Cutting the Satellite TV cable

[Mark Blatter]

We canceled DishTV about a year ago. We did not have a contract any more, but they kept raising the rates, so we would call to cancel. They would drop the price down some and we would stay with them. We only had the basic package, so were paying about $25 a month. We decided to cancel yet again, so called and they dropped it to $15. We left it in place for a couple of months and decided that even that was too much so called again. They actually offered to lower it to $9.99 per month but we passed. We have been on over the air since then and frankly, I don't miss it at all. We have a program that allows us to watch most shows using our computer which is hooked to our TV and costs something like $10 or $15 per month. Or we watch using the free options like hulu or others.

I don't miss it at all. We get PBS, two different options actually over the air. I quit watching sports about 10 years ago and honestly don't miss that either. I gave up on the NFL in the late 80's and it was the best thing I ever did. I have so much more time to do what is enjoyable and none of my kids became sports addicts either. I see friends and neighbors killing hours on Sat and Sun watching golf, NBA, NFL, soccer, etc. while I am spending time with the wife, in the shop, or in the yard. Sorry, will get off my soapbox now.

[Rick Potter]

Not quite the same, but today I cancelled Sirius radio for my car. It went up 35% since the last three month bill, and I only listen to 3 or 4 stations. The free trial on my other car is up in September, and I will dump it also. Together it will save over $400 a year.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

I recently nipped the Directv bill in half by reducing package and signing up for 2 years with a $10.00 monthly discount. But like you many nights I cannot find anything worth watching that I have not seen at least a couple of times.

[Larry Browning]

It might be worth a look at Roku. We just got one to experiment with after reducing our TV lineup. We're thinking Huluplus for $7.99/month which appear to carry most of the cable TV channels we watch. ESPN is available on Roku though I haven't investigated it yet. I do know ESPN got more than a little annoyed at Verizon for offering TV packages that don't include ESPN. If this spreads, watch Pro Athletes' salaries drop. Poor babies. There is one downside to streaming vs. cable/satellite; a subscription to a streaming service i.e. Huluplus is only good for one streaming device. As I understand it, if we wanted to watch non-free progamming on more than one Roku (for example) we'd need a subscription for each box. I could be wrong on this but that's my understanding.

Curt,
We have had a Roku 3 for a couple of years now. We also have a Boxee Box that we also watch Netflix on. I can tell you from first had experience that it is possible (and even encouraged but Netflix) to watch content streamed from the 1 account to multiple devices at the same time. We do it quite often.

The ESPN app on the Roku seems to be quite limited in what I can watch. Many of the programs they show as available will not play, saying that the program is blocked in my area or not available for me.

[Curt Harms]

Curt,
We have had a Roku 3 for a couple of years now. We also have a Boxee Box that we also watch Netflix on. I can tell you from first had experience that it is possible (and even encouraged but Netflix) to watch content streamed from the 1 account to multiple devices at the same time. We do it quite often.

The ESPN app on the Roku seems to be quite limited in what I can watch. Many of the programs they show as available will not play, saying that the program is blocked in my area or not available for me.

Thanks for the info Larry. Huluplus seems to cover what we like except for college & NFL football. ESPN seems like a bit of a PITA but I guess when they sign bazillion $ contracts with various leagues they have to maximize return.