Cutting the Cord…

[Fourputt]

I cut the cord and went with an antenna and Roku about 18 months ago.  I do occasionally miss watching live sports, but much less than I thought I would.  Honestly, I realized how much time I was wasting watching sporting events that I had no control over.  I have spent the time saved reading, golfing, exercising, and sleeping more.  My quality of life has improved greatly since I dropped cable.  I still watch NFL games via antenna, and I'll go to my parents' house or a bar to catch a big playoff game now and then.  Otherwise I am content with my choice and will never go back.  Why spend precious time on this earth watching others do great things when I can go out and do my own.

It's called entertainment (and just how many "great" things do you actually do?).  I play plenty of golf, do all of the other things that I want to do, but in the evenings I like to watch TV.  Our rural cable company gives us about 2 dozen movie channels, plus lots of other programming that I like, and I've become addicted to NFL Red Zone.  When there isn't a game that I particularly want to watch, I just switch to Red Zone and see the key plays in all of the games that are being played during that time frame.  When I'm watching a particular game, I still flip back and forth during the dead times in the game.  And I can still DVR anything that comes when I have a scheduling conflict.  That's good enough for me.  I began my life pre TV, so having a cord is not what I consider a hardship.

[dsc123]

I think what I appreciate the most as a cord cutter is that I don't get sucked into watching crap.  Gone are the days when I put on the tv to watch for 15 minutes but sucked into some movie or whatever else is on before realizing its 1pm and I've wasted 1/4 of my weekend.

[nevets88]

I think what I appreciate the most as a cord cutter is that I don't get sucked into watching crap.  Gone are the days when I put on the tv to watch for 15 minutes but sucked into some movie or whatever else is on before realizing its 1pm and I've wasted 1/4 of my weekend.

Yes, I think having to be more proactive in choosing what you watch you tend to veg out less. But with play next episode and play random, companies are mimicking the no brain aspect of teevee. The play next feature is dangerous. One minute, it's 10pm, 5 episodes later it's 3am and you're thinking, I'm gonna suffer for this. But it's soooo good! :-D It's like reading a book all night.

[No Mulligans]

About five years ago I set up an digital antenna and tested off the grid TV.  Worked great, I thought the picture was better than HD cable.  I got the networks, public TV, a few other English language channels and a bunch of Spanish language channels (broadcast from Tijuana no doubt).  So, I was ready to cut the cord.

Called Time Warner, my internet and cable TV supplier, to tell them to discontinue my TV service.  After maybe 45 minutes on the phone, with the rep repeatable "checking with his supervisor", I was offered internet only for $52 or a faster internet bundled with the basic TV package for $49.  I choose the $49.  A year later it went to $75.

Still haven't cut the cord.  Perhaps it's time for another 45 minute phone call, then again maybe not.

[turtleback]

It's called entertainment (and just how many "great" things do you actually do?).  I play plenty of golf, do all of the other things that I want to do, but in the evenings I like to watch TV.  Our rural cable company gives us about 2 dozen movie channels, plus lots of other programming that I like, and I've become addicted to NFL Red Zone.  When there isn't a game that I particularly want to watch, I just switch to Red Zone and see the key plays in all of the games that are being played during that time frame.  When I'm watching a particular game, I still flip back and forth during the dead times in the game.  And I can still DVR anything that comes when I have a scheduling conflict.  That's good enough for me.  I began my life pre TV, so having a cord is not what I consider a hardship.

One of my possible football alternatives, if I decide to cut the cord.would be to get the standalone version of red zone as well as NFL Game Rewind.  For pretty modest amounts they would cover most of my football needs.  But I haven't gotten the OTA stuff solved yet.  We seem to be right on the edge of the reception area.  I may have to try a better antenna.

Yes, I think having to be more proactive in choosing what you watch you tend to veg out less. But with play next episode and play random, companies are mimicking the no brain aspect of teevee.

The play next feature is dangerous. One minute, it's 10pm, 5 episodes later it's 3am and you're thinking, I'm gonna suffer for this. But it's soooo good! It's like reading a book all night.

Yeah, it is kind of like back in the day when Msoft included solitaire with Windows to teach people how to use a mouse.  And clicking that stupid new game button became almost instantly one of the widest spread near-addictions around.

[nevets88]

About five years ago I set up an digital antenna and tested off the grid TV.  Worked great, I thought the picture was better than HD cable.  I got the networks, public TV, a few other English language channels and a bunch of Spanish language channels (broadcast from Tijuana no doubt).  So, I was ready to cut the cord. Called Time Warner, my internet and cable TV supplier, to tell them to discontinue my TV service.  After maybe 45 minutes on the phone, with the rep repeatable "checking with his supervisor", I was offered internet only for $52 or a faster internet bundled with the basic TV package for $49.  I choose the $49.  A year later it went to $75. Still haven't cut the cord.  Perhaps it's time for another 45 minute phone call, then again maybe not.

I lied when I cancelled and said I was moving. Outside the country. I wanted a clean break, snap! Say you're moving, lost your job, got a rare visual disorder, done, no muss, no fuss.

[Yukari]

I lied when I cancelled and said I was moving. Outside the country. I wanted a clean break, snap! Say you're moving, lost your job, got a rare visual disorder, done, no muss, no fuss.

I don't get why you need to do that.

When I cancelled my subscription, I just told them to cancel it and when they try to talk me out of it, I said "I want it cancelled" and hung up.  That was it.

[Fourputt]

Out here in the hinterlands (rural NE Colorado - the "big" city nearest us is under 15,000 population, and we are 140 miles from Denver), we don't have a lot of choice.  To get decent internet, we have to go with a local cable company, so it's just logical to go cable for TV too.  The only other option is satellite for TV, and a couple of really slow internet services - either over the phone line (and we don't even have a land line), or a line of sight wireless service that leaves a lot to be desired.

Bad internet is not an option for us, so cable it is.

[nevets88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yukari

Quote:

Originally Posted by nevets88


I lied when I cancelled and said I was moving. Outside the country. I wanted a clean break, snap! Say you're moving, lost your job, got a rare visual disorder, done, no muss, no fuss.

I don't get why you need to do that.

When I cancelled my subscription, I just told them to cancel it and when they try to talk me out of it, I said "I want it cancelled" and hung up.  That was it.

Because this:

Quote:

Almost anyone that has tried to cancel cable service, wireless service, or a gym membership knows how difficult it can be to do over the phone, but a recent call to Comcast by one customer might take the cake for the worst of them all. Ryan Block, formerly of Engadget and now at AOL, called Comcast to cancel his service, but instead of politely obliging and going ahead with his request, the representative on the line insisted on taking him through a circular argument to find out the reason why he was canceling service.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/15/5901057/comcast-call-cancel-service-ryan-block

and in the previous case, he spent 45 minutes on the phone. Granted, @No Mulligans optioned for a cheaper deal and if I were sure I didn't want a deal, the call would be shorter, but these calls have a way of going long.

Here's the audio of the phone call from the above article:

https://soundcloud.com/ryan-block-10/comcastic-service

[turtleback]

Out here in the hinterlands (rural NE Colorado - the "big" city nearest us is under 15,000 population, and we are 140 miles from Denver), we don't have a lot of choice.  To get decent internet, we have to go with a local cable company, so it's just logical to go cable for TV too.  The only other option is satellite for TV, and a couple of really slow internet services - either over the phone line (and we don't even have a land line), or a line of sight wireless service that leaves a lot to be desired.

Bad internet is not an option for us, so cable it is.

Yeah, we are a little closer to Denver (Greeley) but the cheap one I tried only got me a few channels and not the ones I needed.  But I have to say I was pleased by the picture quality, so if I can get it to work . . .

[nevets88]

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN TALKS TO REMOVE REGIONAL BLACKOUTS FROM MLB.TV

Quote:

Sam Kennedy did not give an exact date that blackouts will end. In fact, he said they are only in talks right now, but he hopes that blackouts will end later this season or before the 2016 season. Currently, all Spring Training games on MLB.TV are free of any blackout restrictions.

http://www.cordcuttersnews.com/major-league-baseball-in-talks-to-remove-regional-blackouts-from-mlb-tv/

Also saw this:

NFL Suspends TV Blackout Rule for 2015-16 Season

This doesn't really affect cordcutters per se, but many of them use an antenna so I think this affects those who want to watch local games OTA.

Quote:

The so-called “blackout rule” is a federal law that prohibits local TV stations from telecasting NFL games, in the event that the stadium doesn’t sell out tickets 72 hours in advance of the game. The NFL had no blackouts last season and only two TV blackouts in 2013.

From 2009-12, there were 79 blackouts. A big reason for the change after 2012 was that the league redefined what represented a sellout (lowering the required number of tickets sold), according to ESPN Stats & Information.

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/nfl-suspends-tv-blackout-rule-for-2015-16-season-1201458199/

[dsc123]

The MLB blackout

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN TALKS TO REMOVE REGIONAL BLACKOUTS FROM MLB.TV

http://www.cordcuttersnews.com/major-league-baseball-in-talks-to-remove-regional-blackouts-from-mlb-tv/

Also saw this:

NFL Suspends TV Blackout Rule for 2015-16 Season

This doesn't really affect cordcutters per se, but many of them use an antenna so I think this affects those who want to watch local games OTA.

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/nfl-suspends-tv-blackout-rule-for-2015-16-season-1201458199/

Awesome news.  I hate when ESPN picks up a game and I can't watch it.

[Golfingdad]

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN TALKS TO REMOVE REGIONAL BLACKOUTS FROM MLB.TV

http://www.cordcuttersnews.com/major-league-baseball-in-talks-to-remove-regional-blackouts-from-mlb-tv/

That's a huge deal for those of us in major markets - especially those of us in major markets for TWO teams.  That's a lot of games you're missing out on.

Then again, I don't have Time Warner cable so I'm missing out on the Dodgers anyway. ;)

[Braivo]

With the new SlingTV carrying ESPN, the only thing stopping most guys I know from cutting the cord is the regional sports networks like FSN (Detroit, Chicago, etc.). Mostly for MLB games. If MLB.tv allows streaming of local games that changes the picture for many people.

[sixcat]

NBC Sports Live app, which contains Golf Channel Live was made available on Roku and Apple TV yesterday.  Very similar to the watchESPN app where you can get live programming plus previously aired programming.

[saevel25]

Sounds like ESPN is suing Verizon for offering stripped down Custom TV plan. Were you get a base plan, then you can switch out monthly other add on bundles. Somehow ESPN thinks what ever they are offering is violating their contract.

[dsc123]

NBC Sports Live app, which contains Golf Channel Live was made available on Roku and Apple TV yesterday.  Very similar to the watchESPN app where you can get live programming plus previously aired programming.

I just noticed that last night while looking for the hockey game. Unfortunately, they still block games that are played on regional networks. So I had to jump through a lot of hoops to watch my islanders play against the local caps.

[sixcat]

Sounds like ESPN is suing Verizon for offering stripped down Custom TV plan. Were you get a base plan, then you can switch out monthly other add on bundles. Somehow ESPN thinks what ever they are offering is violating their contract.

I believe we will see a lot more of this over the next few years.  With the reliability and speeds of internet access today, traditional "watch on a schedule" television is becoming obsolete.  My family and I "cut the cable cord" in October 2011 and haven't looked back.  Netflix type programming will take over the market soon.  ESPN and Disney are well aware of this which is why they made their content available well before most anyone else.

I just noticed that last night while looking for the hockey game. Unfortunately, they still block games that are played on regional networks. So I had to jump through a lot of hoops to watch my islanders play against the local caps.

The NFL voted to suspend regional blackouts for the upcoming season.  My guess is, most everyone will soon.  It is a copycat business.