Cutting the cord

[colbyjack]

Simple question:

 

I live outside of Milwaukee – Is Spectrum, either via cable or their app on Roku, the only way to get FS Wisconsin?

 

Thanks!

[Baldkin]

Simple question:

 

I live outside of Milwaukee – Is Spectrum, either via cable or their app on Roku, the only way to get FS Wisconsin?

 

Thanks!

 

Spectrum and AT&T, if you're in Wisconsin.

[Jimbo]

The hassle of changing streaming sites on a constant basis isn't worth it to me either.

 

I like turning on the TV, finding the channel and watching the game, not worrying from day to day, week to week, month to month, if I can watch a damn Brewers game.

 

I am a cable guy, and don't feel I'm missing out on what the other 1000 services have to offer. There is only so much time in a day...

 

I'm with turbo on this one. Maybe because we're from the same generation? Just turn on the TV and click to 31..and the Brewers! Also my eclectic taste in sports, so the niche channels offered get utilized often.

[MrTPlush]

The time it takes to set up a streaming service is approximately 10 minutes. Changing streaming services, if you feel the need to do so, 20 minutes. Hardly a hassle and no one has to come into my house...or charge me rent to use a box. You also don’t have to call to cancel and return equipment etc. A hassle would be TV contracts or the massive price hikes cable customers see...that most then call, threaten, and complain over multiple phone calls to get reduced.

 

I’m not sure what I would value the ability to watch the Brewers at...but I know it isn’t an extra $1,000+ a year.

 

Everyone has their things they spend money on and don’t feel the need to find ways to save on. I have seen people cling to cable over way dumber things than the Brewers/Bucks. I know someone that has it because no streaming service will let them have the History channel and another specific channel they like. $1,000 seems like a hefty price to make sure you can watch Pawn Stars, but hey...not my money.

 

Of course I am the kind of person that will switch around my bank account every 6-12 months to get $500 account opening bonuses. I know many won’t go through that kind of effort.

[wallus]

I’m not sure what I would value the ability to watch the Brewers at...but I know it isn’t an extra $1,000+ a year.

 

I'd love to see the breakdown of how you came up with this....

[nodakfan17]

Of course I am the kind of person that will switch around my bank account every 6-12 months to get $500 account opening bonuses. I know many won’t go through that kind of effort.

I’m always tempted to chase a cash bonus, but I worry that the frequent opening and closing of accounts will increase my chances of being an identity theft victim or make it difficult for my wife to access my cash if I unexpectedly pass away. However, I don’t fault those who do switch banks or churn credit cards - it’s all a matter of personal preference.

[PeaveyFury]

I’m not sure what I would value the ability to watch the Brewers at...but I know it isn’t an extra $1,000+ a year.

 

I'd love to see the breakdown of how you came up with this....

 

I went back and looked at our actual expenses before cutting the cord, and we went from $200.72 on cable per month to $142.52. Not thousands for us (we have bells and or whistles on our service), but that's $700 a year. Others can likely find more savings, as TPlush suggests.

[pacopete4]

Paying $200 for cable? What service was that?

[PeaveyFury]

Paying $200 for cable? What service was that?

 

Uverse. And they stopped their willingness to deal.

 

And to clarify, that was the all-in price (cable/internet/premiums/etc).

[CheezWizHed]

I cut the cord probably 10 years ago now. At the time, satellite was about $120/month. I currently pay $60 for MLB TV (which is now free for T-Moble customers), $100 for NFL replay. I also have Prime, but technically the streaming came "free" after paying for other services - but if you wish another $130/year. Hulu is free for Sprint customers (T-mobile and Sprint just merged, hence why I paid for MLB TV last year). I will occasionally pay for a month of Sling to watch the NBA playoffs or something like that.

 

So $1440/year satellite and around $270/year for other services (going off memory for the above numbers - but they should be close) and going down this year. Savings of over $1100.

 

Another way we save money - I downloaded the Google Rewards App. I fill out a 2-3 question survey a couple times a week. Each survey gives me $0.10-$0.50 in my Google Play account. I think use that money to pay for rental movies on Google Play.

[LouisEly]

Paying $200 for cable? What service was that?

 

Uverse. And they stopped their willingness to deal.

 

And to clarify, that was the all-in price (cable/internet/premiums/etc).

Excluding internet and premiums, what was the savings? (I assume by premiums you mean HBO, etc., which have no bearing on watching the Brewers/Bucks.)

 

Not sure where you live, but I'm in Chicago and for $200/month I get cable TV (including MLB/NFL/NBA networks), internet, and cellular service (including the $25/mo for the installment payments on my phone) including all taxes and fees. (No premium channels - I have no interest in those, plenty of programming on regular cable.) The internet + cable is $150, the cellular service with installment payment is under $50.

[TURBO]

My total bill is $206 per month for spectrum. That includes internet and phone (landline) which isn't necessary, but dropping the landline will add $20 per month to the total bill. Make sense of that.

 

We don't have any HBO or movie channels. We do have DVR, and 3 cable boxes.

 

My price will surely go up when my 2 years are done, which I think is May. At that time, I will have to call and try an negotiate my new "deal." I hate doing that every two years, but it is the nature of the beast. If I don't call, my bill will probably jump $50 or more. They hope that people are too lazy to call, and I'm sure they are right a lot of the time.

Edited December 22, 2020 by turborickey

[TURBO]

The hassle of changing streaming sites on a constant basis isn't worth it to me either.

 

I like turning on the TV, finding the channel and watching the game, not worrying from day to day, week to week, month to month, if I can watch a damn Brewers game.

 

I am a cable guy, and don't feel I'm missing out on what the other 1000 services have to offer. There is only so much time in a day...

 

I'm with turbo on this one. Maybe because we're from the same generation? Just turn on the TV and click to 31..and the Brewers! Also my eclectic taste in sports, so the niche channels offered get utilized often.

 

yup, I'm 55.

 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Internet (Frontier DSL - my only option) - $45/month

Netflix - $13/month

Hulu + Disney + - ESPN+ - $12/month

Over the air network TV - free (I did buy a $45 antenna a couple years ago)

 

We already get Amazon Prime for free shipping, so the viewing options are a bonus.

 

Total is $70/month. Considering I previously was paying $160/month for a DISH Network/Frontier DSL internet package, we are seeing substantial savings. I live in an area where Spectrum is not offered, nor is any cable TV provider. I bought YouTubeTV last summer for the Brewers, then cancelled when the season was over. Summer before that I used Sling TV for Brewer games. Not sure what I'm going to do this year if Bally's doesn't figure something out. My options are limited to AT&T TV (I've tried it, and my internet speeds are not really good enough for it) or DirecTV. Guess we'll see what happens.

[PeaveyFury]

Excluding internet and premiums, what was the savings?

 

Internet was basically a wash, but going from HBO to Max accounted for at least~$7-10 of that number. So, still about a $600 savings for me personally.

[FVBrewerFan]

The hassle of changing streaming sites on a constant basis isn't worth it to me either.

 

I like turning on the TV, finding the channel and watching the game, not worrying from day to day, week to week, month to month, if I can watch a damn Brewers game.

 

I am a cable guy, and don't feel I'm missing out on what the other 1000 services have to offer. There is only so much time in a day...

 

I'm with turbo on this one. Maybe because we're from the same generation? Just turn on the TV and click to 31..and the Brewers! Also my eclectic taste in sports, so the niche channels offered get utilized often.

 

yup, I'm 55.

 

 

You do realize this is how YouTube TV worked until now, but at less than half that price? Also, Spectrum isn't immune to this nonsense. Remember when Spectrum (Time Warner actually, at the time) was in dispute with the local Fox stations? That happened more than once at the start of the NFL season, one year it last quite a while. I still have the antenna I had to buy to watch Packer games.

[thebruce44]

The hassle of changing streaming sites on a constant basis isn't worth it to me either.

 

I like turning on the TV, finding the channel and watching the game, not worrying from day to day, week to week, month to month, if I can watch a damn Brewers game.

 

I am a cable guy, and don't feel I'm missing out on what the other 1000 services have to offer. There is only so much time in a day...

 

I'm with turbo on this one. Maybe because we're from the same generation? Just turn on the TV and click to 31..and the Brewers! Also my eclectic taste in sports, so the niche channels offered get utilized often.

 

This reminded me of how my parents used to call me from Milwaukee when I lived in Chicago and tell me to turn on 31 because a local highschool game was on. I would have to explain that the channel was local to Milwaukee only, and even if it was a national channel the numbers were different in different areas.

 

The extreme example of the generational thing.

[MrTPlush]

I’m not sure what I would value the ability to watch the Brewers at...but I know it isn’t an extra $1,000+ a year.

 

I'd love to see the breakdown of how you came up with this....

 

Well, it would depend on any bundles one does and how many boxes they need...or if they need DVR. If you start wanting to have those things for 3+ rooms cable gets ridiculous. I calculated it and after the first year deal it was going to be about $1k more for cable.

[wallus]

I definitely wouldn't have cable and internet at $200+ a month. Right now, with spectrum, I am in the $150's for high speed internet and cable so it doesn't make sense for me to drop it yet. No, that isn't a promotional price either. I used to pay in the $120's.

[PeaveyFury]

I definitely wouldn't have cable and internet at $200+ a month. Right now, with spectrum, I am in the $150's for high speed internet and cable so it doesn't make sense for me to drop it yet. No, that isn't a promotional price either. I used to pay in the $120's.

 

I think you can safely assume that you can get high-speed internet and either HuluLive or YouTube TV for ~$115. So, again depending on what add-ons you have that effects that price, that would be a $400 savings-ish at a rate that you don't have to call and negotiate after 12-24 months repeatedly.

[wallus]

I definitely wouldn't have cable and internet at $200+ a month. Right now, with spectrum, I am in the $150's for high speed internet and cable so it doesn't make sense for me to drop it yet. No, that isn't a promotional price either. I used to pay in the $120's.

 

I think you can safely assume that you can get high-speed internet and either HuluLive or YouTube TV for ~$115. So, again depending on what add-ons you have that effects that price, that would be a $400 savings-ish at a rate that you don't have to call and negotiate after 12-24 months repeatedly.

 

The only actual high speed internet here is Spectrum and that is $50ish a month with a promo price. I thought I read somewhere it goes up to around $80 a month after that year is up. AT&T also services this area (and is cheaper) but it is not what I would consider to be high speed. Are there internet services that are as fast as Spectrum but cheaper out there?

[GAME05]

Of course I am the kind of person that will switch around my bank account every 6-12 months to get $500 account opening bonuses. I know many won’t go through that kind of effort.

 

Not 'cutting the cord' related, but a youtube channel I sometimes watch is of a younger couple who traveled the world for two years. They said that for a year before they left they signed up for a huge number of travel cards to get those sign-up bonus miles and those "spend $2000 in the first two months for a bonus" cards. Definitely a lot to manage, but it did get them a lot of free flights.

 

Similarly, I have a planned $4000 purchase coming up, so I got the Capital One card just to get that initial-spending bonus.

[RobertR]

I love the power of just ending a streaming service with a few clicks. I die a little bit every time I've had to speak with cable "customer service". Never has it been so hard not to give someone money.

[owbc]

As a millennial I despise talking to anyone on the phone, especially customer service.

 

I also can't imagine watching baseball on the TV. Like you sit there and watch baseball on the TV? Like, what else do you do at the same time?

[nodakfan17]

As a millennial I despise talking to anyone on the phone, especially customer service.

Live chat all the way!

 

I work for a small, fairly conservative bank and we offer our customers a live chat option. Even my neighbor/mechanic, who runs a small shop with 2 employees, has a dedicated text line for questions and appointment requests. How are some companies still not doing this?