The cost of cable cutting is going up

[txtig]

Not too surprising, but I just got an email from the PSVue folks. The price of my mid-level package is going up from $45 to $50 per month,effective August 31. An increase of over 11%. I wonder if, once all of these streaming services reach critical mass, the price differential from cable will totally evaporate.

 

[zinger1457]

DirecTV Now is also increasing the rate for each of their plans by $5/mo starting 1 August.

 

[Chuckanut]

Amazon Prime at $120 a year for TV show and movies, plus shipping, music, and even photo storage is looking better and better. Between Netflix, Prime and FREE OTA broadcast TV, I have more stuff to view than I have time to view it

 

[ponyboy]

No one is actually cutting the cable. You still need internet for all of your streaming needs...unless you just use a satellite service.

Internet providers arent dumb...they will simply increase the amount you pay for internet service. They can/will adapt too.

 

[ivinsfan]

Are either Sony or DTV adding any services or channels.

 

[txtig]

Are either Sony or DTV adding any services or channels.

No new stations for Sony PSVue. But, in their rate increase letter, they do tout their “industry-leading features” as justification for the increase.

 

[Another Reader]

No one is actually cutting the cable. You still need internet for all of your streaming needs...unless you just use a satellite service.

Internet providers arent dumb...they will simply increase the amount you pay for internet service. They can/will adapt too.

Exactly. Cutting the cable really means getting rid of all the paid entertainment. I pay zero dollars beyond basic internet access charge for any services. Plenty of free stuff out there to consume.

 

[Midpack]

Yes, my Dish>PS Vue savings have dropped from $600/yr to $540/yr. Not surprised, I can live with it...

 

[Dawg52]

Sling Orange also went up $5. Still cheap at $25/mo. I tied the 'cord' again a few months ago. A little more expensive than something like Vue and internet. When my 2 year package expires I will reevaluate. For me it's not about being able to say I'm a cord cutter, I just want package I'm happy with at what I perceive to be a fair price.

 

[DFDubb]

It's all getting ridiculous. I see now CBS is wanting people to pay for their All Access service where they're putting out new shows. I'm pretty sure cable cutters are getting close to paying more than they were with cable. Bare minimum these days seems to be OTA, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and then you start adding others like HBO. Who can even keep up with it all? It looks like pretty much every network is now building their own streaming platform that they will be charging for.

 

[hesperus]

DirecTV Now is also increasing the rate for each of their plans by $5/mo starting 1 August.

Hopefully not for us - as an early subscriber we grandfathered in at $35 forever for 'go big' package.

 

[timo2]

Internet providers arent dumb...they will simply increase the amount you pay for internet service. They can/will adapt too.

Absolutely. the packaged content streaming industry has it figured out, especially now that some of the traditional satellite/cable packaged content providers are also internet streaming providers for packaged content. They are going to make darn sure that their profit margin doesn't drop.

But we have had this discussion here before. I don't see how changing from cable packaged content to internet streaming packaged content is considered cord cutting, as one is just switching from one packaged content to another.

I'm happy being a 'cord trimmer' myself: I cut my dish bill in half by changing to a basic package and use netflix, mlb, etc for any extras I want to see. Also, after a year of this plan, I saw that I was not using near the internet data usage I was paying for, so I dropped that monthly charge down also.

The only way to save money is to analyze each option, otherwise the streaming packages can easily cost more than the cable or satellite package you dropped.

 

[txtig]

I see that Disney will be pulling its movies from Netflix next year when they launch their own streaming service. But, I’m sure Netflix will be cutting their rates to compensate for the reduction in service. [emoji6]

 

[Which Roger]

NetFlix + Prime + Hulu + OTA adds up to about $30/mo, still way cheaper than cable. And no commercials for the first three: Priceless!

 

[timo2]

I see that Disney will be pulling its movies from Netflix next year when they launch their own streaming service. But, I’m sure Netflix will be cutting their rates to compensate for the reduction in service. [emoji6]

By the time a person adds up the cost of all the individual channel streaming services (CBS, Disney, ESPN, MLB, etc) it will cost more that the original cable TV package.

 

[Chuckanut]

DirecTV Now is also increasing the rate for each of their plans by $5/mo starting 1 August.

IIRC, ATT told the court that if they allowed their merger with Time Warner the price of TV services would not go up and would actually go down. Did I misunderstand that?

 

[Chuckanut]

By the time a person adds up the cost of all the individual channel streaming services (CBS, Disney, ESPN, MLB, etc) it will cost more that the original cable TV package.

True, if one tries to duplicate the the best most inclusive service offered by cable. But, many of us have found we don't need that level of service. People should have a choice, and as far as I can see we are seeing more choices, which is good.

 

[ivinsfan]

By the time a person adds up the cost of all the individual channel streaming services (CBS, Disney, ESPN, MLB, etc) it will cost more that the original cable TV package.

Maybe, but no teaser rates, only month to month on most services and if you don't want to watch all the add on stand alone channels you don't have to pay for them....it's still a win in my book.

 

[DFDubb]

NetFlix + Prime + Hulu + OTA adds up to about $30/mo, still way cheaper than cable. And no commercials for the first three: Priceless!

Can you please tell us where you're getting high speed unlimited internet access for free please.

 

[JustCurious]

Amazon Prime at $120 a year for TV show and movies, plus shipping, music, and even photo storage is looking better and better. Between Netflix, Prime and FREE OTA broadcast TV, I have more stuff to view than I have time to view it

+1

 

[Dawg52]

True, if one tries to duplicate the the best most inclusive service offered by cable. But, many of us have found we don't need that level of service. People should have a choice, and as far as I can see we are seeing more choices, which is good.

True. That's the best thing about the cord cutting movement. More options. And in a lot of cases people save money in the process.

 

[DFDubb]

I definitely agree that more options is better. I'm one that has kept basic cable because it's cheaper than stand alone internet and use Netflix and prime as well. I'm not a fan of the current movement where all of the network companies are breaking out and launching their own streaming services. I think the market could get too segmented and too difficult to try and navigate for a lot of people. With cable and a PS3 for NFLX and AMZN, I'm already sort of at my limits when it comes to switching platforms. It takes a minute or two to go from one to the other and it will only get worst when you're trying to navigate through 15 different platforms. Interesting times.

 

[harley]

Definition - What does Cord Cutting mean? Cord cutting refers to the process of cutting expensive cable connections in order to change to a low-cost TV channel subscription through over-the-air (OT) free broadcast through antenna, or over-the-top (OTT) broadcast over the Internet.

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/28547/cord-cutting

Just to stop the annoying interruptions about definitions. Everybody understands that internet still needs to get to the house somehow. Except of course to my third house, where we have no internet and only free OTA TV. Truly cableless. And a PITA.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

None of this is surprising to me. They are going to make money...that's a given. And they KNOW that most folks aren't going to do OTA *only* so they will continue to increase the prices.

The price creep is already there. Someone mentioned that they have "Netflix, Hulu and Amazon for just $30 a month". Well, for those options, it's actually $35.97 a month (with recent Amazon Prime cost increase). It's easy to say "Just $30 a month" when in fact it has increased...and when the increases aren't significant, it's easy to overlook the cost increase.

 

[Livefree]

Our town has it's own cable company, Internet, phone, (and electric). I'm hoping to save $90-$100 per month. Right now, we pay $172 for cable, internet and phone with all fees.


my plan is:

Internet $28
PS Vue $45
Ooma $5



Total $78