What Satellite & Cable Companies are doing as a Result of Cord Cutting

[TheMadOne]

I have a 48" HD tv in front of me right now. It's buried behind my DSLR equipment, and I'm not 100% sure where the remote is. I last turned it on over a year ago. I still pay for Directv for the other people in my household, but had to downgrade to a much lower package. I was paying almost $200 a month. Now I'm down to "only" $120 a month(which is more than what the better package started at years ago). I wish I could get them to go with alternatives, but we get nothing over the air since the digital switch, and dad has to have Fox News.

I'd love to take that $120 a month and buy a BX or something else useful instead, but some people like being sat in front of ads for 16 minutes out of every hour.

 

[goeduck]

This is interesting

Free Over-the-Air TV Is Going to Get Better - Consumer Reports

 

[DieselnHooters]

From what I am reading on this thread I can only conclude satellite TV is one of the few things that's cheaper up here.

As far as I know there are only 2 nationwide providers, Bell and Shaw and they both offer a basic package for $25/month. For around $100 you get the fancy one with all the trimmings.

 

[paulfun9]

Who the heck are they hiding from? That's a lot of numbers. :shocked: I've found my tenants usually didn't pay some one or a utility and are trying to obfuscate by deluge. I've been through several carriers, and moved across the country, but I have the same number for 25 years. Maybe some folks aren't aware they can keep their number?

Honestly no clue!

I don’t now and never have owned a cell phone, so I had to actually change my phone number every time I moved. With that being said my phone number hasn’t changed even half as many times since We first got a phone when I was a young child.

 

[IXLR8]

This is interesting

Free Over-the-Air TV Is Going to Get Better - Consumer Reports

Over the air quality may get better, but I don't see that the coverage is going to improve. So if you don't get the digital signal now... you won't get it with the change. So I will be stuck with cable or dish of some sort. If SWMBO doesn't have her Fox News or HGTV.... I am in trouble.

 

[HillStreet]

Big "if". For many of us out in the country, OTA tv is not an option any more, or at best limited to one or two channels that may or may not have anything of interest.

Dunno if this works with Comcast, but there is a Spectrum (our cable provider) ap for Roku that lets you use it in place of a cable box, saving $12/mo (or whatever they charge for them). You do still need to be a tv customer, and you only get whatever package you're paying for. The ap can be a bit finicky at times, but 97% of the time it works just fine.
Don't subscribe to any of the pay streaming services, not worth it to me.



Not to ask a stupid question, but why on earth do you need the ability to record 6 shows at a time? Unless you're a hard-core tv addict ISTM that 2 would be more than enough. Or was this whole exercise just an excuse to back out of the contract?

We don’t watch TV, we watch recordings. My wife is on the lower end of the scale while I go for the nature/war/history/outdoors stuff. Six recordings was what the salesperson “sold” to us, then the tech said 2. It was a lie and I do believe it was intentional. We cannot record 6 at a time with what we have now, nor do we need it, but 2 is not enough. No hassle with cancellation because this sales event said no contract, we can get out at any time, and we did. By they way, the subsequent salesperson I spoke with said they once had the capability to record 6, then they did away with it. Then came back to it, then it was cancelled again. That might point to the problems they are having.

 

[ultrarunner]

Wasted time for sure...

Before I had Comcast installed in Washington I would go through this with every tenant and it led to a lot of problems sometimes...

Tenants would contact Comcast and confirm and order service only to find out later it was not available... one was most upset but I had made NO representations... they went with Wild Blue and hated it moving after the year lease...

The ironic thing is the first tenant to rent after Comcast was installed demanded it be removed... and I gave my property manager an earful... because they said they simply couldn't rent it without Comcast... the family was part of a Mormon derivative and they did not allow TV or Internet... go figure???

 

[TnAndy]

Cheapest out there is Dish Flexpak $46.10

Plus charges for local channels + charge for a DVR I've had for 10 years (as in long since paid for) + taxes, and then it gets to what I'm paying for the 'cheapest' Dish Flexpak.....about 60 bucks.

 

[AllDodge]

Plus charges for local channels + charge for a DVR I've had for 10 years (as in long since paid for) + taxes, and then it gets to what I'm paying for the 'cheapest' Dish Flexpak.....about 60 bucks.

The $46.10 includes local, DVR and taxes
I use to pay about $76.44 for America 100 but then found Flex Pack. Only lost MSNBC I would watch every so often, and was given FOX. I can live without MSNBC and don't care for FOX

 

[TnAndy]

The $46.10 includes local, DVR and taxes
I use to pay about $76.44 for America 100 but then found Flex Pack. Only lost MSNBC I would watch every so often, and was given FOX. I can live without MSNBC and don't care for FOX

OK...here's a scan of my February bill: $61.93

Flexpak, local, DVR, taxes.....just what I said, except they raised it a buck or two last month, so now it's more than the $60 I said.

Post yours and let's compare. If you're getting it for $46.10, I'm gonna be on the phone to them.