Cord Cutters

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
When my cable company ups the rates (my promotion expires) I call them and they hem and haw. Then I talk about how I have just spoken to their compeditor and suddenly a promotional deal becomes available for a year or 2. Sometimes I have to make minor changes to my package but I usually keep the costs down. Have you tried calling Time-Warner? Or are you determined to be a cord cutter?
 

Jon

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2008
15,259
5,279
168
I've been a lifelong (since it was available) cable TV subscriber, but that may be coming to an end. When I built the house, I got new service from Spectrum (Time-Warner) cable, with a new subscriber discount. It's a 2 year tiered discount, and now that it's run out, I got a letter with my new rates. $70 for internet (expensive, but decent, and there's no alternative), and $142 (!!!) For TV.

That's so outrageous for TV, it seems like it would be a cinch to find a vastly better alternative. I'm looking at YouTube TV plus Philo, $70 for both. I can add Showtime and (coming this spring) HBO.

Any thoughts?
I have Philo and will probably get Youtube TV back soon enough. Both are nice services. Beyond BBC World News (which is actually very watchable in this day and age) there really is no news on Philo. I use Apple TV channels for the other premium services like HBO, but that's rarely anymore.
 
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HecticArt

Administrator
Oct 19, 2008
49,832
17,485
168
Toledo, Ohio
My buddy just got the YouTube TV and likes it. Our cable bill is expensive and rather annoying. I think we could save some money, but to get the content we really want, I think that the hassle of sourcing it all would drive me nuts.
 
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scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
When my cable company ups the rates (my promotion expires) I call them and they hem and haw. Then I talk about how I have just spoken to their compeditor and suddenly a promotional deal becomes available for a year or 2. Sometimes I have to make minor changes to my package but I usually keep the costs down. Have you tried calling Time-Warner? Or are you determined to be a cord cutter?
I will (have the wife :)) call them. They may care, but I'm not banking on it.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
My buddy just got the YouTube TV and likes it. Our cable bill is expensive and rather annoying. I think we could save some money, but to get the content we really want, I think that the hassle of sourcing it all would drive me nuts.
I was definitely in your camp, but honestly, we switch over to the Amazon Fire stick on a regular basis, for both Netflix and Prime. So this would use that same setup. And we'd be able to use it exclusively, without having to switch back to the cable box.
 
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scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
I will (have the wife :)) call them. They may care, but I'm not banking on it.
Update #1: I called (Mrs Scotch is working); they'll talk to me, but I can't make changes, since the account is only in her name (oddly enough). Anyway, here's what the girl said: "We have many customers complaining about the letters. The prices in the letters are off."

So right now, I'm paying $183 for everything, which includes internet, phone, and TV with HBO & Showtime. The letter says it's going up to $224, not including taxes and fees. According to cust service, that's wrong. My new bill is $200, that's $180-something, plus t&f. That's about $45 less than what I would expect, based on the letter.

If it goes from $183 to $200 because my discount expired, I can handle that. I can't handle going from $183 to $245. So hopefully, this girl is not bullshitting me. She also mentioned (as does the letter) that I'm still getting a package discount. So if I told them to take their cable box and shove-it, the $65 or $70 internet price may go higher for internet-only (although how high can it go?).

YouTubeTV is $50, plus Philo is $20. But adding HBO is another $15, and Showtime is $10 or $15. So that could be $100. Add at least $70 for internet and $10 for phone (we just started using the phone line for calling into work meetings, as Avaya sucks), and you're at $180. And I don't know if the streaming services have taxes or fees on top.
 

Jon

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2008
15,259
5,279
168
YouTubeTV is $50, plus Philo is $20. But adding HBO is another $15, and Showtime is $10 or $15. So that could be $100. Add at least $70 for internet and $10 for phone (we just started using the phone line for calling into work meetings, as Avaya sucks), and you're at $180. And I don't know if the streaming services have taxes or fees on top.
I do believe Youtube charges taxes, but then that depends on your state. Where I live, Colorado charges sales taxes on Internet Transactions (MOST anyway!).

But the nice part of that setup is no contracts, you're not tied to either service for a period of time, and don't necessarily need everything at once. Youtube TV also lets you 'suspend' service if you just want to have it running during Football season or something, and deactivate it the rest of the year. My only real complaint, and why I have Philo is no Viacom channels on Youtube TV, including A&E (I watch Live PD and a few others quite often). Youtube TV, for me, is the only one that has all the news channels, and my locals. I won't subscribe to cable and living out in B.F.E. means I can't get great local channel signal with just an OTA antenna.
 

Wolf

Well-Known Member
Oct 11, 2008
33,309
10,059
168
Phoenix
I don't miss cable TV. I only subscribe to Apple TV, Disney+ which includes Hulu and ESPN+ and Netflix and I only pay like $34 a month. I also own about 2,000 digital movies.
 
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Vols44

Well-Known Member
Oct 18, 2008
1,228
143
63
I upgraded to Netflix Ultra HD for 15.99 per month with four feeds after purchasing a mid range 4k TV .

Sling Blue is my primary til the end of Champions League and Bundesliga competitions. ESPN+ has the contract for the Bundeslig'a next few seasons so I'm looking at the 12.99 Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ bundle. Mrs. Vols likes Philo's family type selections.

The current billing is Netflix 15.99 & Sling Blue w/Lifestyle Extra (3 Hallmark plus 7) for 35.00.

Future plans are Nexflix, the above mentioned bundle and the 20 per month Philo for around 49 per month instead of 51.

My OTA results are between 17 and 26 channels with the help of two powerful ClearStream antennas and one perfectly placed Mohu Leaf in the master bedroom.

The second coolest option on my new 4k TV is the consent to receive targeted ads in exchange for a digital OTA TV guide with a pause option for the current live channel.
 

Jon

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2008
15,259
5,279
168
I am on Hulu (no Live TV) and Disney+ (getting it free for a year through Verizon Wireless Unlimited deal) along with Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ (another free for a year after buying the iPhone). Without any sports, there's really no reason to subscribe to a live service, and the one show I did watch on Cable (Live PD) was axed. Since Baseball is starting up I'll probably look into the MLB.TV deals, with hopes that the season isn't canceled again after Covid-19.

What I've also taken to is buying complete seasons off iTunes with the subreddit iTunesMovieDeals which advertises movie and TV deals, got complete seasons of Friends for 50% off, and Cheers and M*A*S*H for like $20 for the complete series, and some good deals on movies (Airplane!, Tombstone, and 'Heat' for $4.99 each). There's a few others I'm waiting for price drops on (Scrubs, Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos) but that subreddit is a nice source for when sales happen.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
 

MadisonRadio1

MadisonRadio
Oct 17, 2008
7,793
5,718
163
Madison, Wisconsin
I finally subscribed to Disney Plus. My sweetie wanted to see Hamilton. I've been watching some of the movies like Secretariat and Miracle. It seems pretty good except they do not have "the Wonderful World of Disney" movies. But have a lot of other selections.

I also signed up for HBO Max when it came out in May. Now it turned out it was not available on Roku so I had to scramble to get a new Smart TV. We were kind've overdue anyway. This one really suits my interests. I'm really watching Big Bang Theory for the first time ever on it.
 

Wolf

Well-Known Member
Oct 11, 2008
33,309
10,059
168
Phoenix
Being an AT&T customer they upgraded my services which gives me HBO Max for free. I'll check it out if it work keeping and I know my monthly bill will probably go up.
 
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MadisonRadio1

MadisonRadio
Oct 17, 2008
7,793
5,718
163
Madison, Wisconsin
I had to get a new phone and it has HBO Max. I've tried it, I never tried watching anything streaming related on a phone before. I'm progressing.

I also see the Cobra Kai series has moved from You Tube to Netflix. It's already the #1 ranked show on the Netflix Top 10
 
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IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
I think I have sort of cut the cord. My PVR broke. Getting support for it they made an offer of their new "Ignite" package. Basically it is a really fast WiFi Router and all the TV boxes and phones operate off of it. But it is through my cable company. It was installed in a jiffy and much easier. All our boxes are PVR on a shared cloud space. And no wires although the old wires are still there just disconnected to everything except the WiFi Router.
 
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IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
As punishment for upgrading my service, the cable gods have taken down service in my area. They said it should be fixed within 24 hours.


Sent from my iPhone 11 using Tapatalk
 
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