My 84 year-old DMIL just cut the cord (with my help). Here's the before and after:
BEFORE:
Cable internet (200/20)
Cable TV (175 channels plus a Tivo, no premium channels)
Digital home phone service
Modem rental and STB rental for one TV
Total $225/mo
I called on her behalf and negotiated it down to $187/mo but that was just for a year, after which it would go up again.
I then bought her a Fire TV stick, mainly just as a way for her to watch Netflix other than the pathetic app on her Tivo box. The Fire TV stick was set up with my Prime account and she started watching all kinds of movies, original shows, old PBS documentaries, and even YouTube.
But she still needed cable TV for the major networks and a few cable channels she likes. So as a test, I also installed PS Vue on the Fire TV and logged on using our credentials. She loved it. After a week or so, I set up her own PS Vue account, canceled cable TV, returned all the hardware, and now this is her set-up:
AFTER:
Cable internet (200/20)
Digital home phone service (she has a special caption phone for hearing impaired which requires this)
Bought a cable modem on Amazon for $50. So no more rental fees.
Total $70/mo for internet and phone (including all tax/fees)
She uses our Netflix, Prime, and PBS Passport. But has her own PS Vue account, which is $50/mo with tax/fees.
Grand total is $120/mo vs $187-225 with the cable company.
I also bought her the new Fire TV remote with power/volume buttons. So she just uses that one small remote for everything and never needs to switch inputs or any other (for her) confusing things. Previously, she had a pile of remotes and could never remember which one to use for what. From the Fire TV home screen, she knows exactly how to access all her programs.