Is Cable TV worth the expensive cost?

[DaDude]

Right now, I pay $60 for high speed internet and with that, I mainly stream for TV entertainment. Netflix used to be a good option because at only $10/month, I can stream a whole mess of content at my own leisure without commercials. But as time went on, Netflix's monthly rate kept going up and their content is mainly their exclusive content now. Not that there is anything wrong with Netflix content, but it would be great to have some versatility. And this has become the problem with other streaming services.... HBO Max is mostly WB/HBO TV shows, Paramount+ is mostly Paramount content, Disney+ is mostly kids/Disney content, and so on. In order to get versatility with content, you would need to subscribe to different streaming services and the cost can add up real quickly to a very high amount if I did that. Not to mention you don't really get much Sports. While I'm not a big sports fanatic, it would be cool to catch a Hockey or Baseball game now and then and also, I love watching Tennis, so Tennis Channel would be cool!

 

So I've been wondering if Cable TV is worth a shot. But rather than lock myself into my Cable company via bundle or contract, I figured I'd try one of those live tv streaming option. YouTube TV seemed ok, but doesn't carry all of my regional sports channels like MSG. FuboTV and DirectTV Stream do, but they would cost around $72 and $85 respectively if signed up for the packages with that contain all the channels of my liking. That sounds kind of pricey, but not sure how worth it is. I'm afraid I might be just throwing money away by overpaying for TV content.

 

What do you guys think? Is Cable TV worth the expensive $70+ per month?

[+DoctorD Subscriber²]

Depends on what you watch, we watch about 10 stations from a streaming package from spectrum so our cost is less than $20 a month

[DaDude]

On 26/10/2021 at 10:29, DoctorD said:

Depends on what you watch, we watch about 10 stations from a streaming package from spectrum so our cost is less than $20 a month

I love watching tennis, so Tennis Channel will be so cool to have. And occasional hockey and baseball would be nice to watch. Not really a die-hard fan of those sports, but I find them cool to watch once in a while when I'm at home with nothing to do. And occasional documentaries would be fun to watch on Discovery and sometimes before bedtime, an occasional trash TV like reality shows are just fun to watch too. And some family stuff on Disney Channel and FreeForm are also fun, guilty pleasures of mine.

 

So to put it simply, I like a little bit of everything. You can't get that with any streaming service today, so that's why I'm considering cable TV.

[tmorris1]

It think it depends on the person and what you like and want.  To some $70 is well worth it if that is what they like for entertainment, but to others it is a waste.  To me an expensive coffee everyday at Starbucks is a waste when I can make my own for a few cents, but to someone else that is their daily thing that makes them happy.  To each their own.

[DaDude]

On 26/10/2021 at 10:44, tmorris1 said:

It think it depends on the person and what you like and want.  To some $70 is well worth it if that is what they like for entertainment, but to others it is a waste.  To me an expensive coffee everyday at Starbucks is a waste when I can make my own for a few cents, but to someone else that is their daily thing that makes them happy.  To each their own.

I definitely will have use for it but whether I will watch enough to justify the $70+ per month, that’s another question. Just the thought on spending almost $1k annually on tv entertainment kind of makes this a very tough decision. 

 

I guess I should give it a try. I mean, almost everyone I know has cable. Even my uncle who had has debt issues even has cable tv. So it feels odd being the only person without cable. Makes me feel like I’m living in poverty. If you want to watch CNN/Fox News to get your liberal/conservative news fix, you need cable tv. You want to catch the latest hockey/football/baseball game, you need cable tv. You need to watch the Olympic, you need cable tv. People look at me like I have four heads when I tell them I couldn’t catch the Olympics because I don’t have cable…

[GSDragoon]

Sign up for only one (or a couple if you have a family with different viewing needs) streaming service at a time and rotate them. You can only watch so much TV at a time. Chances are, exclusives aren't going to get dropped from these services. You just have to have control to watch them later.

[Circaflex]

I used to have cable, it was like $200 a month and we eventually cut it down to a more basic package. At my next apartment, I cut all cable TV because I rarely watched it; it was really just background noise for me. The only TV i watch live are sporting events, everything else I can stream. I would personally look into cable internet and then streaming services (hulu, netflix, youtubetv, etc). I just found the cost wasnt worth it for me at the end of the day.

[DaDude]

On 26/10/2021 at 14:10, Circaflex said:

I used to have cable, it was like $200 a month and we eventually cut it down to a more basic package. At my next apartment, I cut all cable TV because I rarely watched it; it was really just background noise for me. The only TV i watch live are sporting events, everything else I can stream. I would personally look into cable internet and then streaming services (hulu, netflix, youtubetv, etc). I just found the cost wasnt worth it for me at the end of the day.

So how do you watch Sports then? I feel like cable tv is the only reliable way to catch all your favorite sports games.

[DaDude]

Thinking about it and doing research, it seems like it much more cost efficient to just subscribe to a few streaming services than to pay for cable tv. If I were to subscribe to Hulu to get my movie/tv show fix, that would be $12.99/month, which comes out to $155.88 annually. Then if I want to watch some sports such as Baseball and Hockey, I can subscribe to to MLB and NHL. MLB annual subscription is $105.99. NHL is $199.99 per year. So let's say I subscribe to all three, that would cost $461.86 per year. Paying $72.99+ for cable TV would cost me $875.88 per year. That's a hell of a lot more expensive!!

 

I know subscribing to these sports subscriptions will have blackout restrictions, but they get lifted 24-48 hours after the respective games end and will be available to watch on demand afterwards. Sure, nothing beats watching sports live, but hey, it saves me over $400 per year. So it's a sacrifice worth dealing with.

 

For the prices that cable tv charges, I just can't see it being the best bang for the buck.

[Circaflex]

On 26/10/2021 at 11:20, DaDude said:

So how do you watch Sports then? I feel like cable tv is the only reliable way to catch all your favorite sports games.

Well for me I am lucky, Tmobile provides MLB.tv for free and my team is out of market so I can watch all of their games. Football I generally find a stream for my team, same with REDZone.

[DaDude]

On 28/10/2021 at 16:32, Circaflex said:

Well for me I am lucky, Tmobile provides MLB.tv for free and my team is out of market so I can watch all of their games. Football I generally find a stream for my team, same with REDZone.

I probably should follow out of market teams. I mean, NY Mets and NY Knicks are the worst baseball and basketball teams, respectively. NY sports teams just suck! I need to follow better teams to bring more fun into watching Sports.

[Circaflex]

hahahaha I am actually a Mets fan!

[DaDude]

On 28/10/2021 at 22:53, Circaflex said:

hahahaha I am actually a Mets fan!

I am too and it’s making me depressed. They have been playing so badly!

[Nick H. Supervisor]

When I lived with my parents we had Sky TV, but that was back in the days of the 56k modem. I don't think my mum has anything other than the Freeview box now.

 

I have Netflix and Amazon Prime which come to less than £30 a month so it's fine for me. Also, I can't stand watching sports so I don't care about that. If there was something worth watching on a sports channel I would just go to my local pub to watch it. I'm there fairly regularly so I end up getting subjected to the games anyway. I consider it the price I pay to hang out with some friends. 

[DaDude]

I think I might try Sling TV. It has only a small amount of channels, but it's a very nice selection. The thing is, I can't decide between the Orange or Blue subscription. I can get both but it would significantly jack up the price to $50 and I would prefer to keep it down at $35. Surprisingly, I'm leaning more towards Orange even tho it has fewer channels mainly because it has ESPN, freeform and Disney, all of which I like. The extra channels on Blue are mostly reality show channels and other news stuff, which I don't care for as much.

[rmorris003]

No there are other alternatives for less than $20 a month.

[DaDude]

On 29/10/2021 at 18:34, rmorris003 said:

No there are other alternatives for less than $20 a month.

What would that be? any suggestions?

[Michael Scrip]

On 26/10/2021 at 10:23, DaDude said:

Is Cable TV worth the expensive $70+ per month?

 

Does that $70 a month include DVR functionality?  Or is it just the cost of the channel package?

 

I don't think you want to go back to the "I must be home at 8:30pm on a Tuesday to watch this show" type of situation.  DVR is almost a must.

 

Streaming services have spoiled us with their watch anytime on-demand nature.  Frankly the concept of scheduled TV programming is kinda silly.  Except for sports, of course!

 

I think all the "over the top" cable services like YoutubeTV and SlingTV offer DVR or cloud recording capability.  But if you get TV from your cable company... it will require a terrible cable box and it might cost extra per month.

[DaDude]

On 29/10/2021 at 19:40, Michael Scrip said:

 

Does that $70 a month include DVR functionality?  Or is it just the cost of the channel package?

 

I don't think you want to go back to the "I must be home at 8:30pm on a Tuesday to watch this show" type of situation.  DVR is almost a must.

 

Streaming services have spoiled us with their watch anytime on-demand nature.  Frankly the concept of scheduled TV programming is kinda silly.  Except for sports, of course!

 

I think all the "over the top" cable services like YoutubeTV and SlingTV offer DVR or cloud recording capability.  But if you get TV from your cable company... it will require a terrible cable box and it might cost extra per month.

Yes Sling TV, YouTube TV and FuboTV all include cloud DVR, YouTube TV being the best one as it is unlimited.

[rmorris003]

On 29/10/2021 at 19:40, DaDude said:

What would that be? any suggestions?

Not sure if it is against the rules here but all the illicit streaming services that offer all the channels.

[thisdude]

On 26/10/2021 at 09:23, DaDude said:

Right now, I pay $60 for high speed internet and with that, I mainly stream for TV entertainment. Netflix used to be a good option because at only $10/month, I can stream a whole mess of content at my own leisure without commercials. But as time went on, Netflix's monthly rate kept going up and their content is mainly their exclusive content now. Not that there is anything wrong with Netflix content, but it would be great to have some versatility. And this has become the problem with other streaming services.... HBO Max is mostly WB/HBO TV shows, Paramount+ is mostly Paramount content, Disney+ is mostly kids/Disney content, and so on. In order to get versatility with content, you would need to subscribe to different streaming services and the cost can add up real quickly to a very high amount if I did that. Not to mention you don't really get much Sports. While I'm not a big sports fanatic, it would be cool to catch a Hockey or Baseball game now and then and also, I love watching Tennis, so Tennis Channel would be cool!

 

So I've been wondering if Cable TV is worth a shot. But rather than lock myself into my Cable company via bundle or contract, I figured I'd try one of those live tv streaming option. YouTube TV seemed ok, but doesn't carry all of my regional sports channels like MSG. FuboTV and DirectTV Stream do, but they would cost around $72 and $85 respectively if signed up for the packages with that contain all the channels of my liking. That sounds kind of pricey, but not sure how worth it is. I'm afraid I might be just throwing money away by overpaying for TV content.

 

What do you guys think? Is Cable TV worth the expensive $70+ per month?

I don't think so. Cable TV prices continue to rise, yearly, you are subject to all the fees they tack on, sports fee, local TV/state fees. You have to lock into yearly plus contracts to keep "deal" prices. You're paying for a majority of channels that you don't even watch, so wasted money. 

 

Of course the streaming market has become over crowed and services turning into a bubble. HOWEVER, you can treat the streaming services like an a la carte menu. Say you only really like watching Mandalorian on Disney+ or want to watch Dune this month. Well just subscribe to them monthly only. Once you've watched the shows or movie you want cancel it before it renews. You don't have to stay subscribed for an entire year. And you save MORE money subscribing monthly and cancelling/renewing when you want to watch something through out the year. Disney+ is $8.00, so lets say you subscribe for 2 months that's $16 for the year versus paying $80 for the year.

 

Cutting the cord is cheaper financially. You don't have to deal with contracts and fees, you're in control and can just log in and hit cancel. You only pay for the channels that you want to watch.

[DaDude]

On 30/10/2021 at 21:44, thisdude said:

I don't think so. Cable TV prices continue to rise, yearly, you are subject to all the fees they tack on, sports fee, local TV/state fees. You have to lock into yearly plus contracts to keep "deal" prices. You're paying for a majority of channels that you don't even watch, so wasted money. 

 

Of course the streaming market has become over crowed and services turning into a bubble. HOWEVER, you can treat the streaming services like an a la carte menu. Say you only really like watching Mandalorian on Disney+ or want to watch Dune this month. Well just subscribe to them monthly only. Once you've watched the shows or movie you want cancel it before it renews. You don't have to stay subscribed for an entire year. And you save MORE money subscribing monthly and cancelling/renewing when you want to watch something through out the year. Disney+ is $8.00, so lets say you subscribe for 2 months that's $16 for the year versus paying $80 for the year.

 

Cutting the cord is cheaper financially. You don't have to deal with contracts and fees, you're in control and can just log in and hit cancel. You only pay for the channels that you want to watch.

Yeah, I think that’s what makes me on the fence about the whole thing. Sure cable tv offers great content to watch, but is it enough great content to justify the 65+? And you hit the nail right on the head; it really isn’t. And not to mention that I got spoiled by on demand streaming services. You can watch anytime and don’t have to deal with annoying ads.

 

5 years ago, Netflix was a no brainer. But prices gone up and they’re content is mostly exclusive stuff now. And all other streaming services are the same way too.  So that leaves me with your suggestion… rotating streaming services as I please. Or I can just buy/rent content from Vudu, Apple TV, Prime, etc.. Surprisingly, many of those apps have a lot of great deals.