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Cutting the Cable cord


praise_gibbs

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nah, cable companies will just jack up their rates. So instead of paying $50 a month for internet like I do now, they'll charge $150 or whatever, in the end they'll still get their number. 

 

It's content (HBO, ESPN, etc) and the conduit (Verizon, Xfinity, etc) . . . they'll get theirs. 

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You can cancel anytime, there are no contracts. That's according to their site. 
 
 

 

"It's not truly á la carte, but it is á la carte-like in that it lets you assemble a channel package that really reflects your interest instead of just buying more channels," said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV.
 

 

Sling TV will cost $20 monthly for about a dozen live TV channels, including ABC Family, Cartoon Network, CNN, Disney Channel, ESPN and ESPN 2, the Food Network, HGTV, TBS, TNT, The Travel Channel and Adult Swim.
 
Also included: Net video from Disney-owned Maker Studios online content network. Customers can also add more channels with a sports extra package (expected to include the other ESPN channels) or Kids Extra package (Disney Junior, Disney XD and others) or a News & Info Extra package (Bloomberg TV, CNN Headline News) for an additional $5 monthly each.
Edited by ixcuincle
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You can cancel anytime, there are no contracts. That's according to their site. 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Also included: Net video from Disney-owned Maker Studios online content network. Customers can also add more channels with a sports extra package (expected to include the other ESPN channels) or Kids Extra package (Disney Junior, Disney XD and others) or a News & Info Extra package (Bloomberg TV, CNN Headline News) for an additional $5 monthly each.

 

 

 

Very interesting.  With HBO releasing a pay only app this year and this, might be tempting.  

 

"Sling TV will be available on Android and iOS smartphones and devices, as well as Macintosh and Windows PCs, Amazon Fire TV, Google Nexus Player, Roku devices, Xbox One and LG Smart TVs, with more devices to be announced later. Subscribers can access the service at home and on the go via Wi-Fi or mobile broadband."

 

I have a roku and an Xbox One, but the xbox is plugged into my PC and I'm not moving it.  So, I'm still left with only one device to stream from.  I'd need 4 more devices to stream it from (5 total TVs in the house).  Shame it is only LG and not Samsung smart TVs, we have 4 Samsung Smart TVs :(

 

Hopefully as it takes off they will add devices I actually own.  I'm not gonna go out and buy 4 more streaming devices lol.

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You can cancel anytime, there are no contracts. That's according to their site. 

 
 

Also included: Net video from Disney-owned Maker Studios online content network. Customers can also add more channels with a sports extra package (expected to include the other ESPN channels) or Kids Extra package (Disney Junior, Disney XD and others) or a News & Info Extra package (Bloomberg TV, CNN Headline News) for an additional $5 monthly each.

 

 

Sounds like its something to monitor.

 

Though a couple issues I could see:

 

1) Can only stream to one TV at a time. Which could work for some, but for families, this seems like a deal breaker if everyone wants to watch something different.

 

2) Doesn't come with local channels. Maybe not as big of a deal breaker, but it'll require an antenna to get your local channels.

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I want to see how customizable the packages are.  If there is a good selection and you get 12 channels for $20 that might be the start of something.  As it's described it seems like the same old thing of one or two good channels packaged with stuff I don't want.  

 

It's pretty simple for me, I want FX, USA, CW, NFL Network and ESPN.  That's pretty much it.  I'd pay $20 a month for those five.  Four bucks a month/channel seems on the high end of reasonable for channels I really want.  I sure wouldn't pay that much for marginal programming though.

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The only thing that sucks is that I get the basic tv package in HD for free. I just pay for my internet service.  They threw in the TV package.  By the time I pay 10 for HBO and 20 for espn, I may as well have just paid the 100 dollars for the more advanced cable package.

 

They get you one way or another.

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I have done this. I watch a lot less. I find myself gaming much more than watching tv overall.

I have too. After having kids and getting into other activities find I had no time to sit down and watch 3 hour games. Plus I moved out of the DC area so after a while it was a pain to watch skins games (and expensive). Gaming, like you, is much more conducive at it can happen at more kid friendly times. 

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I have too. After having kids and getting into other activities find I had no time to sit down and watch 3 hour games. Plus I moved out of the DC area so after a while it was a pain to watch skins games (and expensive). Gaming, like you, is much more conducive at it can happen at more kid friendly times. 

 

Exactly.  From Thanksgiving to New Year, I had more free time. My son's football and baseball was over, no HS coaching during that time etc... Now, I'm starting to get more busy again. I have 5 weeks of HS conditioning for my team and my son's travel team starts this week as well.  Free time is starting to dwindle until summer.

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/bidding-war-between-networks-sports-leagues-will-increase-price-of-cable-tv/2015/01/23/d0cb19f4-9db8-11e4-a7ee-526210d665b4_story.html

 

 

Cable TV is about to get more expensive for millions of consumers because of a bidding war between networks and the country’s most powerful sports leagues.
 
Time Warner Cable, Cablevision and scores of rural cable providers are tacking on sports surcharges each month, the direct result of higher fees they are paying to ESPN and other sports networks to carry their channels. Beginning Feb. 5, DirecTV will raise fees by 5.7 percent.
 
The rise in cable prices is likely to test the patience of customers, who may already be tempted to cut their cords in exchange for streaming options that will soon be available to them. For providers and customers, the creeping prices amount to a test — at what point will viewers decide it isn’t worth paying for cable anymore?
Edited by ixcuincle
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  • 3 months later...

I'm getting interested in Sling TV. Has anyone tried it? Also, is there anyway to watch Nats games live if I live in the DC area without cable? Over the air? Internet? Anything. That's the last piece for me i think.

Internet proxy plus MLB whatever plan. Probably not kosher, but if MLB gets your money, they won't care.
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I've probably said it before (even in this thread) but the only reason I really miss cable/satellite is due to sports.  I can't follow the Premiership or the NHL/Caps like I really want to, but reading, fan chatter and highlights will have to do until it becomes a viable financial option again.  

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Internet proxy plus MLB whatever plan. Probably not kosher, but if MLB gets your money, they won't care.

 

what do you use for the internet proxy?

I've probably said it before (even in this thread) but the only reason I really miss cable/satellite is due to sports.  I can't follow the Premiership or the NHL/Caps like I really want to, but reading, fan chatter and highlights will have to do until it becomes a viable financial option again.  

 

Yea, the last piece.  SlingTV does get ESPN suite of channels though.  HD antenna gets football games... just Nats games left really.  For me anyway.

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Yea, the last piece.  SlingTV does get ESPN suite of channels though.  HD antenna gets football games... just Nats games left really.  For me anyway.

 

We do pay for a cable box and the local channels which is $10 a month, which is fine.  We live in a bad place for antennae.  Right now I don't have a lot of time to watch sports with two little ones.  Football is a lot easier than any other sport so I can deal with that.  When the boys are a little older than I might look into alternate routes in getting access to sports.  

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I think the NBA/MLB/NHL/Soccer are screwing their own pooches on this issue....

 

i'm not going to have cable.  I'm just not.  and those ^^^^^ leagues make no effort to make sure that their local teams games are on regular accessible TV, on a semi-regular and predictable basis.   so i go to an occasional game, but my attention to the teams is half-assed, and diminishing.  

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I think the NBA/MLB/NHL/Soccer are screwing their own pooches on this issue....

 

i'm not going to have cable.  I'm just not.  and those ^^^^^ leagues make no effort to make sure that their local teams games are on regular accessible TV, on a semi-regular and predictable basis.   so i go to an occasional game, but my attention to the teams is half-assed, and diminishing.  

 McSluggo, you make a good point but you're missing something. Why in the world would ABC, NBC, CBS, or FOX want any of those regular season games on, especially prime time, when they have all of the other programming to air that gets better ratings? Let alone the fact there are 82-162 games a year. The last thing is, I doubt those leagues would turn the broadcast networks away if the networks came to them. 

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I no longer have cable. I have HBO NOW through my apple TV, and if there is ever a sports game, I can easily find streams online. Easily connect my device that's streaming wirelessly to my TV and watch sports. Hulu and Netflix fill the void for everything else.

 

**** Comcast. There is no reason to pay the prices cable companies charge for TV unless you really spend most of your free time doing that. I watch maybe 3-4 hours of TV at max each week and I'm happy that my money is no longer going to Comcast and their shady business practices.

Edited by No Excuses
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Still cable/satellite free after nearly three years now.

We just recently added Amazon Prime to our Hulu and Netflix options.

I seriously don't miss watching sports primarily because the only pro team I ever watched was the Skins and that was a rarity anyways, and now we've found that we can livestream most of UK's basketball games straight from my ipad to the appletv.

 

Our Dish bill when we finally cut the cord was over $120 per month (without premium channels) and now we're paying less than $30 for everything we want. I won't be signing up for HBO either, why pay to see the same movies rerun endlessly? Honestly, the ONLY time they play good movies is when they are in a membership push then it's straight back to 90s reruns.

No way I shell out $20 for ESPN either, why would I pay for their sensationalism and "reporting" that is more about off the field stuff than the games themselves?

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I've cut the cable cord, but I'll never cut the satellite cord. Sorry, I'm not sitting there trying to hook up every laptop in the house or searching online for TV shows. I want to hit the remote and have it there. Never. Never will give it up. I'd give up my cell phone before satellite.

Edited by pjfootballer
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I've cut the cable cord, but I'll never cut the satellite cord. Sorry, I'm not sitting there trying to hook up every laptop in the house or searching online for TV shows. I want to hitbghecremote and have it there. Never. Never will give it up. I'd give up my cell phone before satellite.

 

Exactly. Dude I was watching the NBA and NHL last night just flipping through channels during the NHL intermission. You can't do that if you're pirating off streams. It's so easy to just flip through channels, use previous channels. That's the big secret to how to watch NBA and NHL games at the same time 

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