Cable cutters, rejoice

Another streaming service is going the commercials route.


We're closing in on the rate where people will get cable to save money. Streaming is worse considering that you're paying more for the same "channels" and getting more ads.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
We're closing in on the rate where people will get cable to save money. Streaming is worse considering that you're paying more for the same "channels" and getting more ads.
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Yeah, the cable companies are jacking up their rates for internet service, and then "discounting" their add-on TV package. So cable customers are basically paying the same price they always have, but the streaming folks who only need internet are getting screwed now.

When I had cable, I was paying roughly $180/month for internet+TV.

When I went streaming, I was paying $45/mo for internet and roughly $100 for YTTV plus all my other subscriptions.

Well now my internet provider is charging me $79/mo, so now I'm right back to where I was before I cut the cord.
 
2 Sweet said:
Yeah, the cable companies are jacking up their rates for internet service, and then "discounting" their add-on TV package. So cable customers are basically paying the same price they always have, but the streaming folks who only need internet are getting screwed now.

When I had cable, I was paying roughly $180/month for internet+TV.

When I went streaming, I was paying $45/mo for internet and roughly $100 for YTTV plus all my other subscriptions.

Well now my internet provider is charging me $79/mo, so now I'm right back to where I was before I cut the cord.
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Between this and the greed of the streaming services.

The reason cable is so expensive is because these companies charge the cable companies so much to distribute their channels. There's a reason many of them are pushing content to cable only and other content to streaming only. They want the best of both worlds.

Now they've found out they can charge more money by going direct-to-consumer, then figured out they can get all that ad revenue as well.

The next phase will be to eliminate ad-free tiers altogether. Right now, most have a basic plan which is HD + ads, a premium plan which is HD + no ads, and an ultimate plan which is 4K + no ads. Now, they're trending toward moving ads to their mid-tier plans and eliminating their basic plans.

The content purging trend sucks as well. Especially since they get tax breaks to literally delete movies and shows from existence. It's basically the government paying people to destroy artwork.
 
This thread shows me just how fast time goes by. Heck, I remember when all this began, and PlayStation Vue was the big player and it only cost $29.99. My, how things The have changed since then!
 
2 Sweet said:
Yeah, the cable companies are jacking up their rates for internet service, and then "discounting" their add-on TV package. So cable customers are basically paying the same price they always have, but the streaming folks who only need internet are getting screwed now.

When I had cable, I was paying roughly $180/month for internet+TV.

When I went streaming, I was paying $45/mo for internet and roughly $100 for YTTV plus all my other subscriptions.

Well now my internet provider is charging me $79/mo, so now I'm right back to where I was before I cut the cord.
Click to expand...

The real people getting screwed are those who aren’t even interested in streaming, but need Internet for their daily life. Puts more pressure on companies to supply at-home Internet for their employees if their job requires any sort of work from home or Internet use of any kind.
 
Brentford said:
The real people getting screwed are those who aren’t even interested in streaming, but need Internet for their daily life. Puts more pressure on companies to supply at-home Internet for their employees if their job requires any sort of work from home or Internet use of any kind.
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When I was commuting to work, my monthly fuel costs were more than my home Internet. I didn't expect them to pay my gas.
 
I'm struggling to think of the price of any form of entertainment that hasn't continued to climb in my lifetime.

I couldn't even tell you how much we pay a month for our streaming options. It varies from month to month depending on what we want to watch. They are so easy to start up and cancel when you wish so I don't find it to be that big a deal. We've got a couple shows we're watching on Apple TV that recently came out. We'll cancel the service at the end of the month when we're done. We do the same with Paramont +, Peacock, Hulu, etc.... We don't normally have more than two services a month active so the price really isn't all that much.

As far as commercials go..... What a great time to get up and grab a beer, let the dog out or hit the bathroom. Again, not much of an inconvenience IMO.

Like everything else in life our internet price has continued to climb but it's also much faster and far more reliable. I'm going to be purchasing one of Musk's Starlink kits soon simply for it's mobility. I've borrowed one to try it out and it works great as long as you've got a clear view of the sky. Mainly to the north. It's more than what I'm currently paying a month but being able to travel anywhere with it is a plus. We're rv'ers during the summer season. It's service can be started/stopped at will.
 
Brentford said:
They don’t decide where you live, so I wouldn’t expect them to pay for your gas either.
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They often don't decide you're going to work from home either. During COVID, yes. Before and since, working from home is mostly an employee option, and one some companies want to eliminate.

At most, they should only pay for 40 hours a week, maybe 30% of an employee's bill. Or a separate metered connection locked down to the company-issued computer.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
As far as commercials go..... What a great time to get up and grab a beer, let the dog out or hit the bathroom. Again, not much of an inconvenience IMO.
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I don't mind limited ad breaks.

The problem with cable was that it was over $180/month and, for every hour of programming, there was 18-22 minutes of commercials. They were actually doing all sorts of cute things with reruns of older shows where they'd speed playback up to be able to fit in an additional 30-60 seconds of commercials, and then they would start cutting several minutes of content per episode out to fit in more ad breaks.

And, honestly, once most of these services are $20/month and ad supported at that price, I expect things like Pluto TV to begin carving out a larger share of the streaming audience. If you're going to sit through 20 minutes of commercials an hour, it's fine if it's not $20/month.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
They often don't decide you're going to work from home either. During COVID, yes. Before and since, working from home is mostly an employee option, and one some companies want to eliminate.

At most, they should only pay for 40 hours a week, maybe 30% of an employee's bill. Or a separate metered connection locked down to the company-issued computer.
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Yeah, my sister works for an accounting firm, and she said they’d pay for her Internet during Covid, but not anymore. The only time they are required to work from home is when the office is closed unexpectedly for remodel or repairs. Like you said, it’s more of a benefit and not so much a requirement.
 
Brentford said:
Yeah, my sister works for an accounting firm, and she said they’d pay for her Internet during Covid, but not anymore. The only time they are required to work from home is when the office is closed unexpectedly for remodel or repairs. Like you said, it’s more of a benefit and not so much a requirement.
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I get why people would feel like their internet should be partially compensated. Before the "biggest tax cuts and reform in American history," W-2 employees could take deductions where they had to spend their own money on work-related expenses. Now, employees are completely on the hook for it.

If I got to work from home more, I'd see it as a benefit. If my current job told me I could work from home for 10 days a month, the amount of money I would save would be equal or greater than the money I'd be spending in gas. And it's not just gas. I put close to 30,000 miles on my car each year just commuting to and from work. That's a set of tires ($700) every 2-3 years and six oil changes every year. Forget the money, being able to wake up an hour and a half later, not having to deal with an anger-inducing commute twice a day, and not having to spend anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours (depending on traffic) in a car would alone be worth it.
 
Pretty comprehensive look at some of the competing streaming services.

YouTube TV vs DIRECTV STREAM vs Hulu vs Fubo vs Sling TV vs Philo What is The Best Option For Cord Cutters?​


cordcuttersnews.com

YouTube TV vs DIRECTV STREAM vs Hulu vs Fubo vs Sling TV vs Philo What is The Best Option For Cord Cutters? - Updated April 2024 | Cord Cutters News

It is March 2024, and the world of cord-cutting has changed a lot over the last year. In the last month, multiple changes have happened, including Hulu adding new channels, DIRECTV making changes it its lineup, and other big changes in the world of live TV streaming. Today, we are going to break...
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I have a DVD collection - no ads. The number of ads on the free streaming channels is far less than the ads on cable. (I've been watching older movies lately).
 
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