How much do you pay for TV reception?

[DayDreaming]

A while ago, I dropped cable TV and was very happy with the channels I was getting with my rooftop antenna. I still had Comcast cable for internet only - $65/month.

But then found out that I could add limited basic TV and my monthly cost for TV + internet actually went down to $64/month and I was getting a couple more PBS channels than with the antenna. So in effect I'm paying -1$ for TV.

My cable bill shows that the limited basic TV is $10/month but also says that's part of a 12 month promotional deal, so if my bill goes up too much at the end of that 12 month period, I'll go back to getting TV OTA, and Comcast for internet only.

[fisherman]

We just worked on this to lower costs. Called Dish and said we are leaving unless they give us a cheaper plan. old plan was $45 per month and had way more than we watched. New plan is $14.95 and has enough channels to cover interests, about 80. New plan does not have CNN, FOX, or MS-NBC, just local news so peach and harmony again in the house. We also added NetFlix streaming service for about $7.80. We are really like this setup and it save about $20 per month.

[rescueme]

$105.99 (includes all taxes) for the Dish 250 package (no premium channels).

That includes HD service, two boxes (we have three TV's and I have a tuner card in my desktop - yes I do watch TV in a open window while on this forum (or listen to a Sirius music station via Dish), so that's four "TV's".

We're in an area that we can only get one OTA station (PBS). It certainly is much less expensive than when I had cable, and our cable company did not offer HD service for many years. After having my second HD unit (without service), I decided to leave them behind...

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 73ss454 So, what do you guys do all night?

Go to a different restaurant in CHarleston every night, that takes about a year or so.........

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeDreaming A while ago, I dropped cable TV and was very happy with the channels I was getting with my rooftop antenna. I still had Comcast cable for internet only - $65/month. But then found out that I could add limited basic TV and my monthly cost for TV + internet actually went down to $64/month and I was getting a couple more PBS channels than with the antenna. So in effect I'm paying -1$ for TV. My cable bill shows that the limited basic TV is $10/month but also says that's part of a 12 month promotional deal, so if my bill goes up too much at the end of that 12 month period, I'll go back to getting TV OTA, and Comcast for internet only.

Holy smokes, you pay $65 just for internet? Do you have DSL possible? That seems amazingly high to me!

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinanceDude Go to a different restaurant in CHarleston every night, that takes about a year or so.........

DW/traveling friend were in Charleston (Wentworth St.) on Sunday/Monday.

Did you see them at all? They would be two "ladies" not acting their age ...

BTW, that's the reason they leave me home, with the dogs...

[Sarah in SC]

Oh, rescueme, I hope they had a good time! The bridge run and flowertown festival were this weekend so we kept a low profile and avoided all the out-of-town traffic. I'll be downtown Friday night for movies in Marion Square though, we're seeing Gone With the Wind!
Good idea to have girls only trips every now and again--I've got one coming up in May to a Hoop Convergence with a girlfriend and in June with my sister. Somebody's gotta stay home with the dogs!

FD--exactly!

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fisherman We just worked on this to lower costs. Called Dish and said we are leaving unless they give us a cheaper plan. old plan was $45 per month and had way more than we watched. New plan is $14.95 and has enough channels to cover interests, about 80. New plan does not have CNN, FOX, or MS-NBC, just local news so peach and harmony again in the house. We also added NetFlix streaming service for about $7.80. We are really like this setup and it save about $20 per month.

Interesting - what plan does Dish have for $15/month?

I'm currently on Dish America's Top 120 with HD and DVR, locals, etc. including free Starz at $58/month for 3 receivers (4 TVs).

$15/month sounds better better but I suspect that doesn't include HD or DVR?

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Good idea to have girls only trips every now and again.

They are off to Switzerland in September; DW/me were already there together a few years ago, so I won't be missing anything, and hey - sombody has to take care of the pups ...

Maybe DW will bring me a Rolex; she would not let me buy one when we were there, last time ..

Not that I wear a watch at all, but hey, it's a ROLEX!!! ...

BTW, today/tomorrow they will be on Jekyll Island, GA. if you want to chase them down (I don't )...

[DallasGuy]

Zero...I use over an over the air antenna and get great high definition reception here in Dallas. I get over 50 channels. I will say that at least 40 of them are religious shows, Spanish language shows or shopping network shows which I don't watch. But I get all the major network stations almost perfectly. With a no-fee over the air high def DVR, I have more than enough programming to record and watch whenever I choose to. The over the air picture quality in Dallas is as good as that from cable or dish companies.

[trirod]

I guess it's either zero or $10 per month if you count the Tivo bill. We get very clear signals on our antenna, and the very few shows we used to watch on non-network channels we can now watch on the internet (actually just one - Jon Stewart) for free.

[GregLee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DallasGuy The over the air picture quality in Dallas is as good as that from cable or dish companies.

An over the air picture will ordinarily be of better quality for everyone in the US, except perhaps for subchannels, since both cable and satellite companies reduce by quite a lot the bandwidth of channels they carry. (I wish I could get some OTA channels, too.)

[DayDreaming]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Holy smokes, you pay $65 just for internet? Do you have DSL possible? That seems amazingly high to me!

DSL is not available in my neighborhood. $65 for just Comcast cable does seem high, I suspect that Comcast prices their individual services hight so you'll take one of their phone/tv/internet bundles instead to 'save' money. And since Comcast basic tv + internet now costs me $64, it does actually save me $1. Oh boy.

[Midpack]

We have a Dish Network all HD package. Just went from $79/mo (no prem/movie channels) to a $53/month pkg. Finding we don't miss the extra channels at all.

[lemming]

I'm using a tabletop antenna so zero but I watch some shows on internet access on laptop and that is $30.
I have never had cable, right now I only have a old 19"analog tv. The remote quit working a year ago, but remote for converter box changes channels. I need to quit dithering and get into the 21st century.

[scrabbler1]

I had an unusually good deal with my cable TV after I first got it in 1996 (after my antenna reception had deteriorated). That deal, while still good, also deteriorated in the last few years until it ended last year. I had been paying $14 or less for a lot of cable channels plus a perfect reception. Now I pay $62 a month which for now does not include a monthly charge for a converter box. I figure I saved about $6,000 over a 14-year period.

I pay $22 a month for internet (DSL).

[braumeister]

The cost of a good rooftop antenna from Radio Shack was about $80 when we moved into this house nearly seven years ago. That's it for expenditures.

I watch about ten hours of TV a year. DW watches much less.

[samclem]

So far, the poll indicates about 1/3 of us get our TV using over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting. Nationwide, 91% of Americans have cable or satellite, only 9% of Americans use OTA. Yet, I think we've decided the net worth of the folks on this board is likely higher than the US average.

There's that LBYM thing again. But I don't think it's just the money, I think folks here probably have different priorities for using their time. Plus, more time devoted to the internet.

[Sue J]

We have DirecTV satellite service-
Programming package (no movies channels or sports packages) $64.49
HD service $10.00
DVR service $7.00
2nd and 3rd receiver $12.00
Discount because I asked for it -$10.00
Taxes $4.60
Total $88.09

I would love to pull the plug and save $88 a month. This just seems ridiculous, it's "just tv"! But I love the HGTV/Travel/A&E/Planet Green/History type of channels and I watch a lot of CNN/MSNBC/Fox Business. This is our only entertainment type of budget item.

We've experimented with OTA and we really only get the local NBC and PBS reliably. We'd have to go with a roof antenna and maybe a rotor.

I love the DirecTV service, and it's worth paying for it. It just bugs me that every year they increase the price. $5 here, $3 there. Over the years it adds up to a lot more than when we started.

So far, we can afford it. I'd rather have that than monthly cell phone bills. We have 2 prepaid phones and rarely use them so the cost is minimal.

Our internet just increased from $49.95 to $53.95 for Roadrunner cable modem. This is worth every penny.

[grumpy]

I recently signed up for Verizon's FIOS Quad Bundle. I get the top level TV package (all HD channels + ShowTime), two HD DVR's, home phone with unlimited long distance, top speed internet (35/35MB) and two cell phones sharing 450 minutes a month for $247 per month.