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Turned in my cable boxes today. Never thought this day would come after almost 35 years with cable. But the technology for streaming has finally overcome cable, and at the very end, it was overwhelming in favor of streaming. Honestly, it's really no longer close.
- first, I was the only one in my household (6 people) still actively using cable. It's a little sad my kids won't grow up with a "watch it now or forever lose it" mentality, but it is what it is. They never had that option.
- two, the costs of cable kept climbing and climbing
- three, because of streaming, my cable company also kept raising their internet fee as well as instituted some data caps, almost forcing a family that has kids who depend on the internet to upgrade -- which I did, to their highest speed. And it bit them in the ass.
- four, and probably most important of all, I found over the last two years I almost exclusively watch non-network shows. And quite frankly, very few non-premium channel shows. Not sure if that makes me a TV snob, or just someone who has grown to appreciate the shows the streamers air over the garbage the networks (and now the cable channels) air
- five, I decided that no matter what, I was not cancelling any of the streamers -- Netflix, Amazon, Hulu/Disney/ESPN+, HBO, Showtime, Apple TV. So I was paying for these above and beyond my now bloated $300 cable/internet bill.
- six, the TV replacement streamers -- YouTubeTV and Sling -- now have almost as full a lineup as cable does
- seven, the few channels that are not on YouTube TV (which was the one I went with) are available on Hulu anyway. I found that the only channels that would "disappear" were Reelz and Destination America, and I'm sure they'll come to their senses sooner or later, and if not, whatever, I don't miss them
- eight, one of the final straws, I found that I was not even bothering watching what I had recorded on my DVR
So that was that. YouTube TV costs about $65/month compared to my cable TV bill of $180/month. And I lose nothing. In the end, after I double and triple checked about potential issues, there weren't any. So buhbye cable.
- first, I was the only one in my household (6 people) still actively using cable. It's a little sad my kids won't grow up with a "watch it now or forever lose it" mentality, but it is what it is. They never had that option.
- two, the costs of cable kept climbing and climbing
- three, because of streaming, my cable company also kept raising their internet fee as well as instituted some data caps, almost forcing a family that has kids who depend on the internet to upgrade -- which I did, to their highest speed. And it bit them in the ass.
- four, and probably most important of all, I found over the last two years I almost exclusively watch non-network shows. And quite frankly, very few non-premium channel shows. Not sure if that makes me a TV snob, or just someone who has grown to appreciate the shows the streamers air over the garbage the networks (and now the cable channels) air
- five, I decided that no matter what, I was not cancelling any of the streamers -- Netflix, Amazon, Hulu/Disney/ESPN+, HBO, Showtime, Apple TV. So I was paying for these above and beyond my now bloated $300 cable/internet bill.
- six, the TV replacement streamers -- YouTubeTV and Sling -- now have almost as full a lineup as cable does
- seven, the few channels that are not on YouTube TV (which was the one I went with) are available on Hulu anyway. I found that the only channels that would "disappear" were Reelz and Destination America, and I'm sure they'll come to their senses sooner or later, and if not, whatever, I don't miss them
- eight, one of the final straws, I found that I was not even bothering watching what I had recorded on my DVR
So that was that. YouTube TV costs about $65/month compared to my cable TV bill of $180/month. And I lose nothing. In the end, after I double and triple checked about potential issues, there weren't any. So buhbye cable.
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