Cutting the cord

[Outlander]

I just have a hard time justifying the $50 or whatever it is to get literally one program I'm interested in seeing and can't catch every night. Hell I'd give them $15 a month for JUST the telecast of the games.

Same here, I am just going to get the free MLB that T-Mobile gives and then fast forward through games in the morning before work or have it on in the background since I work from home right now.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Sling was great because you could cut it off at any time and it was only $25. It's not included in the cheaper package anymore though, don't think it's in either Sling package but not 100% sure.

 

I bootleg all the time, but I won't lie to myself and say it's as nice as having it paid. It's just a lot easier to sit down and watch it without any fussing.

[reillymcshane]

So, if I'm reading things correctly, the cheapest way to watch the Brewers at home (within market) is Hulu Live - which is $55/month.

 

YouTube TV is $65/month.

 

Sling doesn't have Fox Sports Wisconsin anymore (which at $25 wasn't too steep a price).

 

Phibo and FuboTV don't carry it either.

 

Again, this is assuming I can't get the Crew on MLB.tv because I'm in market.

 

Is that all correct?

 

Thanks.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Legally, I believe that's accurate.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So, if I'm reading things correctly, the cheapest way to watch the Brewers at home (within market) is Hulu Live - which is $55/month.

 

YouTube TV is $65/month.

 

Sling doesn't have Fox Sports Wisconsin anymore (which at $25 wasn't too steep a price).

 

Phibo and FuboTV don't carry it either.

 

Again, this is assuming I can't get the Crew on MLB.tv because I'm in market.

 

Is that all correct?

 

Thanks.

 

I believe you can get Fox Sports Wisconsin on AT&T TV as well, but it's on one of their extra tiers. Sinclair has done an absolute terrible job keeping their RSNs available. What an absolute joke of a company.

[FVBrewerFan]

Spectrum is an option. I haven't looked into it yet, but after my YTTV increase I will be. Looks like there's actually 2 choices. "regular" cable at $40 for the 1st year. Which is fine, this seems like something that will need to be shopped at least once a year. BUT they also have their own streaming service now where I believe you can choose "x" number of channels- whatever channels you want. That sounds interesting, just haven't dug into the details yet.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

It's been a long time since I've had actual cable but the last time I did, the regular cheap cable package contained absolutely nothing. It was a bunch of crap and basically nothing that people get cable for. You had to go a level up for FSNWI.

 

I'm almost positive their streaming service doesn't have FSN.

[madbad2000]

Pretty sad that I have better (cheaper) viewing options for the Brewers outside of the local market than most of you inside of it.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

It is sad, especially considering that we can't go to the games.

[owbc]

Pretty sad that I have better (cheaper) viewing options for the Brewers outside of the local market than most of you inside of it.

 

I closely follow 2 MLB teams, 1 in-market and 1 out-of-market. There's literally no option for me except the bootlegged feeds, which have greatly improved in reliability and quality in recent years.

[CheezWizHed]

yeah, it seems like if there can't be fans in the seats, the blackout rule should be suspended.

 

I suppose getting a VPN plus MLB.TV would be cheaper than paying for Hulu or YouTube.

[tmwiese55]

Don't forget tossing a friend like $20 to use his FSW password, assuming you know someone living in the state with normal cable.

[owbc]

Don't forget tossing a friend like $20 to use his FSW password, assuming you know someone living in the state with normal cable.

 

There is a limit to the number of times the password can be used simultaneously. I think the number is 5 or less for most providers now.

[logan82]

Youtube TV was a fantastic deal at $35 and I would have kept it at that price. The DVR on it worked great for recording live sports and anything else you wanted. At $50 it was a bit much and now at $65 is overpriced. That is getting up there with cable prices and not worth it at all. MLB just needs to get rid of their archaic blackout rules. Probably never gong to happen though with all the local TV money in bigger markets.

[HiAndTight]

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.

 

 

I'm there with ya. I have direct TV, and then I somehow became "the guy" who pays for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, HBO Go..ALL that crap and people hit me up for the passwords.

 

I absolutely have to figure this out but I haven't had the guts to actually cut the cord. Hell, I haven't even changed from my Sprint plan that costs 240 bucks a month for 4 phones.

 

Spending up to 550 for TV, Streaming and Cell phone services is absolutely killing me and I know how stupid it is. I know I could probably cut 300 bucks a month off that pretty easily and throw that much more a month into my 401K or my Mortgages. Pretty much anything but just hanging a bunch of 20's on a clothesline and starting them on fire.

[CheezWizHed]

Hell, I haven't even changed from my Sprint plan that costs 240 bucks a month for 4 phones.

 

You can do this online once logged into Sprint. I just went from $40/month/phone to $30/month/phone. If you can't figure it out online, go into a store. They have made this REALLY easy to keep people. Last time I was in the store to add a line, the person alerted me to the new plans that were much cheaper. Years past, you had to leave to get a better deal.

 

Also note that Sprint gives you a free subscription to Hulu (just the TV shows + movies, not live). Likewise with music streaming (Tidal). I've never heard of Tidal before, but a premium subscription is included with each phone line. So I dropped Amazon Prime music at $6/month while I was at it.

[HiAndTight]

Hell, I haven't even changed from my Sprint plan that costs 240 bucks a month for 4 phones.

 

You can do this online once logged into Sprint. I just went from $40/month/phone to $30/month/phone. If you can't figure it out online, go into a store. They have made this REALLY easy to keep people. Last time I was in the store to add a line, the person alerted me to the new plans that were much cheaper. Years past, you had to leave to get a better deal.

 

Also note that Sprint gives you a free subscription to Hulu (just the TV shows + movies, not live). Likewise with music streaming (Tidal). I've never heard of Tidal before, but a premium subscription is included with each phone line. So I dropped Amazon Prime music at $6/month while I was at it.

 

 

Well that's good to know. My billing cycle starts on I think the 18th of every month, so I just keep putting it off.

 

ALSO...did NOT know that I should be getting Hulu for free.

 

Now help me out. My sister got a phone on my plan...she gave me the cash for the phone, they told me I couldn't pay it off right now, that I'd get charged 40 bucks a month for it but I could pay it off after a month. That was a couple years ago. Now they're saying it's a "leased" phone and not one that I bought and that she has to return the phone...which she's just a nightmare, so I'd rather pay a 40 dollar a month penalty than have to ask her to go out of her way at all, but seriously, I was there when they said they'd charge me for 2 years or until I paid it off.

 

You look like you're already saving me 30 bucks a month...any advice you can give me on this one!

[CheezWizHed]

The lease deal is good if you pay attention, but they hope you don't and it turns into a scam, IMO.

 

At least the one time I did this (and currently doing it a second time), you make monthly payments towards the price of the phone for two years. Then they offer you a payoff to pay for the rest of the phone, return the phone and lease another, or payoff the balance of the phone to own it (though continued monthly payments will NOT reduce the payoff of the phone).

- Example: If you pay $20/month for 2 years on a phone that costs $500, you will pay down $480 and have to pay off the remaining $20. But if you don't "buy it out" you can continue to pay $20/month from here to eternity and still owe $20.

 

I believe (don't quote me) that anytime after the 2 years, you can pay off the balance to own the phone and stop the lease payments. But I'm not sure if they only offer that in a "window of time" and lock you into a lease after that.

 

I put a calendar reminder on my phone to buy it out after 2 years and they did sent multiple email reminders when my 2 year period is up.

 

Hope that helps.

[pacopete4]

How is Sprints cell coverage? That’s my fear of them. They always seem to rank like 4th of the big companies.

[homer]

How is Sprints cell coverage? That’s my fear of them. They always seem to rank like 4th of the big companies.

 

When I had Sprint it was great everywhere except anyplace in WI north of Madison. It was like a black hole.

[FVBrewerFan]

Sprint merged with TMobile now, for whatever that's worth. I changed 3 phones in my family over to Sprint a couple years back, no problem with coverage. One family member is in NE Wisc, goes north from there quite often. Coverage was my big concern, so I kept asking everyone. Can get spotty between Wausau and Eau Claire, but I have that same issue with Verizon.

 

Cheez, what you're saying about the lease is accurate. Either you need to get new phone after 2 years or pay it off. Otherwise, you'll continue to make the lease payments. But guess what? those lease payments do NOT decrease the buyout amount on the phone.

 

So, let's say you lease Iphone 11 at $30/mo for two years. You can buy out the phone for idk, say $250, or enter new lease for Iphone 12 or whatever is out at the time. That's not bad. What IS bad? If you do nothing, you pay $30 every month and then you'll have to buy out your current phone for $250, the balance doesn't go down. So, essentially, if you do nothing for a year you will pay $360 for nothing and still have to pay $250 fr that phone before you can lease a new one. They are absolutely counting on you forgetting all about it.

[CheezWizHed]

I've had no issues with Sprint's coverage in cities or on major highways. But go out into rural areas (northern MN, NW Wisconsin, Iowa- almost nothing at my in-laws house) and it is pretty spotty for data coverage - normally covered, but at 2 bars and very slow access.

 

I've not seen much change with the T-Mobile merger for coverage.

 

FWIW, my work phone is AT&T and I've not seen any better coverage in those three locations I mentioned either. Typically my family and friends that live in those locations only get decent coverage with US Cellular. And my mom normally walks out on the deck to talk even with that.

[MrTPlush]

The whole lease/loan thing really is a big scam. Pretty much locks you into a contract with no reasonable way out. The other possibility is many people get so used to the $40 a month it doesn’t seem like a big deal and simply upgrading to a new phone every two years is no big deal. It’s like a monthly subscription...a trap. Get used to the payment, forget about the payment, and sit there spending money on something you don’t really need.

[TURBO]

I live in the Fox Valley. Sprint was fine there. We had a problem when my son went to college at UWSP, coverage was horrible. We switched to Us Celluar, and haven't looked back. Really happy with their service, and it worked perfectly in Stevens Point. My daughter them went to college at UWEC, worked great there too.

[Menotti80]

My wife's family has a large homestead up north. I can make calls & send/receive basic texts for the most part, but it's a 15 minute drive to get enough service for data.

 

We have plans to spend at least half of our time up there, and I'm really curious to know if there will ever be decent data coverage in a place like that ("everywhere"). With how much technology advances, I almost don't accept that there are still dead spots, or will be 5-10 yrs from now.

 

Anyone know if overall coverage areas will keep improving, or is the focus on strengthening signals (5g) in more areas only?