My husband wants to get rid of cable TV. I’m not completely on board with the idea yet, but have a feeling that I will be. Whenever he is trying to convince me of something, one of his tactics is to appeal to my inner cheapskate, and that usually works.
Yesterday he sent me this article.
First of all, we really don’t watch much television. We didn’t even have cable, using an antenna on the roof, up until a few years ago when cable internet was finally available here. We’ve had cable for less than five years. I don’t like most shows on tv. I see friends on facebook posting that they are watching this and that, none of it interests me in the least. It doesn’t bother me at all that many pop culture references go right over my head because I haven’t seen a show or a movie.
And, I hate Comcast. Hate them hate them hate them. Our rates keep going up and service keeps getting worse.
Any of the shows that we do watch are available online and that’s usually how I watch them anyway. I love Jersey Shore, yes I do. But cannot stay up until 10 pm to watch it, so I watch it online. Same goes for The Daily Show and Colbert. And that’s about it, that’s all we watch.
In appealing to my inner cheapskate, my husband has crunched all the numbers. If we buy the needed electronics so that we can stream tv from the computer to our TVs and cancel the cable, it will take about six months for us to break even. Right now what I usually do is take the laptop (17″ screen) into the bedroom with me and watch it there when I want.
When we got rid of our house phone and went to cells only, it was a bit unnerving to start, now after 9 years I barely remember what it’s like to have a house phone. I think I will adapt just the same without tv.
The article I linked mentions many benefits to dropping your TV. It’s a good read, definitely worth checking out.
I'm going to check out that article.
I'm not too fond of our cable company (RCN) either. I hardly ever get to watch TV in this house. The times the TV is on is for Disney programming in the morning or some sporting event in the evening — none of it is my viewing choice.
I'll have to think about dropping cable completely.
Ha, we were just talking to our neighbor about that this weekend. He did exactly what you mention, and then he subscribed to the football/baseball/hockey whatever packages so he can get all of his sports. They get movies from Netflix, all through the rest of the tv shows through the internet. He did say he was getting local channels through an antenna, which I thought wasn't possible anymore. He actually works for the Inquirer and said he is hoping to write an article about it soon. Unfortunately, my hubby NEEDS Comcast Sportsnet and that is only available with FIOS or Comcast. When I write that huge check every month, it makes me sick to my stomach! Shannon