Poll: When Did You Cut the Cord (Cable and/or Satellite)?

[Harris4crna]

Minimal cable, provides a steady picture when internet bandwidth is spotty due to neighbors streaming porn.

Did not know you were my neighbor

 

[Cobra9777]

We dropped traditional cable in 2013 (FiOS in our case). Converted the landline phone to free VoIP using GV.

For TV, we've been through lots of changes over the years. Our main issue is no OTA. At first, we kept a bare-bones "broadcast TV tier" that FiOS offered. Messed around with Locast for a while. Later, we subscribed to PS Vue and now YTTV.

We also have Netflix, Prime, and several other on-demand streaming services, which we cycle through as new content becomes available. There have been some significant price increases, but we added stuff as well. We also upgraded to Gigabit internet service.

Savings were huge in the beginning. Not so much anymore. Most of what were saving is from dropping the landline, no STB rentals, and the taxes and junk fees that come with traditional cable/sat.

Not complaining. But it still feels like a work-in-progress... things like no Bally RSN on YTTV. That's beyond irritating given how much we pay for that service. But still, I think the systems overall are better and more consumer-oriented, like free trials and being able to come and go as you please.

 

[rk911]

we've had cable tv since the early 80's. we first got it for my wife. she had gone skiing with the local park district one day (honestly, it was on a Friday, the 13th) and she came home with torn ligaments in her knee. she was off work for 6-mos. no kids, no nearby relatives and no remote control on the TV. so we got cable tv (Jones Cable if I recall correctly) for her since that had a remote. we liked it...a lot...and have kept it all these years.

 

[wyecrabber1]

I would drop cable in a heart beat. It's better to have a happy wife. She doesn't understand why the different remote and has a love affair with channel numbers. Like a earlier post, she needs her cooking shows -- she doesn't cook.

 

[Time2]

I have the receipt for returning two cable boxes stapled inside my Utilities Folder, just in case one day they decide they didn't get their boxes back. It is dated 4-2-18. So getting close 5 years. So if cable averaged $100 over 5 years, that's $5,000! Although I did spend some on Firesticks and I got a FireTV Recast, for my wife to record her soaps, that has worked out very good. I even use it once in a while.

 

[euro]

Just about a year ago for us. Don't miss it at all.

 

[pjm-7]

i dropped cable before I retired in 2014. Never missed it. I've never been much of a TV watcher. I have an antenna that more than meets my needs. Occasionally, use a free streaming service.

 

[d.davis]

In the 80s and 90s we had a BUD with a-la-cart pricing. At some point the cable lobbies got us BUDs out priced and forced us to dish/cable. Dropped it all including fiber internet to the house ($240/mo) when we retired in 2016. Purchased a T-mobile over 55 two phone plan with 10g hotspot on each phone for fixed 80/mo. We don't stream anything. A roof antenna for ota pulls in 96 channels ne of Dallas. The 10g max each phone is really 2g ave per month and I run TD Think Or Swim several times a week with rt l2 quotes without delay or problem.
Looking back I don't miss watching around 6 channels on paid cable while paying for hundreds including some I objected to the content.
Streaming is the future. Invest accordingly.

 

[gromit]

I didn't fit into the poll. I'm the rare "cord never". I watch plenty of TV, have a Tablo and Roku, but I've never subscribed to cable or satellite.

 

[Dawg52]

I originally cut the cord around 2011. When I moved into a new house in 2016 Comcast had a deal for new location customers and it was comparable in price to the internet and what I was streaming at the time(PS Vue) so I went the cable route. Cut the cord again in 2020 and don't see ever going back to cable. Right now I have Comcast internet, Peacock, Paramount Plus/Showtime combo deal and an antenna that gives me all the major networks and their subs. In the Fall I will probably sign up for Sling or YTTV for football. I rotate stuff around as I'm sure others do.

 

[Time2]

As a side note, in the late 60s, the local drive in theater near my house, put the note "Save Free TV" on their marquee. They lost, but it took 60 years to drop cable and get back to antennas.

 

[pb4uski]

And that's why I'm willing to pay (all of $20/month, which includes high-definition upgrade) for Netflix. When I DO watch HGTV, etc., I'm unpleasantly surprised at the length of the commercial breaks. It's so nice to watch shows in 2/3 the time it would take on commercial-supported TV.

That is what they make DVRs for.

 

[ncbill]

Helped the kid move into his new apartment.

Furnished with high-end used stuff bought locally (e.g., $3500 new leather couch for $500)

The only thing he plans on buying new is a HDTV on pre-Superbowl special.

Internet is included with the rent, but not cable...he'll put up an inexpensive indoor antenna and use streaming apps instead.

We're still on cable for a couple more years until an "epoch_time" issue disables the CableCard in my Tivo...there may or may not be a fix.

If not, I'll switch the Tivo (base Roamio model) from cable to antenna, since it supports either, but not both at the same time.

 

[Yipper]

"our generation is the most resistant to cutting the cord"

It's funny, we just this month cut the cord, but our 3 adult children have never had cable since they've moved out. Also, up until very recently we had a land phone line.

We're in the same situation... just canceled cable about 3 months ago and haven't missed a thing. Our three adult children have never even had cable and only watch TV via streaming services.

But... we did ditch the landline about 10-12 years ago. Nobody was using it and it would just get random junk calls. One day I was looking over our bills and said to DW, "why am I paying for 6 phone numbers for 5 people?". She was skeptical about dropping the landline and cable but hasn't missed either one.

 

[athena53]

I originally cut the cord around 2011. When I moved into a new house in 2016 Comcast had a deal for new location customers and it was comparable in price to the internet and what I was streaming at the time(PS Vue) so I went the cable route.

Comcast was the last traditional cable carrier I had. When DH and I moved here the previous owner had Comcast and said that if we signed up with Comcast they'd guarantee 2 years at his current rate. So, we did. Of course they wouldn't tell us what he'd been paying ("confidential") but they gave us a price and promised a $200 gift card, which never arrived. The previous owner had been avidly interested in knowing whether we'd signed up so I suspect HE got a gift card for referring us and they weren't going to give us a second one.

The deal-breaker was a year later when they increased one of the fees on the bill for sports programming. It was only $3 or so but to me that was a broken promise. So I dropped them.

 

[TripleLindy]

Did not know you were my neighbor

Now that’s funny.

As far as cutting the cord goes, we finally did it in our primary residence a little over a year ago. Our cable pricing was actually ok and service was good, but the equipment fees (cable boxes) were what drove the price up. When I called to cancel, I was told that TV was only provided to existing customers and they were not taking new subscribers, so the writing was on the wall. I asked about the equipment and was told to recycle it. Just proves what a dumb business model it was.

We never had cable at our 2nd home. We had an attic antenna and gave PlayStation Vue a try for a while, but just used our cable subscription to access streaming services of channels like ESPN. It was kind of a pain to do, though, because you had to switch in and out of individual apps on the Roku.

We also never had cable in our first home, where we lived for 12 years. We just used rabbit ears. When we moved into our current home more than 25 years ago, I had an attic antenna installed because I found it hard to justify the cost of cable - part of the mentality that got me to early retirement. I didn’t get cable TV until cable internet became available.

So, while we only recently cut the cord for the last time, we’ve spent more of our adult lives without cable than we did with it.

 

[retire48in2018]

5 years ago.

When we wanted to add a TV into bathroom - so visible from tub - and we would have to add a cable box, route a coaxial line there, etc

Cable company required boxes to descramble- even basic cable. No TVs came with that card. Plus wanted to charge another $6 a month for that unwanted box

Plus, cable company was going to double the monthly cost - as promotional plan was ending and they would not renew it again - even with threats of leaving cable

So threat was actualized.

Love it - no extra boxes. Hated the extra box - really bad if you wanted a DVR - humongous loud box that hummed and beeped a lot.

Half the cost (now maybe 1/3 cost as cable kept increasing and streaming not increasing as much, plus more streaming options)

 

[ShokWaveRider]

No cable cutting here. We have basic digital HD that has all the channels we want plus high speed internet. No "Paid" streaming channels at all. There is plenty of no charge content on the net.

If there was a reliable high speed internet alternative, we would drop cable. However, having basic cable is only $25 more than the cost of cable internet alone, not worth cutting for that.

 

[ElizabethT]

We cut the cord in 2011, along with our landline phone, as the two were bundled with same provider. I just took a look, and we went from $132 monthly for internet/cable/landline, to $30 for just internet. So that's a $13,200 savings over 11 years.

We pay $0 for streaming as an FYI, other than internet fee. We get Netflix for free via our TMobile 55+ phone plan, which we share access to with our two DD's. In return we share their Hulu and Amazon Prime subscriptions.

We watch very little TV these days, a deliberate choice. And a very big change from our working years, when we'd return home too exhausted to do anything else in the evening. Now, the things we do instead of TV on the nights we're home is read while listening to instrumental music (our most frequent activity), play guitar and piano together, play games, do puzzles. Our normal TV time is 8 - 9pm, after which we go to bed.

For a white noise factor, we stream a ton of these YouTube cozy jazz videos (commercial free thanks to a another family member adding us to their account) on our 65" TV. They are static screens for the most part, with falling rain or snow or waves, plus instrumental jazz. They 'fill' the room without being a distraction. Super cozy.

 

[sengsational]

No entry for "Never Had Cable (so never anything to cut)"

 

[jollystomper]

We still have cable, but I rarely watch anything other than live sports. DW will rarely watch it. Dropping it rattles around in my head, but it is less than 2% of our expenses are we are already not spending as much as we could, so I have not focused on it. Perhaps after the Super Bowl I can "trial" dropping it for a few months (though that runs into March Madness, darn) to see if we can live without it .

 

[bloom2708]

Last DirecTV payment was 5/16/2016.

Overall happy. Some things better, some things harder.

My 70 something parents are being forced to "streaming cable" in a week. Their cable provider is stopping cable through traditional means.

We made the switch easy, but they will have a harder time adjusting I am sure.

 

[athena53]

No entry for "Never Had Cable (so never anything to cut)"

When I moved to NJ from Cincinnati in 1978 I was spoiled. I could get the 3 major networks in Cincinnati AND Dayton as well as UHF channels. I moved to an area in NJ that was commuting distance to NYC but in a bit of a valley and reception was awful. I just stopped watching TV since I was studying for actuarial exams anyway.

Then I moved in with my first husband. At his insistence we had an insanely expensive cable package- I know it was $150 or so per month back when we divorced in 1997. That included some music service that was similar to Sirius but never worked. He signed up for Bravo when they called and said they'd make a donation to some charity if he did. A year later I dropped it and he never noticed. It was a happy day when I called the cable company and pretty much cut the bill in half. I had to keep one bundle because DS liked Nickelodeon.

 

[Alan]

No entry for "Never Had Cable (so never anything to cut)"

Both our adult children never had cable after they left home. They are in their 40s now and one thing they have commented on since moving back to England is that all the OTA channels are available through their apps over the internet (OTI?) so not even an antenna needed for high quality TV. Yesterday our daughter just signed up for Gigabit internet in the house she took possession of yesterday. Cost is £45/mo ($55).

 

[COcheesehead]

I know some 20 somethings who have never owned a TV. They live with a device. I think some of these same folks have never stepped inside a grocery store well.