Has anyone cut their tv cord?

**ua_guy** · 02-11-2014, 11:32 AM

It sounds like you want premium channels, but don't want to pay for them. If getting your sports and business updates via the internet (if you already have internet service) isn't an option, then no, i can't think of an innovative way to get that kind of content from a television without a service. Some base channels are broadcast via airwaves, but a standard (pre 2009?) antenna won't pick them up. You have to get one of the free/subsidized/cheap decoder boxes to pair with an older TV.

**autoxer** · 02-11-2014, 11:50 AM

I haven't had cable service for over five years and I don't miss it one bit. I don't have a replacement for ESPN, but I have been able to watch some sports OTA. The superbowl and much of the olympics are broadcast OTA in my area.

Check out antennaweb.org, to see what stations you can pick up OTA.

Check out this video for some more specific sports: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2...l-mlb/3316167/

**SavingSteve** · 02-11-2014, 12:53 PM

I turned off my cable last year and don't miss it either. Now we use a HDTV antenna and an Apple TV to watch Netflix and our Panasonic Smart Viera TV has apps to watch Amazon Prime. For sports you can buy a yearly subscription to NBA, NFL and I think there is an ESPN 3 app too. The yearly subscription is about the same as one month of cable.

I slashed my bill from $97 per month to about $32 for Netflix streaming with 2 DVD's and the Amazon Prime subscription is great too!

I don't like cable I think it's a total rip off. Plus the free over the air HDTV has better picture quality than cable because the cable company compresses the video so much to fit all the channels over the line. OTA HDTV is almost uncompressed and looks crystal clear!

**HappySaver** · 02-11-2014, 12:57 PM

We cut the cord over one year ago and haven't missed it one bit. But we barely watched TV in the first place, and it helps that we're not interested in most major sporting events, including the Olympics. Antenna would work for that, but we haven't even tried.

You can get quite a bit on WatchESPN (their online service). The biggest events aren't always shown live, but are usually available on replay.

I had been watching Suze Orman online, but CNBC recently cut access and it's no longer available to non-TV subscribers. Their ratings loss, as there's no way in h*** I'm signing up again just for that. I'm currently visiting relatives who have TV and haven't thought to watch Suze even when I could have. The habit has been broken - did I mention ratings loss?

Comedy Central, on the other hand, allows me to watch Daily Show and Colbert Report online whenever I want.

**scfr** · 02-11-2014, 03:38 PM

We cut the cable TV cord when we moved to our new home almost 5 years ago.

We have an antennae so there is no monthly charge. We get Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS, WB, 3 PBS Channels, several Spanish language channels, and a channel that plays classic movies. We have none of the "premium" channels, only what we can get OTA (over the airwaves) for free but it's OK - no monthly charge is a fantastic tradeoff. I'll admit to occasionally missing CNN and the Hallmark Channel (especially during the holidays) but never to the point where I'd start paying monthly again.

I pay $5.40 per month for Netflix including tax (an old plan that is no longer available) and check out DVDs from the library. My husband watches some foreign shows on the internet.

**PauletteGoddard** · 02-11-2014, 03:57 PM

Does anyone have any advice on innovative ideas about how to cut the tv cord and still be able to access live sports (e.g., ESPN, FSN, etc.) and business channels such as CNBC or Fox business channels?

I can help only with the live sports, not with the other US channels.
Google "vipbox". Try each result until you get one that works. You need a Flash-enabled browser. I've watched the Super Bowl, 2010 Winter Olympics, and NHL hockey online from European channels (you really don't need the US TV Ads, do you?).
Also, I've read that a Raspberry Pi can stream media. That's more innovative and DIY than what I do.

**phantom** · 02-12-2014, 08:26 AM

We cut the cable about a year ago, and giving up being able to watch live, in-market sporting events was our biggest concern. We couldn't find a perfect replacement, but we started doing the following:

1. Listen to more games on the radio. I find this works great for sports like baseball and less well for sports like hockey. But, the radio hockey broadcaster in our area is one of the all time greats, so it's hard to complain. If you really want to see a certain play, you can watch it online after the fact. It's not quite the same, but it's not a terrible substitute.

2. Watch games that are broadcast on network TV with an antenna. In our area, all of the football games, about a third of the hockey games, and 1 or 2 baseball games end up on network TV. Sometimes it helps to think about exactly how many games you really are dependent on cable to see.

3. Attend more sporting events in person. My husband and I tend to pay about $35 for the two of us to attend a baseball game, and $180 to attend a hockey game. (We could spend even less, especially for the hockey, but those are the price points we generally tend to end up at.) Since we get a better experience out of the live games, we were willing to drop the cable with the understanding that we'd use our savings to see more live games every year. We saved $50/month by dropping cable. So, we call that 12 extra baseball games and 1 extra hockey game per year.

4. Go to bars or restaurants with big screen TVs for games. A lot of places in our area have game day specials. One place has $1 drafts and $1 slices of pizza during hockey games. It's not the healthiest option, but we can usually make it through about two periods of hockey while milking less $10 worth of beer and pizza. If you combine watching a game with what was going to be a night of going out to eat anyway, the cost can be seen as fairly minimal.

5. Go to casinos to watch the games. This one only works if you have casinos nearby, and is only a good idea if you're not going to gamble much while you're there. But, the casinos near us have big comfy couches near big TVs that are sure to play any big game. They also have free drinks. So, technically, we can watch games there for free. In practice, we tend to throw $5 in a slot machine while there to pay for the drinks and TV.

6. Take advantage of friends and family who are still paying for cable. Ideally, you would convince your friends and family to drop cable too. But, until you do, visiting people to see games can be fun.

**LivingAlmostLarge** · 02-12-2014, 11:26 AM

Hardest part of giving up cable was my DH's sports. Goes to bar more!

**EarlyRetirementJoy** · 02-13-2014, 06:16 AM

We cut the cord three years ago, which resulted in savings of approximately $840 a year. You are fortunate to be considering this in 2014, when so many things, including the recent Superbowl and current Olympics, are available for live streaming on your computer or TV.

We don't miss it at all, and in fact, relish the freedom of kicking yet another service provider to the curb. Goodbye and good riddance!

**JoeP** · 02-13-2014, 09:11 AM

Originally posted by EarlyRetirementJoy View Post

We cut the cord three years ago, which resulted in savings of approximately $840 a year. You are fortunate to be considering this in 2014, when so many things, including the recent Superbowl and current Olympics, are available for live streaming on your computer or TV.

We don't miss it at all, and in fact, relish the freedom of kicking yet another service provider to the curb. Goodbye and good riddance!

Similar story here, cut the cord some time around 1999 IIRC. Don't miss it one bit. We get everything we want off Netflix, Redbox, and the antenna.

I'll second the bar option. We almost never watch sports (we especially hate the commercialism, as in "The Pepsi Halftime Show at the Met Life Stadium" and "The Doritos Cool Ranch NFL Live Player of the Game") but will sometimes meet friends out.

**kork13** · 02-13-2014, 10:14 AM

Originally posted by JoeP View Post

Similar story here, cut the cord some time around 1999 IIRC. Don't miss it one bit. We get everything we want off Netflix, Redbox, and the antenna.

I'll second the bar option. We almost never watch sports (we especially hate the commercialism, as in "The Pepsi Halftime Show at the Met Life Stadium" and "The Doritos Cool Ranch NFL Live Player of the Game") but will sometimes meet friends out.

My thoughts exactly.

I haven't had cable since I moved out of my parents' house for college in 2004, with the exception of the 16 months I had a roommates immediately after college... Even then, I watched the TV VERY rarely. As my activity level on this forum might indicate, I find much more entertainment value on the internet.

For the few TV shows I actually do like to watch, I have an HD antenna & share a Hulu account with my brother. More than sufficient for my VERY sparse TV needs.

**figuringmoneyout** · 02-13-2014, 11:18 AM

I cut cable and I don't miss it at all. I do watch a lot of sports but now I just do it either online, at friend's houses, or at a sports bar/restaurant. It's more social for me now which is actually kinda nice!

Has anyone cut their tv cord?