BrazosDog02 said:

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When cable competition is gone the price of streaming will go up. It's already higher than it should be. We actually just watch OTA stuff now. It's free.

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With a High Def Antenna in the Palm Beach area, it's shocking how many channels are available. Of course, no espn or SEC network, but all the local channels plus much more.

HoustonAggie11 said:

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heres the trick go and cancel your current plan you either get offered a discount to say immediately or in a few days.

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When I canceled Xfinity, they said they could reduce my monthly bill if I signed an agreement for another FIVE YEARS. Instead, I dropped both Xfinity accounts, switched to AT&T internet, and added three or four streaming services. I'm paying almost $200 less per month than I was with Xfinity.

TomFoolery said:

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Over_ed said:

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TomFoolery said:

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Confused. If they are losing customers they aren't providing a competitive product so doesn't seem like it would impact competition.

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Actually the opposite. They are trying to hold out as long as possible. DESPERATE

I am getting 2 cell phone lines for $30 total, but total credit on phones is about $60 which they are paying for.
Landline (I know..) $15
500 MB internet $30
Cheap TV package.


It is a pain doing this every year, but best deal around.

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Then why are they bleeding customers and at risk of going out of business?

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Because most customers either don't know to negotiate or don't want to deal with it. They (Spectrum) have changed their ways as of late, guaranteeing good prices for 3 years. Not to sound like a commercial.

Over_ed said:

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TomFoolery said:

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Over_ed said:

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TomFoolery said:

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Confused. If they are losing customers they aren't providing a competitive product so doesn't seem like it would impact competition.

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Actually the opposite. They are trying to hold out as long as possible. DESPERATE

I am getting 2 cell phone lines for $30 total, but total credit on phones is about $60 which they are paying for.
Landline (I know..) $15
500 MB internet $30
Cheap TV package.


It is a pain doing this every year, but best deal around.

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Then why are they bleeding customers and at risk of going out of business?

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Because most customers either don't know to negotiate or don't want to deal with it. They (Spectrum) have changed their ways as of late, guaranteeing good prices for 3 years. Not to sound like a commercial.

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Seems like a bad business strategy to only give good prices to customers who ask. If what you're saying is true I would expect they'll start advertising these prices rather than go bankrupt!

Problem solved and competition maintained. Win all around!

Ryan the Temp said:

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HoustonAggie11 said:

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heres the trick go and cancel your current plan you either get offered a discount to say immediately or in a few days.

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When I canceled Xfinity, they said they could reduce my monthly bill if I signed an agreement for another FIVE YEARS. Instead, I dropped both Xfinity accounts, switched to AT&T internet, and added three or four streaming services. I'm paying almost $200 less per month than I was with Xfinity.

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My total bill from xfinity is $200. All the channels, home phone (yea, I know) and internet/WiFi.

You were getting royally screwed.

Ryan the Temp said:

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HoustonAggie11 said:

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heres the trick go and cancel your current plan you either get offered a discount to say immediately or in a few days.

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When I canceled Xfinity, they said they could reduce my monthly bill if I signed an agreement for another FIVE YEARS. Instead, I dropped both Xfinity accounts, switched to AT&T internet, and added three or four streaming services. I'm paying almost $200 less per month than I was with Xfinity.

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sorry I was referring to the streaming apps

I don't understand why they don't have a streaming option for TV like the Xfinity Stream app for mobile.

One Louder said:

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beanbean said:

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My parents and sister and brother in law refuse to believe that streaming services like YT TV and Hulu plus act just like cable where you can choose live TV and watch exactly like you were watching something AT&T Uverse. They think you will constantly be working that remote to choose what to watch with each show. I gave up trying to convince them it's just like you have cable and cancelling, adding channels, or subtracting channels is so quick and easy.

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It's so frustrating, isn't it? I've given up trying to convince my FIL. Maybe if someone started a streaming service called "Old Fartz" with its own remote that only has a power button and a volume/mute button, I could get him on board. All that would be required of the streaming service would be to play a random assortment of old westerns and "The Andy Griffith Show" reruns.

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Why in the world would you get that frustrated over something that trivial? Maybe you're paying for it? Still, let them be comfortable without hatin on old people.

Rossticus said:

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Over_ed said:

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TomFoolery said:

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Confused. If they are losing customers they aren't providing a competitive product so doesn't seem like it would impact competition.

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Actually the opposite. They are trying to hold out as long as possible. DESPERATE

I am getting 2 cell phone lines for $30 total, but total credit on phones is about $60 which they are paying for.
Landline (I know..) $15
500 MB internet $30
Cheap TV package.


It is a pain doing this every year, but best deal around.

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Wow. I have Spectrum for internet only and the best I can get is $85 a month. But to be fair, I don't really want to deal with having a bunch of other services I don't want in order to save a marginal amount.

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Do you have ATT? We are paying $75 for ATT fiber 1Gig.

Logos Stick said:

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I'm paying as much as I did before i cut the cord. And it's more difficult to find programs. Cutting the cord has not delivered what it promised from my perspective.

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I cut the cord years ago and was very happy with Hulu Live when I was paying $30ish bucks a month. Then it went to $40ish, then $50ish, $70ish and now low $80's….i could be wrong but I don't seem to remember any remarkable changes to the channel lineup. Also dabbled with Directv Stream believe it's now ATT streaming?, but again they are all competing with each other to raise prices.

Distribution is going to continually move the customers closer to content creators.

We went from a system where the cable companies were the only distribution game in town. You paid the cable company, the cable company paid the channel provider, the channel provider paid the network/studio. Now we are starting to see the channel providers take out the cable company to stream straight from them. You still have to pay for physical distribution, but the competition is completely on the pipe, not the content. But the content distribution is still controlled by the channel providers, who have the customer relationship (Netflix, HBO, Prime Video, etc.

The channel providers see the writing on the wall, though. How much money did HBO make from Game of Thrones? Netflix on Stranger Things? A TON. Channel providers are now starting to become studios. And, they make some of the best content.

But why do the studios need the channel providers? How long is it going to be before a guy like Taylor Sheridan decides to drop Paramount and start his own studio and charge customers directly? If you don't know who Sheridan is, he is the driving force behind [among a few others]:

• Yellowstone
• Yellowstone: 1883
• Yellowstone: 1923
• Yellowstone: Marshals
• Mayor of Kingstown
• Tulsa King
• Lioness
• Landman

A-listers who have acted in his series:
Kevin Costner
Nicole Kidman
Morgan Freeman
Billy Bob Thornton
Harrison Ford
Kurt Russel
Sylvester Stallone
Sam Elliott
Jeremy Renner

Why does this dude need Paramount? If Sheridan Studios asked me to pay $5/mo for access to his content, I would buy it. I just finished Lioness (girl power, but really good), loved Yellowstone, Tulsa King was fun as a guilty pleasure (but Stallone is getting really, really old), and I'm looking forward to The Madison when the girlfriend finishes teaching at the end of the school year.

And, this is a trend that is happening in sports too. SEC network is distributed by ESPN, but we don't really need them. We make lots and lots of money with our TV deals because we handle so much of the production costs. Again, the trend of moving the customer closer and closer to the content creator. I don't see this trend stopping anytime soon.

HoustonAggie11 said:

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Yes, lets feel bad for cable companies who have overcharged customer for years while providing terrible customer service.

Weird thread.

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This.

Also, people have been cutting cable since about 2010. That cable still exists just tells me the olds are still around keeping it alive

I still have DirecTv and I'm glad I do. We supplement it with an Apple TV box, to stream ESPN, home share from my pc, and use the Disney App (the only other thing we pay for).

Quote:

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household penetration projects

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You kids call it what you want. I'm still gonna call it sex.

When I was at Texas A&M from 2013 to 2017, I had subscribed Suddenlink internet and cable services. Since then, I have not subscribed to a cable service, but I have 3 streaming services: Sling, Netflix, and Amazon prime.

YouBet said:

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Rossticus said:

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Over_ed said:

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TomFoolery said:

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Confused. If they are losing customers they aren't providing a competitive product so doesn't seem like it would impact competition.

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Actually the opposite. They are trying to hold out as long as possible. DESPERATE

I am getting 2 cell phone lines for $30 total, but total credit on phones is about $60 which they are paying for.
Landline (I know..) $15
500 MB internet $30
Cheap TV package.


It is a pain doing this every year, but best deal around.

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Wow. I have Spectrum for internet only and the best I can get is $85 a month. But to be fair, I don't really want to deal with having a bunch of other services I don't want in order to save a marginal amount.

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Do you have ATT? We are paying $75 for ATT fiber 1Gig.

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Funny you should mention it. ATT is FINALLY getting around to running fiber to my neighborhood. Assuming they don't tear up anything important while they bore through my yard, I'll most likely swap over from Spectrum as soon as it's available. My Spectrum service isn't terrible but 150-400 mbps depending on traffic/load for $85 (I'm paying for 500 mbps) is trash in comparison to 1 gig for $75.

smucket said:

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Quote:

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household penetration projects

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You kids call it what you want. I'm still gonna call it sex.

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1 for you.

northeastag said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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When cable competition is gone the price of streaming will go up. It's already higher than it should be. We actually just watch OTA stuff now. It's free.

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With a High Def Antenna in the Palm Beach area, it's shocking how many channels are available. Of course, no espn or SEC network, but all the local channels plus much more.

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I shouldn't say "free". My antenna is a nicer Televes that is mounted on the top of the house and it snags over 100 channels. Granted most are nothing I'd watch but there is stuff to keep you entertained.

We occasionally do stream things but like one app at a time.

I've turned into someone who rarely watches TV or any streaming service outside of sports. Cable became outrageously expensive, so people cut the cord and switched to streaming...but now streaming is getting just as bad. I refuse to pay for more than one service at a time. I only have a small handful of shows I watch, and that's it. I'll renew Netflix or HBO for a month, watch what I want, and then cancel it.

northeastag said:

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BrazosDog02 said:

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When cable competition is gone the price of streaming will go up. It's already higher than it should be. We actually just watch OTA stuff now. It's free.

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With a High Def Antenna in the Palm Beach area, it's shocking how many channels are available. Of course, no espn or SEC network, but all the local channels plus much more.

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I don't think you can even take OTA for granted. They keep cutting back the spectrum to sell to cell phone companies, and the new ATSC 3.0 standard has DRM encryption capabilities.

Cable companies were and are trash. Bad product and way overpriced.

I still have cable.

The reason is that I hate sifting through various streaming services to find something to watch. The other reason is that Xfinity has a good portal set-up that makes switching between cable and streaming easy. And the voice-activated remote is a nice add-on.

Logos Stick said:

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I'm paying as much as I did before i cut the cord. And it's more difficult to find programs. Cutting the cord has not delivered what it promised from my perspective.

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I agree.
1. By the time we pay for all the streaming services to cover our needs, I'm pretty much paying the same.
2. Finding programs can be anywhere from super easy to a pain in the ass.
3. The "every once in a while" request to reenter your security info is annoying.
4. Occasionally we lose Wi-Fi

5. Streaming companies, in an effort to prevent buffering, compress the signal to the point where video quality is degraded. Granted…….the pic is light years better than what we grew up with, but if you just bought the latest & greatest 8k Ultra OLED…………..guess what…………your not getting that resolution streaming.

I actually now miss the simplicity of DTV satellite. One place to go, better PQ, way faster guide. As costs continue to rise, I will miss it even more but it still had the downsides of being on a contract and bad weather knocking you offline.

I've gotten a little better about killing subs we don't watch regularly but it's annoying to have to do enable/disable seemingly all the time. We do not watch live tv at all except for sports so I ideally wouldn't have to carry all of the programming that YTTV has but in their favor they do now offer a variety of content focused packages you can downgrade to that will save you a little money. I'll look at that today and maybe save $10 / month going forward.

Also, for those that have it...the AppleTV Home Screen actually centralizes all of the content you are currently watching across all streaming platforms in one spot so that you can use it for your hub. I haven't gotten in the habit of using it regularly but it's a least an improvement over flipping amongst platforms trying to remember which show is on which platform which is a PITA.

GAC06 said:

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Maybe cable can make a comeback, with how irritating streaming services are getting

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For those waiting for the cable comeback, I have some 8-track tapes I will sell you for a good price ...

I'm a boomer and live outside city limits. Have Starlink for internet and Dish with Netflix and Prime. Just as March Madness starts Dish and local CBS get into dispute. No CBS for March Madness. Dish's solution is for me to subscribe to Paramount Plus for $9.95 a month to access CBS. Unreal.

You are a great candidate for YouTubeTv.

My pre war parents switched from Dish. If they can do it, anyone can. (Oh I helped but they got it). Dish was running them $160 a month.

They live outside civilization limits . Semi-Fast internet is the key.

Logos Stick said:

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I'm paying as much as I did before i cut the cord. And it's more difficult to find programs. Cutting the cord has not delivered what it promised from my perspective.

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If only there were a service available that could bundle thousands of channels into one platform, and deliver it that isn't dependent on the weather or streaming buffering. We could call it "cable."

Kidding aside, cable providers at one time could have staved off the attack from streaming, but they were saddled with long-term contracts that more or less prevented that. Add in the monopolistic character of cable, and they were sunk the minute streaming became widespread. Now the streamers have fragmented the programming so much, and the content providers are willing to go along with it (I saw something last year that if you were a masochist and wanted to catch all of the New York Yankees baseball games, you have to be on about eight different platforms to catch all of them).

The only way around this is to sign up for a streamer to watch a show, binge it, and then drop it. Streamers more or less depend on people signing up, and staying signed up while they aren't using the service.

What's the difference now?

GVTC is my cable company. They switched to an app. Which is streamed. And sits right next to Netflix, Amazon, etc on my menu. It's really just a streaming service now.

Over_ed said:

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Cable TV companies are quickly losing audience and are likely to be out of business in the next 5 years or so.

Cable household penetration projects to drop to about 40% at the end of this year, down from 90% in the mid 2010s.

The last remaining customers are largely Boomers, and even they are deserting in droves.

I'll miss the competition. I hate Spectrum with a passion, but the 90 minutes I lose every year threatening cancellation has kept my rates unbelievably low.

Less competition is not a good thing for consumers. Even if it is effin' cable

https://cordcuttersnews.com/the-end-of-cable-tv-why-cable-tv-companies-are-abandoning-tv-at-a-record-pace/

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What do you say to them causing them to lower your rate? I've threatened MANY times but they basically laugh at me

I use IPTV.

F Cable TV and their money grubbing ways.

I hardly watch TV though. All my sports I watch through free sites on the internet. Yes, that includes Aggie football.

cecil77 said:

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What's the difference now?

GVTC is my cable company. They switched to an app. Which is streamed. And sits right next to Netflix, Amazon, etc on my menu. It's really just a streaming service now.

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Fiber in my area was run by the local small telco operator, always had great service. They then were bought by Lumos, and then bought by T-Mobile almost immediately after. Service went way downhill.

T-Mobile is dropping any sort of subscription television service and telling everyone to go for a streaming option.

I smile when people say they "cut the cord", only to hook up their internet for streaming to another "cord". Then, subscribe to apps after apps. And patiently watch their apps loading. It's good to have options including cable.

Logos Stick said:

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I'm paying as much as I did before i cut the cord. And it's more difficult to find programs. Cutting the cord has not delivered what it promised from my perspective.

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It did at first, but I agree now...wildly different from 8-10 yrs ago.