Cutting the cord

[patrickgpe]

I decided to cut the cord and was wondering what people use to do so. Really my own requirements are to be able to watch fs Wisconsin, fs1 and USA. ESPN would be nice.

 

I think sling blue is the best option for me, but I’d lose ESPN.

[TURBO]

viewtopic.php?f=67&t=34065

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I decided to cut the cord and was wondering what people use to do so. Really my own requirements are to be able to watch fs Wisconsin, fs1 and USA. ESPN would be nice.

 

I think sling blue is the best option for me, but I’d lose ESPN.

 

Sling does not have FS Wisconsin.

[adambr2]

I decided to cut the cord and was wondering what people use to do so. Really my own requirements are to be able to watch fs Wisconsin, fs1 and USA. ESPN would be nice.

 

I think sling blue is the best option for me, but I’d lose ESPN.

 

Sling does not have FS Wisconsin.

 

Yes they do. I had Sling. It's just not in their Orange package.

 

That said, Sling sucks. I've been much happier with Hulu Live.

 

But if you're looking for something cheaper and don't care about ESPN but need Brewer and Bucks games, Sling Blue gets the job done. I usually used the FSGO app with my Sling login because the feed on Sling wasn't good.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I decided to cut the cord and was wondering what people use to do so. Really my own requirements are to be able to watch fs Wisconsin, fs1 and USA. ESPN would be nice.

 

I think sling blue is the best option for me, but I’d lose ESPN.

 

Sling does not have FS Wisconsin.

 

Yes they do. I had Sling. It's just not in their Orange package.

 

That said, Sling sucks. I've been much happier with Hulu Live.

 

But if you're looking for something cheaper and don't care about ESPN but need Brewer and Bucks games, Sling Blue gets the job done. I usually used the FSGO app with my Sling login because the feed on Sling wasn't good.

 

I can guarantee you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Sling does NOT have FS Wisconsin. They dropped it in July. Sling is owned by DISH, and DISH no longer carries FS Wisconsin either.

 

I hated Hulu Live personally. The platform is just shoddy. I've had the most success with YouTube TV.

[adambr2]

I'd have to trust you on that, then, I had Sling before that so I guess that must be different now. That sucks. I would never consider any provider that couldn't get me the Brewers. Unless I lived out of market and could just get MLBTV or Extra innings.

 

I'm happy with Hulu Live but I've never had YouTube TV so I couldn't compare.

 

I can't believe Dish would be willing to play with that kind of fire. You're already in a super competitive industry with many other similar platforms, and millions of viewers literally do not care about anything other than regional sports. Good luck with that.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

FSN pulled out of Sling last year. I dropped it the next day. I was barely using it anyway though. YouTubeTV seems to be the popular choice but at that price point it loses all appeal to me.

[SeaBass]

YouTube TV has a free 2 week trial going on for new subscribers right now through Feb 13 (meaning that's the last day to sign up for the trial). Excellent value if you're looking to try a streaming service out.

[SeaBass]

FSN pulled out of Sling last year. I dropped it the next day. I was barely using it anyway though. YouTubeTV seems to be the popular choice but at that price point it loses all appeal to me.

I bought a Roku on black Friday and with it came a 40% off for 2 months of Sling promo code. I'm using it now. Strategically Feb/March is a great time for it, don't need FS Wisconsin for Bucks games because over half of their games will be nationally televised on ESPN, TBS/TNT, ABC and NBA TV over the next 2 months.

 

Then when baseball season starts up at the end of March I can change to a service that does have FS Wisconsin.

[homer]

I think every major streaming service has a free trial so it might be worth your while to just sign up for one and see if you like it then cancel and try another one. I was able to watch every Packer game this year by switching services three times (I get a lot of the games on local TV here in Chicago).

 

One great thing about most of them is you can go month to month, cancel, and then re-up later on. A few years ago I got Sling for the NFL season, canceled it in January, and then re-upped for March madness and canceled it again after it was over.

[SeaBass]

Yep, I do a lot of free trial jumping. Make new email addresses and repeat. YouTube TV, for what it's worth, seems to also remember your previously used credit cards though. Something to keep in mind.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I wound up using Reddit even when I paid for Sling. It never buffered as much as Sling did and I wound up just pulling the Brewers up on my laptop 90% of the time vs. firing Sling up on the TV. I had this nice vision of relaxing on the couch watching games from start to finish and of course it never happened that way.

[patrickgpe]

I can guarantee you, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Sling does NOT have FS Wisconsin. They dropped it in July. Sling is owned by DISH, and DISH no longer carries FS Wisconsin either.

 

I hated Hulu Live personally. The platform is just shoddy. I've had the most success with YouTube TV.

Thanks, I was close to signing up for sling, wasn't aware that fox pulled out. Maybe youtube TV is the way to go.

[adambr2]

Not that I know this, I've just heard (*cough*), but Hulu Live is shareable with the unlimited screens plan. There's a catch, though, they have to be in the same zip code.

[tmwiese55]

If you know someone who does pay for cable you can probably get their logins and watch everything for free. Toss your friend like $20/month

[OldSchoolSnapper]

That doesn't really work anymore. Most of them only allow you to view live sports when connected via the Internet service that's part of the subscription.

[LouisEly]

From what I'm reading here, it sounds like you get what you pay for.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

From what I'm reading here, it sounds like you get what you pay for.

 

I cut the cord a year ago, and not a day goes by that I regret it. I was paying $150/month for DISH, on top of the streaming services I was getting (Netflix, Hulu). Now I pay $25 for Sling (for 90% of the same channels I was getting in DISH), and spent about $100 on an antenna and signal booster to get the over-the-air channels. I'll likely switch to YouTube TV once Brewer games start back up, or stream them on reddit.

[LouisEly]

I'm paying about a combined $200/month for cable TV (including all ESPN channels, FS1, CBS Sports, BTN, MLB/NFL/NBA networks - no FSWI in Chicago), cloud DVR, internet, and cell phone service and that includes all taxes, fees, and $25/mo for a new phone, as well as free access to thousands of WiFi hotspots.

 

If you add up what you're paying for each of those things individually, including taxes and fees, I'll bet it's pretty close to $200/month.

[adambr2]

I'm paying about a combined $200/month for cable TV (including all ESPN channels, FS1, CBS Sports, BTN, MLB/NFL/NBA networks - no FSWI in Chicago), cloud DVR, internet, and cell phone service and that includes all taxes, fees, and $25/mo for a new phone, as well as free access to thousands of WiFi hotspots.

 

If you add up what you're paying for each of those things individually, including taxes and fees, I'll bet it's pretty close to $200/month.

 

Is that through Spectrum Mobile?

[LouisEly]

xFinity (a.k.a. Comcast)

[wallus]

I'm paying about a combined $200/month for cable TV (including all ESPN channels, FS1, CBS Sports, BTN, MLB/NFL/NBA networks - no FSWI in Chicago), cloud DVR, internet, and cell phone service and that includes all taxes, fees, and $25/mo for a new phone, as well as free access to thousands of WiFi hotspots.

 

If you add up what you're paying for each of those things individually, including taxes and fees, I'll bet it's pretty close to $200/month.

 

Always been my argument as well. Seems like a lot of screwing around for minimal savings. Now the equation changes if you get extremely cheap internet, do illegal things and/or don't want very many channels to watch.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I had cable back in the day but always split the bill with a roommate, it was bundled with our internet. When I got married I had it for a year and never have had it since. It's just filler. I watch nothing on ESPN and just wouldn't be sitting down to watch local sports every night anyway. I don't miss it. It's one of those things that you have to get used to not having, but then you don't want it again.

 

There's tremendous variety so it gets hard to compare apples and oranges. I pay $70/mo for Internet, two cell lines, Disney+ and Netflix. Internet is $19, weird service that most people probably don't have access to but it works, two lines at Republic Wireless are $20 each with a BYOD plan.That's all I need. Internet for work and streaming but nothing hardcore. Too many shows that I want to watch but can't.

 

When I had cable I'd browse for something so I could watch TV. Now it's only when I want to watch it or I find something else to do. I probably save a lot more than most would but it's not always but straight savings. It can be about trimming excess and being productive with your time.

[homer]

I'm paying about a combined $200/month for cable TV (including all ESPN channels, FS1, CBS Sports, BTN, MLB/NFL/NBA networks - no FSWI in Chicago), cloud DVR, internet, and cell phone service and that includes all taxes, fees, and $25/mo for a new phone, as well as free access to thousands of WiFi hotspots.

 

If you add up what you're paying for each of those things individually, including taxes and fees, I'll bet it's pretty close to $200/month.

 

Always been my argument as well. Seems like a lot of screwing around for minimal savings. Now the equation changes if you get extremely cheap internet, do illegal things and/or don't want very many channels to watch.

 

That's the rub for a lot of people. You end up paying for a bunch of channels you never use which is why I've never taken the leap with YouTube TV or Sling or any of the "live" TV options.

 

And it's also possible that the increased competition from the streaming services has forced the cable companies to improve things on their end.

[PeaveyFury]

And zero issues with service arrival windows, crappy call centers, or installation fees.