Streaming

We've been meaning to do something about our rapidly spiraling cable TV/Internet bill for quite a while. We're not big fans of Comcast but they are pretty much the only game in town.

 

The other day was the last straw though as I read an article where Comcast execs were bragging that despite losing 500,000 customers last year they were able to keep their profits up by raising everyone else's prices. In fact, they made more money this year! Needless to say, I'd rather not be one of the chumps in that zero-sum game.

 

And today there are options. We watch little TV, and almost all of what we do watch can be replaced or even bettered by using the following services:

 

iTunes and Netflix streaming on Apple TV

Amazon OnDemand, Pandora, and Netflix streaming and soon Hulu Plus on the Roku Box

Netflix movies and TV series on disc

 

So we have to buy two $100 boxes and pay $9 (Netflix) and $10 (Hulu Plus) per month to replace our cable TV bill. Our internet stays but we're getting it for $29.99 for one year and then it goes to $44.99.

 

According to my math, after a $200 initial investment we will be saving 142-(30+10+9)= $93 or so a month. Not bad.

 

The very few things we will  not be getting are local TV (never ever watch it, no even on my most sadistically bored days) and some of the shows from the littler cable stations. I think for $93 a month we can live with that. Heck, we could buy the damn shows for less.

 

But what we pick up is the ability to watch shows whenever we want with no DVR, from a range of devices from TV to iPad or even iPhone, and watch and entire series if we like, Hulu has every episode of shows from Gray's Anatomy to Lost in Space.

 

I'll let you know how it goes, because as of this minute, we're cable TV free!