Cutting the cord on cable TV

I would like to start today’s blog by reading from a prepared statement:

(Clears throat) Dear Cox Communications – f*** you! Thank you.

Today, I cut the cord on cable TV. It was inevitable, really. Millions of people have realized that there are better options out there to Comcast, Direct TV, Dish Network and, in my case, Cox Communications. It’s now my turn.

In reality, though, the decision was made last month when I opened my cable bill and saw it had gone up $49 from the previous billing cycle; a 34% increase. And that’s on top of the 20% increase incurred last year.

It turns out, the initial 2-year deal I had signed expired and my new-customer-special-deal went bye-bye.

Oh. And don’t think I didn’t called Cox Communications. I did. They insisted that my now current rate is the usual charge for their service and that my original deal was “smokin'” (their word). But hey. It wasn’t all bad. They did offer me some sort of loyal customer discount amounting to $10 a month. Ha!

So I left. Cut the cord. I no longer have cable TV and I think it’s going to work out great!

Where to start?

There are actually a lot of options for cord cutters and an almost infinite number of articles attempting to explain those options. You’ve got things like Roku, Sling, Apple TV, Netflix, Google Chromecast, HD antennas or even gaming devices like the PS4 or Xbox One. All, in their own way with their own set-up, can stream a lot of content and programming to your TV or phone or tablet or iPad.

Personally, I talked with my neighbor (who cut the cord awhile ago), looked at articles online and had a wonderful talk with an associate at Best Buy. My wife and I (mostly my wife) did our homework and here’s our solution. Yours, of course, may differ.

Needed stuff

Here’s what we’ve got:

• One-time costs:
  • Channel Master Ultra-thin indoor antenna with up to 35 miles reception – this is what’s needed for over-the-air stations like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS and, surprisingly, a lot of other options as well (at least in large markets like Phoenix) and the picture quality is frickin’ excellent. One-time cost: $21
  • Roku Streaming Media Player – there are four or so versions of Roku’s streaming video player. Honestly, I don’t know what the differences are between them. I believe we’ve got the Roku 2. One-time cost: $49
• Monthly charges:
  • Internet connection – just like apps on your phone or streaming video on your Kindle, you’ll need internet access/WiFi. For this, we’re sticking with Cox Communications and going with a higher speed option of 50 mbps.
    Cost: $60 p/month
  • Amazon Prime – for those unfamiliar with this, think Netflix on steroids. Through Amazon Prime, we can stream movies, TV shows, music, etc. all on-demand. Plus, Amazon throws in some added perks like free-shipping on orders through their site. Cost: $10 p/month
  • Sling TV – With Sling, we get 40+ channels for $25 a month (although I think I’m going to scale back to the $20 option and 25+ channels): ESPN, ESPN2, CNN, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, History Channel, TBS, A&E and a few others I may or may not ever watch. Cost: $25 p/month

That’s it. That covers, really, about 90% of our usual TV viewing as well on-demand movies, TV shows and music offered through the cable companies. Whatever holes might need to be filled – like Fox Sports or FX or TruTV – can be obtained via an upgraded package with SlingTV.

And, AND, we’re not committed to watching only on TV. Again, these are apps and can be viewed just about anywhere, on just about any device with access to the internet.

Our biggest issue, if anything, will be DVR capabilities. Yet with so much available on-demand content and the ability to watch back-episodes of so many other shows via Amazon Prime – perhaps there isn’t much of a need to record stuff anyway. We’ll see…

I’m so glad this was all done in time for a 3-day weekend. I see a lot of binge watching in my immediate future. First up: “All or Nothing: A season with the Arizona Cardinals”