people are paying that much for their other subscriptions, I realize the savings wouldn't be significant for us.

 

[crisi]

When your kids are complaining that they'll never use the math they learn.....

You have to do the math. Going to a sports bar to watch games is a good deal if you do it two or three times a year - not if you do it two or three times a week - if you watch a lot of sport, keeping cable will be cheaper.

Buying shows through Amazon will be cheaper if you buy four or five shows a year - a season of a show runs around $30 depending on the show. Its not going to be a good deal if you follow a LOT of shows - or if you need to be talking at them at work the morning after they are shown (there is often a one day delay on getting them to streaming). We had to cut my son off and change the password since he'd go shopping for shows and movies without being price aware as he was doing it. He could rent four movies in an afternoon or purchase and binge watch and entire season of something incredibly stupid (if he were buying and binge watching The West Wing I'd be all for it) - that isn't a good deal....

So you do need to do the math since every household's tv viewing habits are different. Is what you want available without cable? How do you get what you want without cable, and how much will it cost you?

Our cut cable bill is a $75 a year Amazon prime subscription (which we'd have anyway), $8 a month in Netflix streaming. About $200 (minus my son's ill advised purchases, but we stopped that) in "shows we watch that we need to buy" And about $50 a year in RedBox rentals. Less than $400 a year. Our cable bill was over $1000 a year. There are some additional dollars in movies we outright buy digitally via Amazon - but that used to show up on the Target bill as DVDs bought at Target, not the cable bill.

 

[mom2alix]

(HBO just cut a deal with Amazon - a lot of HBO shows are going to show up on Amazon as they are broadcast or within a day or two. HBO has realized that they need to ride the shirttails of someone other than just the cable companies).

This is great news! One reason DH wasn't sure about cutting the cord was he thought he'd miss his HBO shows. I just ordered and HD antenna that should arrive today and we're going to see what kind of reception we get. We may be getting rid of cable, too.

 

[crisi]

This is great news! One reason DH wasn't sure about cutting the cord was he thought he'd miss his HBO shows. I just ordered and HD antenna that should arrive today and we're going to see what kind of reception we get. We may be getting rid of cable, too.

You are going to want to do a little research - not ALL shows are moving over - at least not yet. So before you cut, make sure the ones you want are.

(And another hint for being a successful cord cutter - don't pick up new shows that aren't available through an alternative source - before you get hooked, make sure you'll be able to get it.)

 

[Rose23]

We were going to cut cable fully about three weeks ago. We only watch sports, Disney, HGTV and TCM channels. When I called the cable company (Time Warner) and told them I was cancelling my cable due to cost ($68 a month), they reduced my bill by $26 (paying $42 now) in order not to lose a customer and the service stayed the same.

It is my guess that we will eventually eliminate it totally next year and purchase an antenna but you may want to give it a try and call them and see what they can do. What could happen?

Best Wishes!

 

[Minnesota!]

DO IT! We cut the cord about a month ago and it has been HEAVENLY!!! We purchased Roku and got Netflix - $7.99/month.

My kids and DH love the Roku/Netflix. All the old shows...Dh is on a Wonder Years marathon spree right now.

I ahve enjoyed not turning the TV at all at night. We play cards and board games or....play outside! I figured summer was the best time to do this...we are never home/inside before dark, anyway.

I highly suggest it..

 

[sherry7]

I've been thinking about doing this for a few months, every since my 24 month DirecTV contract ended. But both times that I called to cancel, they dropped my bill without me even asking. One time about a week after I called to cancel (and didn't), they called me out of the blue, and gave me a $5 monthly credit. At the moment, I'm paying just over $40 (including taxes) a month for an Entertainment Classic package on our 2 TV's, along with a whole house DVR. We're not really big movie watchers, so this package more than meets our needs.

I currently have a lower speed of DSL, which hiccups when I try to stream anything on the big 55" TV. (Does okay on the iPad.) I figured that by the time I upgrade my internet speed and pay for Hulu Plus, I'm probably breaking about even with what I have now. When DirecTV decides to stop giving me credits, I'll probably jump ship to Dish Network for their 2 year introductory promo rates.

 

[sherry7]

I've been thinking about doing this for a few months, every since my 24 month DirecTV contract ended. But both times that I called to cancel, they dropped my bill without me even asking. One time about a week after I called to cancel (and didn't), they called me out of the blue, and gave me a $5 monthly credit. At the moment, I'm paying just over $40 (including taxes) a month for an Entertainment Classic package on our 2 TV's, along with a whole house DVR. We're not really big movie watchers, so this package more than meets our needs.

I currently have a lower speed of DSL, which hiccups when I try to stream anything on the big 55" TV. (Does okay on the iPad.) I figured that by the time I upgrade my internet speed and pay for Hulu Plus, I'm probably breaking about even with what I have now. When DirecTV decides to stop giving me credits, I'll probably jump ship to Dish Network for their 2 year introductory promo rates.

 

[mello]

We cut our cable a couple years ago and have not missed it. We got an antenna to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was the one thing we really didn't want to miss on network tv. As for cable channels, we slightly miss Food Network, but found Good Eats and some others on dvd. We like buying whole seasons of shows on dvd from Amazon, usually for $20 or less, and watch them whenever we want to. We find that at our rate of watching, we maybe buy a season once every 2 months. We also have Amazon Prime (student membership, so $40ish a year), and that keeps us plenty busy. I hated paying over $100 a month for just the two or three channels we watched. Now we spend about $150 a year instead, and don't feel deprived at all.