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The myth of cord-cutting

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optimiss said:
Strangely enough, the only thing I miss are the commercials.
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I subscribed to Sling a couple weeks ago to watch the Rangers dominate. Whenever I've turned it on to AMC, IFC, TNT, whatever because a good movie was on...good God. Like 10 minutes of movie for every 5 minutes of commercial. Wanted, a 1h 50m movie, was 3 hours.
 
PSVue needs to get local channels on it in more markets, that's my main complaint. It's a bit inconvenient to have to switch back over to the antenna to watch the locals.
Schlep said:
I subscribed to Sling a couple weeks ago to watch the Rangers dominate. Whenever I've turned it on to AMC, IFC, TNT, whatever because a good movie was on...good God. Like 10 minutes of movie for every 5 minutes of commercial. Wanted, a 1h 50m movie, was 3 hours.
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I can't watch movies on basic cable, it's aggravating. Only watch movies on tv on HBO or the like.
 
Dishwalla said:
I can't watch movies on basic cable, it's aggravating. Only watch movies on tv on HBO or the like.
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Even shows. My gf and I just started watching Mr. Robot on Prime and decided we'll wait until next year to watch season 2. The experience is 10x better without commercials.
 
I don't know what it is but there's something about watching a movie on TV, especially one that I come in through halfway, that's enjoyable.
 
Went about a good 6-8 years without having cable, didn't miss anything really.
The only reason that I have cable once more is because I moved and had to get a new internet connection set up, which ended up being cheaper if I took internet+cable+telephone than if I'd have taken just internet.
I barely even turn the box on, except when someone is visiting and wants to watch something. Heck, the telephone isn't even connected. heh
 
I have basic Standard definition cable, I don't pay much extra for it and it comes with HBO (and HBO GO). I pay $70ish a month (after tax) and it comes with 150MB internet. Not a bad deal honestly.
 
I find the idea that this is a myth very hard to believe.

I've lived in multiple cities as an adult and literally 95%+ of all people I've become friends with that are my age (currently almost 25) don't have TV. The ones that did were big exceptions.

Then again, I guess you can't "cut the cord" if you've never gotten cable since moving out to being with...So if they're only tracking actually canceled cable subscriptions I guess I could see the angle that the article is going for?
 
Schlep said:
I subscribed to Sling a couple weeks ago to watch the Rangers dominate. Whenever I've turned it on to AMC, IFC, TNT, whatever because a good movie was on...good God. Like 10 minutes of movie for every 5 minutes of commercial. Wanted, a 1h 50m movie, was 3 hours.
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Sling interface is so bad. So bad.

Dishwalla said:
PSVue needs to get local channels on it in more markets, that's my main complaint. It's a bit inconvenient to have to switch back over to the antenna to watch the locals.

I can't watch movies on basic cable, it's aggravating. Only watch movies on tv on HBO or the like.
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Vue will get them, just takes time with how local affiliates are handled.

I have Vue, Hulu Plus, and Netflix. Would probably cancel Vue if it wasn't for sports.
 
I cut the cord, but then DirecTV gave me a $50/month for 2 years, HBO free for 6 months, I will be cutting the cord again in 2 years..

$50 includes every channel but Premiums..this is with all taxes applied and box rental, been a customer for a decade, it's amazing how much there prices have gone up, used to pay $78 with all 4 premium channels when i first got DirecTV, today it's almost $140..
 
I don't pay for cable, but I totally cheat as well. My aging parents will absolutely never NOT have cable, so I piggy back on their provider's digital subscription options. It's just money on the table if I don't use the option, after all. I'll be good this way until low caps hit or they die.
 
I tried to get my parents to cut the cord because they were paying I think $85/month for cable through Time Warner and the price was being raised again on them. They did cancel the cable and phone with Time Warner, but they went to Dish. Apparently that was only like $40 or $45, as opposed to $35 for the Playstation Vue package they were considering.
 
Krejlooc said:
Except it's not set up to pay like that. It's not compartmentalized in that way. You are not paying for cable, then internet, at the same rate that you'd pay for them separately. The system is purposefully set up to make you pay more for internet separately than bundled because of the very math you're trying to push.

And it gets justified because people compare extra-pricey packages. Like the dude above who said he went from paying $200 for cable and internet to just $50 for internet alone - guarantee you there is a cable + internet tier that is within the price range of his internet alone. He feels like he's saving money, and that's part of the myth.
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He is saving money. My house is too. We have Netflix and HBO Now. I get shit in HD instead of having to pay the cable company for a box. Grand total we save about 40 a month for the same options we had when we had pay tv but we don't pay for a box and we don't pay shit like an HD upgrade fee. And no commercials.
 
I got my parents an apple tv two years ago, let them use my netflix account and they love it, they end up watching more than I do on netflix. Recently they started finding spanish youtube webshows and started watching those. I really don't think they watch regular tv now outside of the news from time to time (and an all music channels of the oldies that the cable company has that is like in the 700's).

They only pay $10 for cable tv because of their deal they got in their townhouse complex deal, which isn't bad, but they could easily be cord cutters now
 
mullet2000 said:
I find the idea that this is a myth very hard to believe.

I've lived in multiple cities as an adult and literally 95%+ of all people I've become friends with that are my age (currently almost 25) don't have TV. The ones that did were big exceptions.

Then again, I guess you can't "cut the cord" if you've never gotten cable since moving out to being with...So if they're only tracking actually canceled cable subscriptions I guess I could see the angle that the article is going for?
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The only people I know that are around my age (28) that do or have ever subscribed to cable are sports fans.

So I agree with this article. Probably only a small amount of cord cutters. Still there's a very large amount of cord nevers.
 
I'm pretty much cord never, but Japanese TV is so god damn horrible I'd be a moron to pay for cable here. Netflix and Hulu Japan have saved my ass.

That said, I also watch a lot of YouTube at home (movie review shows like Red Letter Media, American comic book channels like Comic Pop), so there's really no reason for me to get cable.
 
I cut the cord before it was even a thing. We had satellite for a short while when I was 12ish. Got rid of it because we were too poor. I'm 34 now and I never got another connection! It's been Netflix and Blu-Ray rentals.

Edit:
I also have Sling International. It's a total POS. But they're the only ones offering a good amount of Hindi channels.
 
I feel stupid for thinking this was going to be about fathers cutting the umbilical cords of their children.

As for cable, I stopped watching it.
 
I'm curious about how many cord cutters/cord nevers move to pay TV in later life. For lots of folks, it seems to be a cost saving thing which is understandable. But when the kids get older do they transition to pay TV customers as they have more disposable income or just stay on Netflix?

I know a majority of my peers in the 35 age group moved to paid TV later.
 
I have an internet connection and nothing else. No data caps, downloads from Steam and Amazon video/music at 11-12 MB/s. Only problem is no HBO Go or Netflix, since I don't feel like getting a VPN. Otherwise, Asian internet is all I need.
 
Loving sling tv on my Roku, dont really like it on my Xbox One. Dont really need anything else, i get most of the football i watch, only lacking the Premiership and some UCL.
 
His article image is an unplugged cord, but I just realized it looks like Cloud's buster sword
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gXRspsQ.png
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Netflix + Hulu + Amazon [Prime] + HBO (for GoT but I might keep it up for awhile).

I'm pretty much set. I would like to find a service that let's me watch some anime since I might try to get into it. I don't want sports--just online highlights.


I stopped watching cable around 2011 when I went to college. Now it is weird for me to watch shows not on a laptop screen.
 
I cut the cord two years ago and never looked back. Sure I still pay for TV services like Netflix, but I was paying for Netflix before so it's a nonissue and on my terms.
 
There was no cord to cut for me since I never payed for TV anyway. When I moved out on my own at about 18 I only got internet hook up and refused even basic TV.
 
I don't use the cable I technically pay for. I only have it because an old promo combined with my bitching at phone agents resulted in it being left as part of a package.

I have not turned the cable box on since Stewart left The Daily Show.
 
I am still on my initial Sling trial. Any reason not to go over to PS Vue? I would be using a Rkou Stick to set it up initially and stream PS Vue content to Chromecasts in the house using Android phones and tablets.
 
I haven't had anything but internet for six years. That was when I bought my first smart phone and said goodbye to the landline.

For the price of the package, it really isn't worth it. I'd rather read and stream. Luckily, my wife feels the same.
 
This is my 10 year anniversary without cable.

If I like sports it would be hard, but I don't. Netflix + Hulu gets us all the shows we need.
 
Applesauce said:
The app on the new Apple TV is really good, but on the Xbox One it is nothing short of hammered dog shit. Night and day. It definitely needs better consistency across devices.
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Oh okay, I tried it on iPhone, Chromecast, and my Roku and it all had the wame, awful interface. Very slow and no guide function.

dskillzhtown said:
I am still on my initial Sling trial. Any reason not to go over to PS Vue? I would be using a Rkou Stick to set it up initially and stream PS Vue content to Chromecasts in the house using Android phones and tablets.
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Not really other than that the Android app comes out this week, and the Roku interface isn't as good as other devices. Assuming it's because the Roku remotes don't have enough buttons. PS4 is probably best way to watch Vue, though PS3 or iPhone+Chromecast works pretty well.

The one major difference between the two is that not every channel works when you're not on your home network at this time. Maybe they change that in the future. With Sling everything worked wherever you were.

I think it's much better than Sling, but when the Android app is out, use the trial and decide for yourself.
 
Haven't paid for TV subscriptions or Netxflix/streaming accounts in years. Don't miss any of it.

I guess I'm a hardcore cord cutter.
 
My parents still watch TV, so our house doesn't count as a cord-cutting house, but I'm positive that when I move out I will only be paying for internet. I might have to get much slower internet because of the cost of paying rent/buying food/etc., but I have no interest in and actually refuse to pay for cable. It has nothing to really offer me. I usually either borrow movies/TV shows from friends or the library, or purchase them when they go on sale. The bulk of the visual content I consume is either on YouTube or is streamed for free on services like Twitch. Unless there's like a significant price difference of more than $20, I can't see myself getting any plan that isn't a solitary internet connection.
 
I'm actually thinking about getting cable again, to be honest. With Hulu not getting the CW Arrowverse shows the day-after anymore that effectively kills my need for Hulu. For the current deals my local cable/internet provider is offering, it's actually cheaper to get cable again and drop Hulu + PS Vue
 
Sephzilla said:
I'm actually thinking about getting cable again, to be honest. With Hulu not getting the CW Arrowverse shows the day-after anymore that effectively kills my need for Hulu. For the current deals my local cable/internet provider is offering, it's actually cheaper to get cable again and drop Hulu + PS Vue
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No one should ever want to watch Arrow again after this last season. If you are masochistic, though, there's a CW app for xbone and Windows 8/10 that lets you watch CW shows for free.

The promos that cable companies offer are always somewhat competitive. It's when they expire that it becomes ridiculous.
 
Sephzilla said:
I'm actually thinking about getting cable again, to be honest. With Hulu not getting the CW Arrowverse shows the day-after anymore that effectively kills my need for Hulu. For the current deals my local cable/internet provider is offering, it's actually cheaper to get cable again and drop Hulu + PS Vue
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If it is cheaper, then go ahead. But read the fine print. Make sure they aren't sneaking in some equipment fees and make sure that in the 2nd year the rate isn't going to skyrocket. DirecTV offered me the sun and planets when I called to remove the service. But it was only for one year. They were going to more than make up for that discount in the 2nd year so I declined.
 
I've been tempted to cut the cord many, many times but my monthly bill would go down by like...$40 if I kept my same internet speed. I'd have to purchase Hulu and maybe Sling to keep up with all my programming, which would be an additional $30 a month. Hardly seems worth it for me, to be honest.
 
Timeaisis said:
I've been tempted to cut the cord many, many times but my monthly bill would go down by like...$40 if I kept my same internet speed. I'd have to purchase Hulu and maybe Sling to keep up with all my programming, which would be an additional $30 a month. Hardly seems worth it for me, to be honest.
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Even at $10 a month, that's two full priced games a year.
 
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