ESPN 3 content used to be free. You could stream grand slam tennis, lower tier college football and basketball games, and more without a cable subscription.
No longer. So I've uninstalled the ESPN app on all my streaming devices, and my already waning interest in sports now wanes a little faster.
It takes a lot of nerve to charge for content fraught with ads.
I know a few people who are stuck with cable simply because they have access to broadband. But services like PlayStation Vue and Sling have made it easy for even sports lovers to cut the cord.
6 months out of the year, when there are sports broadcasts worth watching, I pay a little more for my streaming entertainment, but it never approaches the money I coughed up for Comcast TV. What this article fails to note is that many cable subscribers also subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. My neighbor is an example -- and I'm sure his total entertainment bill is at least $150 a month more than mine.
With most streaming services, you also get your entertainment commercial-free, another point the reviewers tend to leave out.
On paper, their skinny bundle may look like a bargain, but 30-40% of that bundle is advertising. Cable is simply unwatchable.
In addition to streaming staples like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, there's a ton of free content to be found, all of it playable through a streaming device to your TV.
Another point lazy reporters miss is that most paid streaming services are commercial free. What sort of a bargain is cable when you're paying well over $100 a month after equipment rentals, the bulk of your content is garbage, and 30-40% of that crappy content is in the form of commercials?
I've never seen an all night infomercial marathon on Netflix, or had my Amazon Prime viewing interrupted by weird and annoying plugs for Cialis.
So comparing cable to streaming on price alone is foolish and dishonest. With streaming content, you're getting a lot more for your money.
There are ways to do it. I don't have time to go into the details, but I get all the food and home channels I could possibly want (they're not my cup of tea). Talk to some of the cord cutter evangelists -- they're all around you and would probably be willing to help.
Rico act... Interesting point, since what the cable companies are doing does fall under the definition of racketeering.
My service isn't subject to a data cap (yet), but I would love to see a class action lawsuit against big ISPs and against the municipalities that grant them exclusive access.
I don't think the cable companies forgot how they started. They're simply acting like any other monopoly now -- hell bent on garnering maximum profit for an increasingly poor service or product.
Unless legislation opens up avenues of growth for small business, larger companies will use their vast resources to squash them. It's no accident that American cities with the best internet service often have backed out of exclusive deals with large cable companies and installed their own internet lines -- which, as you point out, offers benefits to small businesses people.
The trouble is, when cable companies are allowed to operate monopolies and cartels, especially when it comes to broadband, there's no need to learn from the customer. Responsiveness to customer needs occurs only in certain corporate cultures, and only when the customer has a choice.
I'm one of those former customers who ran for the exit. Cable has become so obnoxious with its ad stuffing that I wouldn't accept it for free. My streaming bill is a $90 savings over what I used to pay, and my viewing options are better than they've ever been.
I bought a Fire TV in 2014, my first streaming device. It has subsequently been replaced by a Roku 4, which supports more apps, and an Nvidia Shield Android box. Unfortunately, Amazon hasn't developed an app for Android TV, so I view Prime Video much less than I used to.
I would never again consider a streaming appliance that locks me into a seller's ecosystem (Apple TV being the worst). That defeats one of the major benefits of streaming, which is choice.
I'm closer to the age of your mother-in-law who has learned to cast from her phone, but I've cut the cable and now stream all video entertainment. Beyond Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, which give me far more viewing options than I would ever need, there's the lesser-known world of Kodi, which opens up international streams. It's a mystery to me why anyone with affordable broadband access would be willing to pay for the ad-infested garbage delivered through their cable wire. It's such a glaringly bad deal.
The "slowing of cord cutting" is a red herring. What it doesn't reveal is the amount of cord shaving as subscribers move to skinny bundles. I might have considered one of these skinny bundles early last year, but at the time Comcast wasn't offering them.
So I found a lower cost broadband provider and severed my relationship with Comcast. Now I stream everything, including international feeds for sports, and do most of my streaming ad free.
I've since lost all tolerance for inane, ad-infested cable programming and would never go back to it at any price. My older sister, having seen my streaming setup and witnessed the ease of accessing affordable quality programs, dumped her Time Warner cable less than a month ago.
Too late for me -- I've seen the light, dumped my bloated cable bundle, and moved on to far superior, ad-free streaming fare. My sister is also doing the same -- she witnessed the ease of my setup and my almost unlimited choices, and reacted to the latest Time Warner rate hike by saying sayonara to cable TV. Word gets around, and word among people who understand their options is that it's a bad deal to pay -- at any price -- for crummy programming that's 30-40% ads.
It's not just the quality of Netflix and Amazon original programming that poses a threat. Cable also does a poor job of handling niche markets. Where, on cable, do you turn if you're a cinephile interested in the world's great films? But you can find over 900 Criterion titles on Hulu, all uncut and commercial free.
Where do you go for international news without paying extra, or for different, noncorporate points of view?
Even before I left my cable provider in the ditch, I was spending the bulk of my TV time streaming. It was like a relationship that had run its course. Emotionally I was invested elsewhere.
Why should I be interested in in skinny cable bundles when I can find ad free streaming services costing less than any cable bundle, fat or skinny?
The problem lies with the cable model itself. You force customers to pay ever-increasing rates for access to low-quality content crammed full of commercials. I wouldn't pay a nickel for that kind of viewing experience. Even free apps that blast me with ads get deleted from my Roku.
Look it up: cutting the cord refers specifically to cable service and not Internet connectivity.
But in my case, I was able to give Comcast Internet the boot as well. I signed up with a smaller company charging half as much for better internet service. So of the $165 Comcast used to charge me for my bundle, the company now gets nothing except shareholder earnings from its investment in Hulu.
Aside from the sports channels, for me there's nothing on this list worth watching. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon offer better shows and documentaries ad free (even Hulu is ad free if you pay for it).
All major news services offer free apps that stream directly through a Roku or other device to your TV. You just have to put up with the ads.
Customers are smarter than the cable industry realizes, and resent the fact that they pay high rates for access to bad content with ever-increasing ads.
I cut the cable 6 months ago and now enjoy ad-free streaming via Hulu no ad, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Kodi add-ons, and various apps, all playing directly on my TV for a fraction of the cost of a cable subscription. Whenever I see a conventional cable program -- I was recently in the hospital -- I find it simply unwatchable.
Fueling a declining interest in sports
ESPN 3 content used to be free. You could stream grand slam tennis, lower tier college football and basketball games, and more without a cable subscription.
No longer. So I've uninstalled the ESPN app on all my streaming devices, and my already waning interest in sports now wanes a little faster.
It takes a lot of nerve to charge for content fraught with ads.
I know a few people who are stuck with cable simply because they have access to broadband. But services like PlayStation Vue and Sling have made it easy for even sports lovers to cut the cord.
6 months out of the year, when there are sports broadcasts worth watching, I pay a little more for my streaming entertainment, but it never approaches the money I coughed up for Comcast TV. What this article fails to note is that many cable subscribers also subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. My neighbor is an example -- and I'm sure his total entertainment bill is at least $150 a month more than mine.
Re: Way better entertainment value
With most streaming services, you also get your entertainment commercial-free, another point the reviewers tend to leave out.
On paper, their skinny bundle may look like a bargain, but 30-40% of that bundle is advertising. Cable is simply unwatchable.
In addition to streaming staples like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, there's a ton of free content to be found, all of it playable through a streaming device to your TV.
Here's another point that gets missed
Another point lazy reporters miss is that most paid streaming services are commercial free. What sort of a bargain is cable when you're paying well over $100 a month after equipment rentals, the bulk of your content is garbage, and 30-40% of that crappy content is in the form of commercials?
I've never seen an all night infomercial marathon on Netflix, or had my Amazon Prime viewing interrupted by weird and annoying plugs for Cialis.
So comparing cable to streaming on price alone is foolish and dishonest. With streaming content, you're getting a lot more for your money.
Re: Would cut, but cannot figure how to
There are ways to do it. I don't have time to go into the details, but I get all the food and home channels I could possibly want (they're not my cup of tea). Talk to some of the cord cutter evangelists -- they're all around you and would probably be willing to help.
Re: Lawsuit time
Rico act... Interesting point, since what the cable companies are doing does fall under the definition of racketeering.
My service isn't subject to a data cap (yet), but I would love to see a class action lawsuit against big ISPs and against the municipalities that grant them exclusive access.
Re: didn't forget how they started
I don't think the cable companies forgot how they started. They're simply acting like any other monopoly now -- hell bent on garnering maximum profit for an increasingly poor service or product.
Unless legislation opens up avenues of growth for small business, larger companies will use their vast resources to squash them. It's no accident that American cities with the best internet service often have backed out of exclusive deals with large cable companies and installed their own internet lines -- which, as you point out, offers benefits to small businesses people.
Re: intervention
The trouble is, when cable companies are allowed to operate monopolies and cartels, especially when it comes to broadband, there's no need to learn from the customer. Responsiveness to customer needs occurs only in certain corporate cultures, and only when the customer has a choice.
Re: It's not just price
I'm one of those former customers who ran for the exit. Cable has become so obnoxious with its ad stuffing that I wouldn't accept it for free. My streaming bill is a $90 savings over what I used to pay, and my viewing options are better than they've ever been.
I ditched my Fire TV for other streaming devices
I bought a Fire TV in 2014, my first streaming device. It has subsequently been replaced by a Roku 4, which supports more apps, and an Nvidia Shield Android box. Unfortunately, Amazon hasn't developed an app for Android TV, so I view Prime Video much less than I used to.
I would never again consider a streaming appliance that locks me into a seller's ecosystem (Apple TV being the worst). That defeats one of the major benefits of streaming, which is choice.
DISH's Arguments
DISH's arguments are clear, cogent, and compact. Obviously not written by a lawyer or corporate exec.
Not a millennial either
I'm closer to the age of your mother-in-law who has learned to cast from her phone, but I've cut the cable and now stream all video entertainment. Beyond Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, which give me far more viewing options than I would ever need, there's the lesser-known world of Kodi, which opens up international streams. It's a mystery to me why anyone with affordable broadband access would be willing to pay for the ad-infested garbage delivered through their cable wire. It's such a glaringly bad deal.
For me, it is about content
The "slowing of cord cutting" is a red herring. What it doesn't reveal is the amount of cord shaving as subscribers move to skinny bundles. I might have considered one of these skinny bundles early last year, but at the time Comcast wasn't offering them.
So I found a lower cost broadband provider and severed my relationship with Comcast. Now I stream everything, including international feeds for sports, and do most of my streaming ad free.
I've since lost all tolerance for inane, ad-infested cable programming and would never go back to it at any price. My older sister, having seen my streaming setup and witnessed the ease of accessing affordable quality programs, dumped her Time Warner cable less than a month ago.
Too late for me
Too late for me -- I've seen the light, dumped my bloated cable bundle, and moved on to far superior, ad-free streaming fare. My sister is also doing the same -- she witnessed the ease of my setup and my almost unlimited choices, and reacted to the latest Time Warner rate hike by saying sayonara to cable TV. Word gets around, and word among people who understand their options is that it's a bad deal to pay -- at any price -- for crummy programming that's 30-40% ads.
Re: Netflix originals
It's not just the quality of Netflix and Amazon original programming that poses a threat. Cable also does a poor job of handling niche markets. Where, on cable, do you turn if you're a cinephile interested in the world's great films? But you can find over 900 Criterion titles on Hulu, all uncut and commercial free.
Where do you go for international news without paying extra, or for different, noncorporate points of view?
Even before I left my cable provider in the ditch, I was spending the bulk of my TV time streaming. It was like a relationship that had run its course. Emotionally I was invested elsewhere.
Skinny bundles are more of the same
Why should I be interested in in skinny cable bundles when I can find ad free streaming services costing less than any cable bundle, fat or skinny?
The problem lies with the cable model itself. You force customers to pay ever-increasing rates for access to low-quality content crammed full of commercials. I wouldn't pay a nickel for that kind of viewing experience. Even free apps that blast me with ads get deleted from my Roku.
Look it up
Look it up: cutting the cord refers specifically to cable service and not Internet connectivity.
But in my case, I was able to give Comcast Internet the boot as well. I signed up with a smaller company charging half as much for better internet service. So of the $165 Comcast used to charge me for my bundle, the company now gets nothing except shareholder earnings from its investment in Hulu.
Re: Um
No need to turn on a computer -- any device running Kodi can stream AMC directly to your TV.
Re: By the numbers: an analysis
Aside from the sports channels, for me there's nothing on this list worth watching. Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon offer better shows and documentaries ad free (even Hulu is ad free if you pay for it).
All major news services offer free apps that stream directly through a Roku or other device to your TV. You just have to put up with the ads.
There is no value in cable
Customers are smarter than the cable industry realizes, and resent the fact that they pay high rates for access to bad content with ever-increasing ads.
I cut the cable 6 months ago and now enjoy ad-free streaming via Hulu no ad, Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Kodi add-ons, and various apps, all playing directly on my TV for a fraction of the cost of a cable subscription. Whenever I see a conventional cable program -- I was recently in the hospital -- I find it simply unwatchable.