I Cut the Cord and Couldn’t Be Happier (2 Viewers)

[JohnRice]

Signing up new, I’d not pay for cable.

But right now, canceling my cable wouldn’t save me any money. I pay $100/mo for gig and cable.

Changing my plan now it would be $100/mo for gig.

Sooner or later plans or rates changes will make me drop cable. But for now, no reason to cancel.

It's such a racket. I was paying $80/month for 75Mb/s. Then we passed a bill to proceed with municipal internet. Now I'm paying $50/month for 600Mb/s from the same company because the municipal internet hadn't reached my house yet.

Several months ago I bought a new modem and you have to call (Comcast) to get it activated. All the guy wanted to actually do was sell me other services. After I declined all those, he was annoyed and claimed to have activated my modem, but clearly didn't and had no intention to. I spent the next two hours troubleshooting and finally calling back to actually get the modem activated.

And companies like Comcast wonder why everyone hates them.

 

[David Weicker]

Honestly I don't know why anyone with decent Internet service would pay for cable TV in 2022. "Premium" packages are available ala carte for much less and services like Pluto TV offer plenty of ad-supported content absolutely free.

Does Pluto offer TCM?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

I had DirectTV for years. When I moved last year I dropped it and did not add it at my new house. The DirectTV reps I spoke to in completing the process did not even make the slightest attempt to retain me as a customer. I probably had the service for over 20 years with the NFL package. When I cancelled it was just "OK, see ya!" and that was it. I figured it must have grown to be a regular thing.

At the new house we have Roku and that's it. We have subscriptions to Amazon and Netflix. My wife occasionally adds a service to see a show she wants to watch (Only Murders in the Building) but I have in a wonderful way mainly watched my Blu-ray collection this past year and, honestly, have enjoyed it far more than anything I would have watched on TV.

 

[JohnRice]

Honestly I don't know why anyone with decent Internet service would pay for cable TV in 2022. "Premium" packages are available ala carte for much less and services like Pluto TV offer plenty of ad-supported content absolutely free.

You got me to look at the TV service that's available with our municipal internet. Their basic tier is $30/month and is essentially the same as what I get using an antenna. Yeah, my reception drops in and out occasionally. The only thing I'd gain is ABC, which is the single broadcast channel I can't pick up. The thing is, I have Hulu and I can watch anything from ABC later, at my leisure. I don't know why I'd spend $30/month to eliminate occasional drop-outs. The next tier is $70/month and the couple of things it adds which I might want, I already get through the Hulu/Disney/ESPN bundle that costs me less than the basic service alone. I dropped Netflix several months ago. It's just too expensive anymore. I can justify AppleTV+ at $5/month for occasional viewing, but not whatever Netflix charges now, especially for 4K.

 

[David_B_K]

I had DirectTV for years. When I moved last year I dropped it and did not add it at my new house. The DirectTV reps I spoke to in completing the process did not even make the slightest attempt to retain me as a customer. I probably had the service for over 20 years with the NFL package. When I cancelled it was just "OK, see ya!" and that was it. I figured it must have grown to be a regular thing.

At the new house we have Roku and that's it. We have subscriptions to Amazon and Netflix. My wife occasionally adds a service to see a show she wants to watch (Only Murders in the Building) but I have in a wonderful way have mainly watched my Blu-ray collection this past year and, honestly, have enjoyed it far more than anything I would have watched on TV.

DirecTV actually took time to keep me signed up. I had decided I was paying way too much for programming we weren't watching. DTV and DISH and cable are all alike in that they make you jump to a higher programming tier in order to get one channel you need. None of them will do a la carte. So, I decided to drop DTV and go with YouTube TV. It had the must-haves (like three Hallmark channels for my wife, TCM, the Gold Channel and a few others). We lost a few channels, but we were prepared to lose something that was only a "nice to have".

When I called DirecTV to drop their service, they tried to sell me on their own streaming service, called DirecTV Stream. However, the only way I could get all of our must-haves was by choosing their highest priced package (the tier thing again), so that was a no-go. They then revised what I was paying for my programming by giving me a promo deal for the rest of the year. Also, they told me that my high speed internet promo deal would go away because I am getting a promo rate for bundling internet, DirecTV and wireless. So, if I dropped them for YouTube TV, I would revert to the regular price for internet, and even though the YouTube package I wanted was cheaper than DirecTV the savings would be offset by the higher internet rate. If I dropped DirecTV, I would only save about $15 a month. So, I decided to stick with DirecTV for now. That way I can keep the nice-to-haves and not go through having to train my wife in using a new interface.

I wish they offered more flexibility on their streaming service. It would have been nice to only pay for the channels we actually watch. Part of the problem is that so many of these services are sports-oriented. My wife and I do not watch sports aside from Golf. They assume that sports is the main focus of all the packages.

 

[John Dirk]

Signing up new, I’d not pay for cable.

But right now, canceling my cable wouldn’t save me any money. I pay $100/mo for gig and cable.

Changing my plan now it would be $100/mo for gig.

Sooner or later plans or rates changes will make me drop cable. But for now, no reason to cancel.

That's a very enviable and rare situation. I'd keep it too if I were you. Chances are, however, your ISP has an emergency meeting convened to figure out how to get rid of you and your kind.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

For years, that’s why I didn’t cut the cord. When I lived in a neighborhood with no completion, the rate for cable plus internet was essentially the same as the rate for just internet. Might as well keep the cable if you’re getting charged the same price.

When I moved into a neighborhood with completion, one company offered $50 for 300/mbps and another company offered $40 for 500. Neither was a limited promotional offer; that was just the rate. I went with the $40 company.

 

[John Dirk]

Does Pluto offer TCM?

Sorry but Comcast appears to be holding that particular channel hostage. This is a good example of why I concern myself with categories of content and no so much specific channels or even shows. On the rare occasion I do run across a "must-see" show [like Curb Your Enthusiasm for me] I look towards physical ownership.

 

[tsodcollector]

does roku offer tcm.

 

[John Dirk]

does roku offer tcm.

I don't believe there's a legal way to receive TCM without going through Comcast.

 

[smithbrad]

Signing up new, I’d not pay for cable.

But right now, canceling my cable wouldn’t save me any money. I pay $100/mo for gig and cable.

Changing my plan now it would be $100/mo for gig.

Sooner or later plans or rates changes will make me drop cable. But for now, no reason to cancel.

That's pretty much how Comcast works for me. It's all about the bundles, the more services you bundle the bigger the discounts. Now a days, internet is the must have needed by everyone. In my particular area I have few internet options, it's either Comcast or satellite. After dropping all other services but internet, I still end up close to $100 a month. I could add in all the cable channels plus some movie channels for only $20 more, but I declined.

 

[smithbrad]

And companies like Comcast wonder why everyone hates them.

I've had Comcast for over 15 years. Twice now I've found out the hard way when they've decided to discontinue support for an older modem, it just stops working. When I call up customer service to get support, they immediately say I need to upgrade my modem. Luckily, I can drive to the store and pick-up a new one, but it can be quite inconvenient from a work standpoint when you lose internet access.

 

[usrunnr]

we have TCM through Dish Network. Only for a month. A promotion to get us to stay with them. Then it goes. Not paying for it. But I sure to like it.

 

[John Dirk]

I've had Comcast for over 15 years. Twice now I've found out the hard way when they've decided to discontinue support for an older modem, it just stops working. When I call up customer service to get support, they immediately say I need to upgrade my modem. Luckily, I can drive to the store and pick-up a new one, but it can be quite inconvenient from a work standpoint when you lose internet access.

Not to derail the thread but you can buy your own modem and save at least the ripoff rental fee.

 

[tsodcollector]

Not to derail the thread but you can buy your own modem and save at least the ripoff rental fee.

if you wan't to save the least the fraud rental fee,then it would be so much better.

 

[DaveF]

It's such a racket. I was paying $80/month for 75Mb/s. Then we passed a bill to proceed with municipal internet. Now I'm paying $50/month for 600Mb/s from the same company because the municipal internet hadn't reached my house yet.

Several months ago I bought a new modem and you have to call (Comcast) to get it activated. All the guy wanted to actually do was sell me other services. After I declined all those, he was annoyed and claimed to have activated my modem, but clearly didn't and had no intention to. I spent the next two hours troubleshooting and finally calling back to actually get the modem activated.

And companies like Comcast wonder why everyone hates them.

I was going to cancel cable this year. But rates are increased and adjusted to account for everyone canceling cable. So, I pay an extra $5/mo for the cable card for my TiVo. I’ll keep it. We still use it some. At some point rates will go up in such a way that I’ll change plans to save a few bucks and lose my cable TV.

 

[Chip_HT]

I keep looking at options to lower my cable/internet bill. No matter what options I choose, any changes I make right now will raise my bill by a minimum of $50 a month, and all of the options involve a reduction in services.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I don't believe there's a legal way to receive TCM without going through Comcast.

I get the TCM app through our co-op cable TV / Internet service at our South Carolina condo. Basic cable TV (which includes TCM) is included with our HOA fee, and we pay $43 per month extra for 200mbps Internet service. I use that account's credentials to access TCM through the TCM app when we are in Michigan. I am not paying Comcast their additional fee to move to their tier that includes TCM.

 

[John Dirk]

I keep looking at options to lower my cable/internet bill. No matter what options I choose, any changes I make right now will raise my bill by a minimum of $50 a month, and all of the options involve a reduction in services.

Hmm... Sounds like you're in a grandfathered contract [?] but if it's not grandfathered then that $50.00/month increase will happen either way.

Do you have competitive Internet offerings in your area or are you limited to cable?

 

[David Weicker]

I get TCM via ATT U-verse cable, not Comcast