I just got the wife to agree to cancel cable TV!

[dfc]

I don't really watch TV except for football and the occasional show on History or Discovery that I can't catch most of the time. Because of this I've been trying to talk the wife into canceling our cable and just going with internet. Well, that just wasn't working, so I figured I'd sweeten the deal.

I talked her into it and we canceled our cable subscription (which was $60/month) and boosted our internet service. Originally we were paying $30/month for basic Cable internet, now we have a faster option for $50/Month. $8/month for Netflix and $5/month for XBOX live and we've saved almost half off our cable bill and got faster internet. I'm stoked!


Down with cable TV!

 

[rosier9]

I've been without cable for 2 years now. Between antenna/internet/netflix I think I spend more time in-front of the screen than before...

 

[ryandlf]

If you're not into tv than that is all fine and dandy, but me personally...I wouldn't give up the 20+ shows I watch on prime time during the year. Sure you can download, but its a lot of hassle to save $100 a month. I figure if I didn't have tv i'd be out spending a lot more than that trying to keep myself entertained. Up with cable tv

 

[seabass07]

I'm in the same boat. For me, cable was just wasted money. The few shows I like, I can watch online. Movies can be purchased or downloaded. I can't live without internet, but don't miss cable in the slightest.

 

[Yooper]

I don't watch TV (except for Red Wings games when I can!) so I'm always amazed at how much people pay for TV. I was going to get satellite TV a while back, because I thought it'd be fun in the winter to watch some TV and it was advertised at $24 a month with "local" channels. (Where we live NOTHING is local, but at least it's local-ish).

I balked at that! Seriously?!? $30 (with tax) a month to watch TV?!?! I told the guy that was insane. He actually laughed out loud and told me that some people get packages and pay $80 a month for TV programming.

I have a TV at the main house. I don't even have a TV at our cottage. I don't really see the appeal.

A couple of weeks ago, I was on Facebook and my sister-in-law, who lives in Casa Grande, posted "Wendy finally went home! It's about time! She was WAY overdue to go home.". I was thinking one of our relatives must have overstayed a visit in warm AZ, so I said, "Who's Wendy? Is she related to Tony (a cousin)?" My daughter, to save me embarassment, said something like, "Mom, it's a TV show about fat people. You wouldn't understand."

 

[motobrewer]

the only reason I keep it is football and baseball.

i really like watching the brewers after work, and with 2 little kids I don't really have the option of stopping at a bar. which would be more expensive anyway.

 

[Irishpenguin13]

Id love to be able to just have history channel.

 

[StittsvilleJames]

There is 6 people in my family. I feel I am ripping the cable company off with all the tv being watched at any given time. I really should send them an extra $20.00 a month, just to keep it fair.

 

[Randar]

I have a TV at the main house. I don't even have a TV at our cottage. I don't really see the appeal.

Yoop, you have to understand that not everyone has found the endless entertainment that is HBT.

 

[shecky]

He actually laughed out loud and told me that some people get packages and pay $80 a month for TV programming.

Guilty.

I haven't watched a network show since The West Wing died. I don't watch anything religiously and I have nine HBO channels that are watched occasionally.

But I watch a ****load of sports and thanks to my job, I get to write the DirecTV off as a business expense on my taxes.

 

[beowulf]

I'm with the OP...wife and I agreed to get rid of cable a couple of years ago. Don't miss it at all...in fact it never occurs to us anymore to even turn on the tv unless we're watching a movie on Netflix. But that's just us...everyone has different likes and dislikes. To each his or her own!

 

[Yooper]

Yoop, you have to understand that not everyone has found the endless entertainment that is HBT.

Oh, I understand that. But to think that "Dancing with Fake Celebrities" or "American Pop Singers" or "Fat people who want to lose weight" equals entertainment is worse off than I am!

 

[bob1852]

Yoop, you have to understand that not everyone has found the endless entertainment that is TR.

Fixed.

But I watch a ****load of sports and thanks to my job, I get to write the DirecTV off as a business expense on my taxes.

Wait, so the $100 "discount" you're getting from DTV isn't really helping you?

And, can I right it off because of the Autumn Wind?

 

[runningweird]

i wanted to do this two months ago, our cable kept going in and out( comcast) I called to cancel and they told me the typical: what can we do to keep you? I said I wanted to cancel anyway-we were paying 120 per month with cable and internet. They said how about 60 bucks a month for both for 6 months, I said sure. The plan when I was first going to cancel it was to get BOXEE, check it out as an alternative to cable. no subscription and you can build your own for free. plus I T-o-rre-nt lots of goodies so anything can be found.

I figure when the 6 months is up i tell them I want to cancel again, if they don't maintain the price I will just get a boxee and be done with it. All we watch are cooking shows and history/discovery/amc.

 

[CHefJohnboyardee]

We canceled and got netflix. I found other ways to watch what I wanted before we even had cable to begin with...

My wife spends about the same about of time ont he TV and I spend less on the computer. I'll call that a win!

 

[neko]

The last time I had cable was at the college house where we split it 4 ways so it was only $10-15 a month. Lots of Daily Show and Adult Swim, but now I can't imagine paying it all myself.

I mainly watch sports and almost all football is on basic TV and hockey is easily found on the internet. WOOO Sharks!!!

 

[ndsgr]

We're trying to get out of debt, aside from the house we are hoping to close on in early June. The first sacrifice is our $80 satellite bill. By February, we should be clear, but I hope we realize that TV still isn't worth it. My shows are Dexter, Big Bang Theory, and House. I'm pretty sure i'll still get them between netflix and internet.

 

[XXguy]

I have an antenna up in the attic & get 22 digital channels off-air at a cost of Zero dollars each month. I am always surprised how many people think they stopped broadcasting TV over the air.

 

[buffalobrewer]

I have an antenna up in the attic & get 22 digital channels off-air at a cost of Zero dollars each month. I am always surprised how many people think they stopped broadcasting TV over the air.

i ditched the satellite a few months ago and get most of my tv over the air now. Have to stream Sabres games, but that only seems to be a problem unitl early april most years .

 

[duckmanco]

I've been without cable for 2 years now. Between antenna/internet/netflix I think I spend more time in-front of the screen than before...

We cut the cable too, and until east bound and down, true blood, and boardwalk empire come on, I'll be happy about it (I do like those shows, but oh well). We went with an HD antenna and netflix and couldn't be happier about the savings. Its amazing how much history channel/discovery I watched soley because it was on, NOT because I genuinely looked forward to watching it.

F cable.

 

[AnOldUR]

My wife would go into serious withdrawal without HGTV.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

We are making the move too. My bundled phone, internet, and cable bill last month was $220! And that was after they raised their fees by $20.

Ordered a Roku XDS and I am waiting for it to ship. About all we watch is local crap and cartoon for the kids. I figure I'll give the Roku a try and see if it can still provide some of what we had and I'll put an antenna up in attic for local programming.

And cut the cable coord.

Then I'll attack the phone. Looks like I can cut my phone bill in half by going with VOIP. Wife makes a LOT of calls International and it looks like we can do that VOIP for no LD charges above the flat service of $25 a month.

After that, all that is left is Internet service. The only question is whether or not the switch to internet based everything will cause us to go over our metered bandwidth and force us into a higher bandwidth tier to avoid overage charges. Yes, Cox treates bandwidth like minutes on a cell phone. You get so much per month and if you go over, they rape you.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

My wife would go into serious withdrawal without HGTV.

As would mine. Turns out you can still get a lot of HGTV programming over internet. Might not be real time current but, once they've added it to their list of streams it's yours.

 

[Bobby_M]

I look at video programming as another entertainment outlet that I'm willing to pay for. While over the air is robust in my area, I also need easy DVR capability without rigging up a computer or 3rd party box to do it. The program guides and easy recording scheduling has the wife (and myself admittedly) spoiled. We probably go out to a movie theater once a year and we don't eat out more than once a month. The key to keeping the prices down is ABC or ABC.

Always Be Canceling. If you like your current service but the introductory rate ran out. Call them and tell them you want to turn off service on the following Monday. If they don't forward you to the retention department immediately, they'll call you in a day or so and offer a discount for the next 3-6 months.

Always Be Changing. The best deals are intro deals. Be willing to switch back and forth from Dishnetwork, Cable, DirecTV, and your telecom TV service if you have access. Having your coax all home run to a patch panel makes this cake. By the time you run out of game from a given provider, the 3rd or 4th one will already be considering you a new customer.

 

[Homercidal]

I love my Dish. I don't watch a ton, but come on, where else am I going to be able to watch the Red Wings in HD??

I could probably steal some shows from the internet, and truth be told, we could probably hold off on watching shows until they are put up for legal streaming, but the video quality isn't as good, usually, until Netflix gets them.

Sometimes I think we'd be better off without the TV running at night, but then I find Futurama and It's Always Sunny on the DVR and I'm hooked again.

 

[ajwillys]

We canceled our $100/month satellite bill about 6 months ago. I set up a Windows 7 pc with Windows Media Center to the tv to get programming. Between the antenna pulling in the networks (and DVR'ing them on WMC), Hulu, and the show's websites, we have not had to give up a single show that we watch. We don't even have netflix either. The only exception is that I love some stuff on Discovery (Deadliest Catch right now). I download it from Amazon for $2/episode.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

where else am I going to be able to watch the Red Wings in HD??

Roku has the NHL Channel. If the NHL Network has it available for live streams Roku has access to watch. And it will pass a HD signal.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

The only exception is that I love some stuff on Discovery (Deadliest Catch right now). I download it from Amazon for $2/episode.

PlayOn.com $4.99 a month, $19.00 a year, or $79 Lifetime and has 3rd party plug-in for Discovery.

 

[jbrookeiv]

I cancelled my cable about 6 months ago, and haven't really missed it.

The only thing I regret is not being able to watch live soccer at home, unless I can find a good feed online.

 

[XXguy]

... I set up a Windows 7 pc with Windows Media Center to the tv to get programming. Between the antenna pulling in the networks (and DVR'ing them on WMC), Hulu, and the show's websites, we have not had to give up a single show that we watch.

How well does that work for Live HD broadcasts like sports? Can you do Pause/Replay without stuttering/pixelating? I played around with a Media Center XP on a Home Theatre PC back @ 2008 & just could never get it to work well with either live HD or even recording HD.