I still pay for cable tv and I don't know why.

[Kyra]

Actually, I do know why. My 71 year old mother cannot get passed the technology barrier and learn to pursue content on her own. Meanwhile, cable tv is the biggest scam of all time with a hefty price to experience a small amount of content. I really wish there was a way I could get pbs network tv and MSNBC without the rest of the BS in a traditional format to make things easier for her. I just hate throwing away money on something that is barely used. I really wanted all of you to know what's going on with that for some reason. It's quite a riveting situation.

 

[noquarter]

Spectrum in my area had a $20 plan that gave local channels amd 5 or 10 cable channels. They used to have MSNBC on there. Not aure if they still have it or not.

 

[Auros01]

How much are you paying?

 

[Sarobi]

Yeah, it sucks.

 

[Rosebud]

My parents and grandma watch a LOT of cable, I don't touch it for years

 

[Psxphile]

Similar situation in my household, been wanting to cut the cable now for a while but the old folks panic if they have to press more than one button on the remote before they get a signal or navigate a menu instead of just pushing numbers to select a channel. Not sure if peace-of-mind is worth 200+ dollars a month (that's with Internet and phone, too), though. I myself rarely watch it these days.

Also recently noticed I've been getting charged a separate fee for the DVR unit and service that originally came free w/ my package when no one here ever uses it.

 

[Ashhong]

I am just curious here, what does she watch msnbc for?

 

[Kyra]

How much are you paying?

Click to shrink...

170+ I'd love to just not have tv and get Netflix and Hulu or something but again it wouldn't really be a substitute for the 3 channels that must be there for the few times they are used.

I am just curious here, what does she watch msnbc for?

Click to shrink...

I honestly don't even know. Racheal Maddow? The peace of mind that if something is happening in the news she can watch it live easily I guess.

 

[Auros01]

170+ I'd love to just not have tv and get Netflix and Hulu or something but again it wouldn't really be a substitute for the 3 channels that must be there for the few times they are used.

Click to shrink...

Ugh. That's robbery. You've probably already tried this but, if you haven't, you should explore some cable replacements like Sling, Fubo, or Hulu Live TV. You could probably get those channels you need for less than half that price.

PBS might be tricky but I think you can pay for a la carte access. Still not ideal but almost anything you do will be way cheaper than $170.

 

[Ashhong]

170+ I'd love to just not have tv and get Netflix and Hulu or something but again it wouldn't really be a substitute for the 3 channels that must be there for the few times they are used.


I honestly don't even know. Racheal Maddow? The peace of mind that if something is happening in the news she can watch it live easily I guess.

Click to shrink...

Ah interesting.
And 170+ a month?! Dude get her directv streaming or something and some kind of media box. Turns on the directv app and it looks just like a normal tv guide

 

[Princess Viola]

I don't even know how much my family pays for cable but it's probably too much considering I only watch like 20 channels and some of those are the local ones I'd get with an antenna.

 

[dubc]

Call and say you are moving to streaming only unless you get a better deal from them. Worst case scenario they say no and you're back where you are now.

I called to remove an add on a couple months ago and they lowered my monthly fee, gave me more dvr space, showtime, and faster internet speed (xfinity). It's a 12 month promo but I'll just call back then and attempt to go to what I was at, or cancel outright.

 

[Superpupperbabysassy]

I have it only because my wife prefers DVR. We had an streaming service through Apple TV. But the live programming was laggy.

 

[DrScruffleton]

My mom would leave the hallmark channel on almost 24/7 as background noise and even as noise for our dogs when they are home alone, and she was paying for cable ONLY for that. Thankfully found a streaming service that is 5 bucks a month that includes that channel on a live stream. Definitely check out the streaming services that have live streams of channels include, or the a la carte ones that let you pick live channels too.

 

[random88]

I pay it because it's the only way to have decent internet here. If you don't pay dual package, you can only get something like 20Mbps.

 

[TaySan]

Unfortunately, Cox is our only option for decent internet where we live. I would jump on fiber internet in a heartbeat if I could because fuck Cox and their data caps.

 

[xxracerxx]

You can get PBS over the air with an antenna.

 

[lunarworks]

Your ISP doesn't offer a "lite" package with an IPTV box? For C$20/month I can get all the basic channels, and add-on what I need. (Not that I do. I get 25 channels with an antenna.)

 

[Radd Redd]

You could pay YouTube TV $65 and get msnbc and PBS channels, plus local channels. No more renting cable boxes with multiple streams. All the DVR you need.

 

[MIMIC]

I still have cable. I was *this* close to dumping it but my cable provider cut the price and convinced me to stay.

Oh well.

I just really enjoy turning on the TV and having someone else decide what show I'm watching. It's weird, but I prefer it. It's just like sometimes how I hate listening to my own music and will just turn on the radio. I have to be in a mood to watch on demand stuff.

 

[Heazy]

my girlfriend still insists on paying for a TV license, and we don't even have freeview/cable, or watch BBC.
I really don't get why. We pretty much just watch YouTube, Disney+ and Netflix

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I know the OP's pain. I had to have internet and tv bundles for a while due to a household member.

I'm so glad I was able to ditch the tv sub 3 years ago. I had internet and tv bundle for Verizon and it kept going up every year until it was a stupid $170+ a month.

Once I dropped the bundle and went internet only it was like a $100 off my bill right there and I never look back since.

Having multiple streaming subs at once was cheaper than that nonsense $170+ bill.

 

[pdog128]

My mom would leave the hallmark channel on almost 24/7 as background noise and even as noise for our dogs when they are home alone, and she was paying for cable ONLY for that. Thankfully found a streaming service that is 5 bucks a month that includes that channel on a live stream. Definitely check out the streaming services that have live streams of channels include, or the a la carte ones that let you pick live channels too.

Click to shrink...

Which service is this? My wife loves Hallmark movies, but we haven't been able to find them anywhere. It's probably worth $5 a month to her.

 

[DrScruffleton]

Which service is this? My wife loves Hallmark movies, but we haven't been able to find them anywhere. It's probably worth $5 a month to her.

Click to shrink...

It's called FRNDLY, it's with several "family friendly" channels but has stuff like the weather channel too.

Live & On-Demand TV | Frndly TV

Watch 40+ live channels, plus On Demand, on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV or on the go with Frndly TV. Includes all 3 Hallmark Channels, A&E, The HISTORY Channel, Lifetime, INSP and more. Watch Live or on available Unlimited DVR. Try Free for 7 Days.

try.frndlytv.com

And sorry I guess they increased it to $7 now

 

[just_myles]

Same. I watch sports on it. Can I get redZone and Laker basketball with a streaming service?

 

[Chan]

Same. I watch sports on it. Can I get redZone and Laker basketball with a streaming service?

Click to shrink...

I have DirecTV Stream and NFL Sunday Ticket streaming; I share the DirecTV Stream account amongst 3 households (Mom, brother, and myself) for $80 including HBO Max and Sunday Ticket was $100 for the season. Not bad considering I'm splitting DirecTV amongst 3 households. I get Spectrum Sports because that's my regional sports channel so I get all the Lakers games.

Like OP tho, my grandmother would never know how to find channels using streaming apps, she only knows channels by numbers.

 

[cyress8]

Need to show her that she can rewatch her fav shows at anytime.

My Mom was hesitant on it too, but once I showed her a few times that she can watch her favorite sewing and cooking shows with YouTube TV and regular Youtube, she was hooked.

 

[Walter White Walker]

I dumped cable TV well over a decade ago. I stream and get a lot of local channels OTA.

 

[entremet]

Youtube TV is pretty good. And you can add tons of people. Like 8, to your account.

If you split it 8 ways, setup a recurring payment request in Venmo to the other family account holders and you will drastically cut your cable TV prices. And family sharing is loose here. It can be anyone.

The UI just kills anything in the conventional space. Unlimited DVR too.

 

[Mesoian]

Yup, I've only had cable for the past decade because my roommate absolutely needed cable TV. When they moved out, I killed it and moved to 100% streaming. Even upping my internet package to double the speed resulted in a bill 1/3 of the size. Getting rid of all that hardware they installed and installing my own modems and routers was super worth it in the end.

 

[Crayolan]

I've had the same situation with my mother for years. I don't watch TV at all anymore so it's just a waste of money for me, and she only rarely watches the news and certain events (like the NYC thanksgiving parade, ball drop, some awards shows like the grammies). So basically it gets turned on once a month but we pay almost $120/month for that+internet. I've wanted to cancel it for a long time but she insists she needs it, she doesn't want to rely on the internet for news.

 

[Random Painted Highway]

We are tempted to go back to DirecTV. Too many streams now adding up to make the difference minimal. Maybe for next NFL/college football season. Flipping between games rapidly just doesn't work for me using streams.

 

[jelly]

We chucked it over the summer as the non deal price is a waste of money, it's definitely not worth having without a solid discount and to be honest the only thing I really miss is recording and pausing tv plus maybe a few shows but it isn't worth that at full price.

 

[nomster]

Every time I try to cancel xfinity uses black magic to give me a deal that makes it practically cheaper than paying for internet plus HBO alone, so for now I keep it.

 

[SavoyPrime]

I got off Spectrum and switched to Hulu Live a few months ago. Best choice I've made recently. Had been with cable for far longer than I should have paying those ridiculous prices for a ton of packages. Would ike to leave Spectrum all together, but we don't have Fiber in my city, so I'm stuck with them for internet for now.

 

[Parch]

Sports online is getting better, but that's probably the biggest reason people stick with cable. Paying for sports streams are not cheap and it's a real pain in the ass to get and watch a variety of sports online. If you're not into sports then there are much cheaper entertainment options than cable.

 

[Stronginthearm]

I want to drop sky tv, I don't watch it at all, but someone else does, so I keep paying for it. It's only 40 a month for me, but I would rather spend that 40 on other things or save it for other bills.

 

[maxx720]

I only kept Comcast due to my wife's insistence. Last month I had enough and ditched them for YouTube tv. At first my wife wasn't happy but after a few days no complaints. We can finally avoid the ridiculous fees and taxes that are on standard cable bill.

 

[maxx720]

Every time I try to cancel xfinity uses black magic to give me a deal that makes it practically cheaper than paying for internet plus HBO alone, so for now I keep it.

Click to shrink...

They wouldn't budge when I threatened to cancel and actually made my package worse. When I signed up for YouTube tv and actually called to cancel Comcast then they tried to offer me to a deal to stay. To late. Never looking back.

 

[Walter White Walker]

Every time I try to cancel xfinity uses black magic to give me a deal that makes it practically cheaper than paying for internet plus HBO alone, so for now I keep it.

Click to shrink...

That might not work any longer. For over 20 years I'd call when they jacked my price and tell them to cancel my account, only for them to come up with a new deal. Last time I did this they refused to lower the price at all.
From what I've heard Comcast is now pursuing a new strategy where they only want customers willing to pay a lot and are cutting loose those who want value.
I followed through with cancelling and have a way better deal with Ziply for my internet. I pay less than I did at Comcast and the speed is far higher. I'm happy I had that option and wasn't stuck with Comcast.

 

[skeezx]

i haven't had cable since 2010. though i live alone so it's easier to bespoke a household plan

first 3-5 years was a little rough because the streaming age hadn't kicked in full force yet. had to watch lots of stuff bootleg, like GoT.

 

[nicoga3000]

I called UVerse years ago and got a young kid on the phone. I told him I was going to streaming only. Next thing I knew, I had high-speed internet and basic cable for $60/mo forever. I've never had to call to get promo pricing since that day, and it's my favorite thing.

 

[skeptem]

When I moved out of home for college i never got cable again. Back then my internet speed was probably 25mbps but it did the job.

The harder adjustment was for my wife since she enjoyed cooking channels.

 

[DJ_Lae]

I'm paying for it too - and a landline.

Having said that, the increased cost of cable/phone are inconsequential. I still like watching the local news occasionally and OTA signals never worked out great for me. HBO is included, I get some free security devices, a bundled mesh network, and decent internet. If I dropped down to just internet I don't think I'd be saving that much.

We also use some of the free channel packs so the kids (and me!) can watch things like Amphibia without waiting for them to hit Disney+.

 

[Apathy]

So I work for a telecom, and I can get it for half the price and I still don't get it for myself. I can't stand tv with all the commercials

 

[Joe]

Same. The only reason I still do is because the last time I tried to change my plan to get rid of cable, I couldn't find any way to build a cable-free plan that cost less. If I just wanted to keep my internet and cut cable, they said they couldn't lower my price.

 

[StarStorm]

I know your pain OP. I have the TV, Internet/Landline bundle from Spectrum. My dad watches more TV than everyone in the house combined. No joke. Its a grandfathered plan too, so they no longer offer it if we drop it. Like I care lol. The only thing I would miss are the sports channel. Would love to go streaming, but my dad doesn't know how to use Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max or any other streaming service on the smart TV.

 

[The Iron Yuppie]

+1 for YouTube TV. It checks all your boxes for required channels.

 

[BabyShams]

I pay it because to get unlimited data in my area you need a triple play plan(phone/internet/cable) and rent their modem and pay $10 extra a month. It's worth it because I normally go over the 1 TB limit every month, and calling every 2 years to get the new promo rate is worth it, but very annoying.