Cord Cutting for Beginners

95,971 Views | 553 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Gomer95
Flashdiaz
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AG
I don't get it from a business perspective. There are record numbers of people ditching traditional cable and satellite and going to streaming options... a perfect chance for a couple services to emerge as the leaders who will eventually distance themselves from the competition.

Hulu Live and Direct TV raising prices at this time is only pushing customers to other options. YouTube TV is playing it well at the moment and I think will be the clear leader in 2-3 years.
WoMD
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I wonder what they'll do with the grandfathered DTV subscribers. If they bump me to the new rates I'll have to bail. There's no longer a significant cost advantage with their service, especially since they're trimming back channels to go with the the price hikes per that article.

Having a DVR that's completely useless can be dealt with if the price is low, but it's no longer easy to overlook. They're just adding reasons to look at the alternatives.
WoMD
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Losing WatchESPN access with DTV last fall might have been the biggest reason to move on for me. They're just taking the decision away from customers and pushing us to competitors. Weird.
aggielax48
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Everything is going up $10. Current plans will keep the channel lineup, but go up in price. New customers will only have two lineup options moving forward.

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/att-employees-clarify-the-upcoming-directv-now-10-price-hike/
Gigem314
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Flashdiaz said:

I don't get it from a business perspective. There are record numbers of people ditching traditional cable and satellite and going to streaming options... a perfect chance for a couple services to emerge as the leaders who will eventually distance themselves from the competition.

Hulu Live and Direct TV raising prices at this time is only pushing customers to other options. YouTube TV is playing it well at the moment and I think will be the clear leader in 2-3 years.
Hopefully so. I love YouTube TV. It has everything we need. Such a great value at $44/mo.
khkman22
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Couple of questions:

What does Hulu (not live) offer you? Do you get all current year episodes, just a one day lag or some other delay? Does it include the 4 network channels?

Is there a good solution when you want to drop sports over the summer? If I could get locals OTA, would Hulu be all that is needed, assuming their channel selection fits?

I just want to make sure the standard Hulu subscription will have all current season shows available within a reasonable amount of time.
Southpaw 07
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Hulu doesn't have everything off of the big 4, you'd have to check on the shows you care about. The lag depends on the network and show. Some of them lag a couple of days or a week, other shows are released en-bloc a season or so in arrears.
TXAGBQ76
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This will get even more confusing going forward. Apple has announced they are planning to compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime- and soon. They about 12 series done and are working with Hollywood for more content.

Sports could get interesting too as Apple, Amazon, YTTV and others have said they are considering getting into the bidding war as conference contracts are up- and even pro football. What if YTTV has SEC only, Apple has ACC only, etc. Depending on how big a sports fan you are, you might end up paying a ton more than the cable/satellite providers charge today.
agracer
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Damn you DTV Now....I was getting ready to cancel and re-up in the fall for football...now it's $70/mo if I want SEC TV. When I started DTV Now last summer, it was $35/mo. Upgraded in Aug 2018 for $45/mo to add SEC TV. Downgraded in Dec after the regular season was over...

I'll still cancel this month and see what options exist in August.
khkman22
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For all of these options, if you stop your service for 3-6 months and then want to start it back up, do you keep all of your previous login information and email address associated with it? Or do they reset this after a certain time period?

I'm hoping they would make it easy to come back whenever, even after a year, in the event other services options or prices are no longer as good.
Cassius
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I just switched from Hulu Live to YouTube TV.

Much, much better UI on my Roku than Hulu, and unlimited DVR. The Hulu UI is bad in general, and the guide is terrible.

If you Roku folks haven't checked out YouTube TV, give it a look.
SW AG80
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What is the cost of YouTube TV?
ktownag08
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Have been a cord cutter since 2015 or so.

I have been with DTV Now since the $35 dollar days, but about to drop it. With the newest price hike, losing WatchESPN, and no $5 HBO just not seeing the value anymore.

For $55/month, I can get a lot more from Uverse for the same price. For $10 cheaper, Hulu Live fits our needs too. YouTube TV was good when we tried it, but missing some channels.

The streaming services are losing their value proposition they once held.

Cassius
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SW AG80 said:

What is the cost of YouTube TV?


$40 for 60 channels.

I only watch the locals, one Foxnews show, and SEC TV, so for me it works.
aTm2004
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agracer said:

Damn you DTV Now....I was getting ready to cancel and re-up in the fall for football...now it's $70/mo if I want SEC TV. When I started DTV Now last summer, it was $35/mo. Upgraded in Aug 2018 for $45/mo to add SEC TV. Downgraded in Dec after the regular season was over...

I'll still cancel this month and see what options exist in August.
Sounds like DTV Now is doing what DTV would do in gradually increase your price and take away popular channels to put into higher tiers.
aTm2004
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Quote:

For $55/month, I can get a lot more from Uverse for the same price. For $10 cheaper, Hulu Live fits our needs too. YouTube TV was good when we tried it, but missing some channels.

The streaming services are losing their value proposition they once held.
Just curious, how many boxes does that $55/mo package get you? I'm still with Vue and DTV can't come close to touching it for the price, and even then, I'm stuck on one TV unless I'm willing to shell out another $7 or so a month for a second box.
ktownag08
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It's for one box, but we only watch on one TV (small kids) so fits our need. Also, get a $200 gift card so offsets even more.
JHUAggie
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I need some help

Currently have DSL, will switch to Cable internet . Looking at at 100 mpbs. There is a 1,000GB monthly usage allotment. Is this sufficient? Internet would be used for routine surfing of the web (no gaming), and watching TV.

It looks like Youtube TV and Philo would be sufficient for our channels.
aTm2004
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I would say that would be sufficient. We stream and usually get to around 700 gig. The highest was in Feb (raining a lot) and we got to 966 gig.
JHUAggie
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Thanks!
JSKolache
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We went over the 1000 limit once. I realized wife was watching nbc via streaming for most of the day. Switched that over to digital antenna and havent had an issue since.
fig96
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ktownag08 said:

Have been a cord cutter since 2015 or so.

I have been with DTV Now since the $35 dollar days, but about to drop it. With the newest price hike, losing WatchESPN, and no $5 HBO just not seeing the value anymore.

For $55/month, I can get a lot more from Uverse for the same price. For $10 cheaper, Hulu Live fits our needs too. YouTube TV was good when we tried it, but missing some channels.

The streaming services are losing their value proposition they once held.
I feel like your $55/month is missing things like monthly box fees, random other fees, taxes, and being stuck in a contract, not to mention that price will change after 12 months. My DirecTV service was actually about 10 bucks per month more than the quoted package price after taxes/fees.

There's still lots of reasons to prefer a streaming service around that $50/month price point.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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dallas - how do you get 13 or pbs ? dont see it listed as a local on any of the streaming channels.
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
fig96
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A digital antenna will let you receive any local stations in HD.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Thanks, Fig. Prefer not to use an antenna if possible .
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
fig96
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Gotcha, it can be a pain. You might check out PS Vue or do a free trial, I know here in Austin I get our local NBC, CBS, Fox, and ABC.

Looks like PBS is a separate issue:
https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/pbs-plans-to-launch-on-services-like-directv-now-youtube-tv-playstation-vue-more-this-year/
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Socialism at work !
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
CFTXAG10
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Youtube TV raising price to $49.99/month but adding HGTV and FOOD Network

Link to Post by Youtube TV
Cassius
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Wonderful... I just switched.
Cassius
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So they are bundling all the crap channels just like cable and the satt folks did.

This cord cutting looks familiar.

So not having a contract will be the only advantage eventually? I expect that won't matter either at some point because they'll match each other on price. They'll all have the same crap channels for the same price.
khkman22
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So does History channel need a cable/satellite subscription to stream their shows (on demand, not live)? That's the only one I would have wanted YouTube to add. Their website doesn't say you need one, but I thought I've had to login with my Dish account before to watch shows.
AustinAg2K
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I don't really consider YouTube.tv, Sling, etc. to be cutting the chord. They are just another cable provider. To me, cutting the chord means ditching the bundled service and just getting OTA and Netflix. It's as much a lifestyle change and is it is a cost cutting effort.
EvenPar
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And if you're billed for YTTV through Apple it will be $55 now
AgsWin2011
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So just because my YTTV is billed thru Apple they're going to charge me $5 more?
Fenrir
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OTA plus Hulu and Netflix is definitely the best setup.
 
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