Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) - 2021 version

[ShokWaveRider]

For us it works great. We do not watch American or Canadian Football, honestly, I find it quite boring and reputative with relatively little skill other than accurate throwing and catching, a bit like Rugby but with giant bulldozers instead of regular sized humans.

I understand the rules and plays, and how team A tries to outthink Team B with innovative plays. To me it is more enjoyable to watch when one is actually in a stadium with a crowd of friends rather than in front of a TV. Kind of like Motor Racing, better at the track. I used to study in Denver and my company had season tickets for Mile High, I did enjoy watching the Broncos play at the field, it was the Elway era.

I also understand it is a big US pastime and can see if one was brought up with it how it can be addicting like any other sport.

We watch proper football in our home, (Soccer to you yanks). We find it more skillful with more of a team interaction. Premier League Football usually has a couple of games televised on local free NBC stations on Saturday. We call it Match of the Day in the UK. That works for our minimal sports fix. I am sure most Americans think English Football is boring too.

 

[Dawg52]

Today my commitment to cord cutting will be tested. I learned that the Michigan/Alabama game is on ESPN. I can find no free or inexpensive ways to watch ESPN. To watch ESPN, you have to have a cable provider. The cheapest option I can find is Sling TV, normally $40/mo but currently half off for the first month. So, for $20, I can watch the game.

Unfortunately, Sling TV is very stripped down and there’s not really anything else I’d want it for. For example, if I get Max(HBO) for a month to watch Barbie, there are other shows I’d watch, making the cost to watch Barbie relatively cheap because I’d divide the cost by more than just one show. Sling TV will just give me channels that I already decided I don’t watch, hence the cord cutting.

So today I have to decide if listening to the game on the radio is good enough or if I bite the bullet and pay the $20. Of course that’s still cheaper than the $70/mo I was paying for cable tv but it’s poking at my principles. I wanted to stay around $20/mo for streaming services like Hulu and Peacock, rotating services as I get tired of what they offer.

You might try regular YouTube as during the year some of the games are aired on it. I don't know how they get away with it but some do. I don't ever watch as I have Sling Orange during football season but noticed it once.

 

[Jerry1]

If you like sports, cord cutting is difficult.

That’s the thing, I’m not really a sports fan. If it weren’t my team, I could care less. Once in awhile, I will pay attesting to a pro football game that is not the Lions, but really, I don’t watch sports just to watch sports. If it’s not a home team, I’m fine doing something else.

This one irritates me because it’s a college game that includes a State funded school. It seems like the should have to play those games on network tv in the home town of those teams. For example, ESPN is associated with ABC. Or local ABC channel should have rights to cover that game. But they don’t. I’ll flip a coin later today and decide whether to sign up for Sling or not.

 

[Time2]

I did the same 10 years ago, although the antenna was was low cost, but I probably spent over $100 when adding in the coax cable, an amplifier, splitter, and filters to optimize the signal. I even get a few OTA PBS channels. The main broadcast networks are all 50 miles or so away. I use a home theater PC using SageTV software for recording/DVR functionality, which I was already using when I had cable but have upgraded to a new computer since. And via the internet, I can find and watch plenty of things I like without having to use pay streaming subscriptions.

The Vast majority of Stations are now broadcast on UHF. That antenna is VHF 7 thru 13. Have you looked at what channels your stations are broadcast on?
https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php

 

[Time2]

That’s the thing, I’m not really a sports fan. If it weren’t my team, I could care less. Once in awhile, I will pay attesting to a pro football game that is not the Lions, but really, I don’t watch sports just to watch sports. If it’s not a home team, I’m fine doing something else.

Oh man, sorry about the Lions debacle last week. I grew up a Lions fan.

It seems like they should have to play those games on network tv in the home town of those teams.

Hmm, I think it is an agreement between who ever authorizes the college football to be broadcast and the networks. The colleges want to make sure the stadium is filled. There was a time in the NFL when the blackout would be lifted if the stadium got filled. I haven't heard about tha for many, many years.

 

[Qs Laptop]

OK, I'm a bit disappointed in Hulu. I'm watching L.A. Law in lo-definition on Amazon Prime with no commercials. I read that L.A. Law had been upgraded to hi-def for Hulu. This was the main reason I bought Hulu on the Black Friday special.

Last night I gave L.A. Law on Hulu a spin. Turns out that hi-def means the lo-def 4:3 screen ratio has been enlarged to 16:9 to fit hi-def screens. No black bars on the sides of the picture. The picture quality is a bit sharper but there is a lot of grain evident. (I know that sounds contradictory, but it is so.) Also, the sound track quality is a downgrade from Amazon.

It's possible that later seasons on Hulu will be in true high definition.

I'm into S4 of LA Law on Hulu and the hi-def quality is much better. Hardly any grain in the background and the color is fuller and deeper. Sound quality is improved as well. 5.1 stereo surround.

Also, surprise! While there are still 5 commercial breaks per 45 minutes of content, there are breaks where there are no commercials. The screen goes black as if there was going to be a commercial, the countdown timer in the corner of the screen counts down from 0:02, and then I'm right back into the show.

I'm getting a 40 second commercial prior to the start of the show, a 1 minute commercial after the first segment and frequently no other commercials for the remainder of the programming. Very nice.

 

[Chuckanut]

Today my commitment to cord cutting will be tested. I learned that the Michigan/Alabama game is on ESPN. I can find no free or inexpensive ways to watch ESPN. To watch ESPN, you have to have a cable provider. The cheapest option I can find is Sling TV, normally $40/mo but currently half off for the first month. So, for $20, I can watch the game.

Unfortunately, Sling TV is very stripped down and there’s not really anything else I’d want it for. For example, if I get Max(HBO) for a month to watch Barbie, there are other shows I’d watch, making the cost to watch Barbie relatively cheap because I’d divide the cost by more than just one show. Sling TV will just give me channels that I already decided I don’t watch, hence the cord cutting.

So today I have to decide if listening to the game on the radio is good enough or if I bite the bullet and pay the $20. Of course that’s still cheaper than the $70/mo I was paying for cable tv but it’s poking at my principles. I wanted to stay around $20/mo for streaming services like Hulu and Peacock, rotating services as I get tired of what they offer.

I am stuck in the same boat. The days of broadcasting important games over the air are gone. I have lost interest in following several teams because of this. Add in the high cost of tickets, food and parking, and I can spend a three day weekend at a beach front hotel for the price of watching one game. Hmmm…. 48 to 72 hours of vacation activity vs. 3-4 hours of viewing a game.

 

[GenXguy]

The Vast majority of Stations are now broadcast on UHF. That antenna is VHF 7 thru 13. Have you looked at what channels your stations are broadcast on?
https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php

LOL. Of course. I used tvfool.com BEFORE I got my antenna over 10 years ago! Every one of those distant ~50 miles stations is VHF channel 7.1 or higher as supported by the VHF antenna I posted. I wouldn't have bought a UHF-only antenna for those. I'm sure that would have resulted in a failure. lol

The only UHF stations are the PBS ones, but they are much closer, so I can still pick them up with the antenna.

I cut the cord over 10 years ago and have been using this VHF antenna with great success. It just needs left in one position to tune in all those networks, so it's worked out great.

 

[GenXguy]

Fortunately for me, all the teams I follow (University of Illinois, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers) not only stink, they really stink. Not worth watching.

Chicago Bears - After the first 4 games with straight losses, I thought the Bears looked a lot more interesting to watch.

For us it works great. We do not watch American or Canadian Football, honestly, I find it quite boring and reputative with relatively little skill other than accurate throwing and catching, a bit like Rugby but with giant bulldozers instead of regular sized humans.

I understand the rules and plays, and how team A tries to outthink Team B with innovative plays. To me it is more enjoyable to watch when one is actually in a stadium with a crowd of friends rather than in front of a TV. Kind of like Motor Racing, better at the track. I used to study in Denver and my company had season tickets for Mile High, I did enjoy watching the Broncos play at the field, it was the Elway era.

I also understand it is a big US pastime and can see if one was brought up with it how it can be addicting like any other sport.

We watch proper football in our home, (Soccer to you yanks). We find it more skillful with more of a team interaction. Premier League Football usually has a couple of games televised on local free NBC stations on Saturday. We call it Match of the Day in the UK. That works for our minimal sports fix. I am sure most Americans think English Football is boring too.

I'm the opposite. I definitely see a lot of skill in NFL football on many levels, and I skip the commercials by using DVR time shifting, but I can not get into soccer at all. Seems like a whole lot of not much happening. I definitely much prefer watching NFL on my TV with all the perks of being at home rather than around a bunch of loud and annoying people at the statium. My antenna gets most of the games I want for free, and I don't need to see all of them.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Today my commitment to cord cutting will be tested. I learned that the Michigan/Alabama game is on ESPN. I can find no free or inexpensive ways to watch ESPN. To watch ESPN, you have to have a cable provider. The cheapest option I can find is Sling TV, normally $40/mo but currently half off for the first month. So, for $20, I can watch the game.

Unfortunately, Sling TV is very stripped down and there’s not really anything else I’d want it for. For example, if I get Max(HBO) for a month to watch Barbie, there are other shows I’d watch, making the cost to watch Barbie relatively cheap because I’d divide the cost by more than just one show. Sling TV will just give me channels that I already decided I don’t watch, hence the cord cutting.

So today I have to decide if listening to the game on the radio is good enough or if I bite the bullet and pay the $20. Of course that’s still cheaper than the $70/mo I was paying for cable tv but it’s poking at my principles. I wanted to stay around $20/mo for streaming services like Hulu and Peacock, rotating services as I get tired of what they offer.

Locast was perfect for watching sports when it was around. All you had to do was use a VPN and change your location to get the games that you wanted to watch. I personally am not a sports fan so never used it that way but my daughter and SIL loved it for watching their football games and it only cost $5 a month at the time. Sadly it's no more, the broadcasters sued to shut them down and won. I was hoping something else might take over after learning by Locasts mistakes but so far it has not happened.

 

[Time2]

LOL. Of course. I used tvfool.com BEFORE I got my antenna over 10 years ago! Every one of those distant ~50 miles stations is VHF channel 7.1 or higher as supported by the VHF antenna I posted. I wouldn't have bought a UHF-only antenna for those. I'm sure that would have resulted in a failure. lol

The only UHF stations are the PBS ones, but they are much closer, so I can still pick them up with the antenna.

I cut the cord over 10 years ago and have been using this VHF antenna with great success. It just needs left in one position to tune in all those networks, so it's worked out great.

Ok, I now understand you know the difference, Not everyone does.
Still a little surprising to me that you have several VHF channels, but they are still out. I have 2 VHF out of my 11 transmitted channels, with sub channels I get about 30. I put up a dumb simple DIY antenna at my daughters home and it received 72 channels. That is down in Bradenton.

 

[GenXguy]

Ok, I now understand you know the difference, Not everyone does.
Still a little surprising to me that you have several VHF channels, but they are still out. I have 2 VHF out of my 11 transmitted channels, with sub channels I get about 30. I put up a dumb simple DIY antenna at my daughters home and it received 72 channels. That is down in Bradenton.

My ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, Comet, and MeTV comes out of just two broadcasters in the same city, and they both happen to use VHF. All are HD except Comet. The next furthest city with broadcast antennas has all but one of those networks on UHF that I might be able to pull in with a rooftop UHF antenna (vs. my attic VHF) facing a different direction, but I didn't want to bother with that for mostly duplicate content.

 

[youbet]

Fortunately for me, all the teams I follow (University of Illinois, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers) not only stink, they really stink. Not worth watching.

Well, Da Bears have become much more interesting the past few games.......

If you like sports, cord cutting is difficult.

For sure!

 

[MBSC]

Today my commitment to cord cutting will be tested. I learned that the Michigan/Alabama game is on ESPN. I can find no free or inexpensive ways to watch ESPN.

Xfinity and some other ISPs include access to ESPN3. ESPN3 had the ESPN video feed synced up with each team's radio broadcast. No TV subscription required. Current Spectrum internet plans no longer include it but their legacy plans may still have it.

If I get an Internet plan from Comcast Xfinity, will I be able to watch ESPN’s internet service, ESPN3?

You can use your Xfinity Internet plan to watch ESPN3 for free on the Xfinity Stream app which is available on streaming devices such as Roku.

https://tvanswerman.com/2023/12/08/can-comcast-internet-subs-watch-espn3/

 

[Jerry1]

Xfinity and some other ISPs include access to ESPN3. ESPN3 had the ESPN video feed synced up with each team's radio broadcast. No TV subscription required. Current Spectrum internet plans no longer include it but their legacy plans may still have it.

My guess is that access to ESPN3 would not have got me the game on ESPN. Anyway, I held out and just listened to it on the radio. A different experience for sure, but I kept up on the game. My DW said it shouldn’t matter since I usually fall asleep watching the games. True enough I said, but I somehow seem to wake up whenever there’s a touchdown.

I think not being able to watch the final next week is going to be more than I can handle. We’ll see.

 

[REWahoo]

Not cord cutting but related: Our internet provider is our electric co-op and they just upgraded our speed from 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps at no additional charge. One of the only examples of "reverse shrinkflation" I've seen in the past few years.

 

[JoeWras]

A discussion from the WSJ on people reducing the number of streaming providers that they subscribe to. Free link: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/...5dbuual3ung&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Americans Are Canceling More of Their Streaming Services
It’s getting a lot harder for streaming services to hold on to their customers.
...
About one-quarter of U.S. subscribers to major streaming services—a group that includes Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock and Starz—have canceled at least three of them over the past two years, according to November data from subscription-analytics provider Antenna. Two years ago, that number stood at 15%, a sign that streaming users are becoming increasingly fickle.

This is no surprise here. Many of us have discussed how we rotate services. That's happening on a broader scale. The article also discusses resubscribe rates. In other words, returning back after a rotation.

 

[Dawg52]

Not cord cutting but related: Our internet provider is our electric co-op and they just upgraded our speed from 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps at no additional charge. One of the only examples of "reverse shrinkflation" I've seen in the past few years.

I also have internet with an electric co-op and it's at 100 Mbps. Do you notice much difference with the upgrade? The only options I had when I signed up were 100 or 1000. My speed seems fine as I move around fast and rarely see any buffering.

 

[Time2]

A discussion from the WSJ on people reducing the number of streaming providers that they subscribe to. Free link: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/...5dbuual3ung&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink



This is no surprise here. Many of us have discussed how we rotate services. That's happening on a broader scale. The article also discusses resubscribe rates. In other words, returning back after a rotation.

Makes me wonder when contracts between product owners and streaming companies become monopolistic. Such as, we will lease the right to stream your product, but you can't lease it to anyone else. There has to be some limits.

 

[Venturer]

Not cord cutting but related: Our internet provider is our electric co-op and they just upgraded our speed from 100 Mbps to 500 Mbps at no additional charge. One of the only examples of "reverse shrinkflation" I've seen in the past few years.

We just got our statement from our provider, which is the city where we live. There was a note that starting next month our speed would be going from 100 mpbs to 500 as well--but at an increase of $2.99 a month + tax. I have been fine with the lowest 100mpbs but I don't have much choice, since the only other option in town has terrible service.

 

[REWahoo]

We just got our statement from our provider, which is the city where we live. There was a note that starting next month our speed would be going from 100 mpbs to 500 as well--but at an increase of $2.99 a month + tax. I have been fine with the lowest 100mpbs but I don't have much choice, since the only other option in town has terrible service.

We were also fine with 100 Mbps and I can't tell any difference with the increase in speed.

On a side note, our provider is our electric co-op and does not charge tax. Not sure why but it saves us $5/mo on the $60/mo we pay for the service.

 

[GenXguy]

We just got our statement from our provider, which is the city where we live. There was a note that starting next month our speed would be going from 100 mpbs to 500 as well--but at an increase of $2.99 a month + tax. I have been fine with the lowest 100mpbs but I don't have much choice, since the only other option in town has terrible service.

My Comcast bill jumped a whopping $9/mo, and that's for ZERO change in my bandwidth or data cap. Still internet only service 75 Mbps down / 10 Mbps up.

 

[Sojourner]

I think not being able to watch the final next week is going to be more than I can handle. We’ll see.

You might want to consider doing a 7-day free trial of Fubo. It's a sports-centric, live TV streaming service that normally costs $75/month, but you can watch the NCAA championship game for free with your 7-day trial. Just don't forget to cancel on the 7th day!
https://www.fubo.tv/welcome

 

[Dean56]

I am stuck in the same boat. The days of broadcasting important games over the air are gone. I have lost interest in following several teams because of this. Add in the high cost of tickets, food and parking, and I can spend a three day weekend at a beach front hotel for the price of watching one game. Hmmm…. 48 to 72 hours of vacation activity vs. 3-4 hours of viewing a game.

NFL will be streaming a Wildcard game exclusively on Peacock. This is turning into Pay-Per-View

https://www.peacocktv.com/blog/peacock-streaming-nfl-wild-card-game-exclusively

 

[ncbill]

We just got our statement from our provider, which is the city where we live. There was a note that starting next month our speed would be going from 100 mpbs to 500 as well--but at an increase of $2.99 a month + tax. I have been fine with the lowest 100mpbs but I don't have much choice, since the only other option in town has terrible service.

45 MBps (symmetrical) for $45/month via the local telephone co-op at the cabin in 2022, thanks to a new underground fiber network.

First year we could get anything beyond a telephone line since the place was built six decades prior.

Last year they increased the price to $50/month, but now @ 150 MBps.

You can get 1 Gbps, but probably don't want to pay for it.