Cut the cord!

[MrNubbz]

I'm convinced these companies are monopolies under one umbrella.Perhaps separate but fixing behind closed doors.How much after initial installation & equipment rental can it cost monthly?Beaming/sending signals added hidden fees that just don't add up.Dropping cable then they up the price on remaining services.Any competitive competition is bought up by the Giants.Congress fiddles while the country burns.What ever happened to ala carte/package cable that Congress was suppose to implement?Same going on with utilities

[Entropy]

as we end 2018.... any updated suggestions to this thread?    We have not cut the cord, but are considering it.   We don't watch many professional sports outside of the Royals and soccer...  We also leverage a handful of stations centered around kid friendly content.   Just wondering if thoughts/ideas have changed.

[MrNubbz]

I happened to be perusing the Big 12 Board and utee94 brought up something interesting.he was mentioning that if you still have that old gangly analog antenna on the house keep it.It'll work on over the air digital signals also - who knew?.Of course I had the roofers tear mine off 10 years back.But I still might smite the cable companies and get some rabbit ears.If everyone did this for even a year you'd see prices drop back in line.I think I'm going Amish

[Thumper]

Antennas work great for some people.  There are DVRs for OTA signals that let you record/pause live TV so it is much more convenient.
DirecTV Now finally got all our local channels so I can pack away the indoor antenna I was using when a sporting event was on one of the locals only.
Speaking of DirecTV Now, they recently came out with price hikes that hurt them in comparison with other streaming services unless you want HBO.  They did exactly what they promised they would not do if they were allowed to buy Time Warner.  They promised not to raise rates and not to punish competitors by charging them more for HBO than their own customers.  HBO is included in the DirecTV Now plans but is a $15 or more add on to other services.  My grandfathered plan will go up $10 per month in August but is still in line with other services with the special rate.
After cutting the cord more than 2 years ago, I would not go back.  The complete absence of contracts and the ability to add/drop services almost instantly is huge for me.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

Antennas work great for some people.  There are DVRs for OTA signals that let you record/pause live TV so it is much more convenient.

FYI Sling was running a promotion--I believe still active--that if you sign up for Sling they'll come and professionally install an antenna for you. Sling doesn't offer local channels, so they are trying to help people who may not want to do installation (and as a division of Dish, they have professional installers for their satellite stuff).

[Entropy]

are you a slinger?

[betarhoalphadelta]

are you a slinger?

I was, but that was before I was married... 
(Ok, it was just coincidence that I left Sling for Hulu before getting hitched...)
When Purdue's football team started to show signs of life, I dropped Sling for Hulu. Hulu has BTN; Sling does not. 

[Brutus Buckeye]

Okay. Just sorta jumping in here without reading through the entire thread. So I just cut ties with ATT because they cranked up the price, and then quoted me a price for "just internet" that was close to what I was previously paying for the whole ball of wax. I will worry about how to watch live sports once we get closer to football season, but in the meantime I need to get internet on my laptop. Is there a good way to do that without having to go through another cable company? If so, what is the board consensus regarding what is the best/easiest/most economical way to do it? Thanks.

[Thumper]

Okay. Just sorta jumping in here without reading through the entire thread. So I just cut ties with ATT because they cranked up the price, and then quoted me a price for "just internet" that was close to what I was previously paying for the whole ball of wax. I will worry about how to watch live sports once we get closer to football season, but in the meantime I need to get internet on my laptop. Is there a good way to do that without having to go through another cable company? If so, what is the board consensus regarding what is the best/easiest/most economical way to do it? Thanks.

This is one of the big rubs for cord cutting.  Broadband internet coverage for the US sucks and the majority of it comes from cable companies as ATT & Verizon are phasing out fiber and DSL is on life support.  Comcast is a big supplier and is ranked as the worst service of any company in the US (actually they are rated lower than cockroaches and US Congress as well).  As you have seen, they want to make up for lost profit from TV by jacking up the price for internet to cover it.  I have internet from Cox and I have been satisfied with it.  I pay $80/mo for a 150mb connection.  It is kind of pricey but it has been rock solid.  That is important as I work from home.
Here is the good point.  YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A CONTRACT FOR STREAMING SERVICES.  If you only want sports for the football season, you can turn the subscription on and off anytime you want. This is opposed to cable services or the new ATT TV which require 2 year contracts with a big jump in year 2 and all kinds of hidden fees.