I've had cable TV since the early 80s.  As many of you know I worked for our local cable TV franchise for almost fifteen years until Lyme Disease ended my career.  I got cable for free of course for all of that time plus for several years beyond.  Now it isn't free.
    For basic cable and internet service I pay $238.00 per month. When I first got cable it was less than $20.00 a month. On my income I can't be paying almost $240.00 per month for something like that.  So farewell cable TV. 
    I'm going to keep just the internet service. In my area Comcast is the only provider currently offering high speed internet service so until Verizon or someone else breaks ground here I have little choice. In that Mike just bought our own router that will drop my bill down to about $75.00 per month.  Then I'll subscribe to some streaming service which will add a few dollars to my monthly bill but I'll still be paying far less than I am now.
     I actually love cable TV.  I will miss many of my shows.  This is going to be an adjustment for me.  Someone at Comcast should wake up.  They're pricing themselves right out of the market.

I completely agree.  When I bought my house about 6 years ago, I got a "new customer" discount from Comcast.  After a year they increased the price by $20.  I gave them a call and was told after another year it would go up another $20, and then it would be at the listed rate.  I dropped the TV and just kept the Internet.

I watch movies sometimes but don't really watch TV, so I'm not subscribed to any streaming services.  I did pick up a digital antenna for $30 and it picks up most of the local stations for free.

Right now many new kids are being born that grow up without a TV. It's all tablet/pc. I grew up with a TV and sometimes I do miss it, but not worth paying for it.

We got rid of dish here almost 4 years ago and it's fantastic how much I don't miss it.  I have internet so news is available though I rarely look, and youtube, where I can watch any number of shows pertaining to whichever hobby or project I am currently working on. Loosing tv might be a blessing, it was for me

Kindor wrote on Jul 8^th, 2019 at 3:41pm:

We got rid of dish here almost 4 years ago and it's fantastic how much I don't miss it.  I have internet so news is available though I rarely look, and youtube, where I can watch any number of shows pertaining to whichever hobby or project I am currently working on. Loosing tv might be a blessing, it was for me

    I've had the same thought.  TV makes one mentally lazy.  This might be a good thing.

I haven't had tv in a long time. I dont miss it at all. Being off grid I use a tablet for. My phone and internet. Most of the tv shows are ridiculous anyway. There are a few shows that I do miss sometimes, mostly during long storms while inside

if you're considering a streaming service I might take a hard look at amazon's offerings. My money is on them to win the streaming race. Netflix had the big early lead but with everybody pulling their content to launch their own streaming service the Netflix streaming offerings are degrading in quality. Amazon gets you a wider library. Hulu is getting to get a bump from being "Hulu + Disney" but they'll charge more and the base package for hulu includes commercials. Also make sure to check your library system. A looooot of libraries these days have whole TV series runs. And I really appreciate getting to start and finish a whole series.

My wife and I (ok my wife is and I am by extension) are pretty disciplined about not watching too much TV. I'm not as good about using my time well but I do feel better when I don't watch more than an hour of TV in a given day. Don't forget computer games though. 50 bucks and a steam sale will get you all the old games you can play in a year ;D


I just inherited a scrollsaw and so I want to spend time doing that. Just need to make a table/bench for it.

When we moved into our student flat, we didn't have a TV and then just... didn't get one. Occasionally I've missed just having something mindless that I can have on in the background. I watch a lot of YouTube but that's all stuff I want to actually watch and concentrate on. TV can just be trash that I half pay attention to. I still don't think we're going to get a TV though.

     We got a fire stick and went with Amazon Prime.  I'll have to figure the cheapest way to get Eagles games in here.  This is all new to me so I'll be feeling my way through it.  Luckily roomie Mike is up on this technology. 

Meh, TV is overrated.

Internet viewing is where it's at, In my honest opinion. If it weren't, I wouldn't be here! :P

Netflix and other online streaming/viewing services are both pretty well-priced and convenient, right now I'm trying to convince my mother to save $100 a month by quitting Foxtel, which we barely watch anymore. Netflix itself literally costs about 10x cheaper per month.

You'll have to let us know what you think about the video selections Ratman.  I haven't pulled the trigger on amazon prime yet but I'm considering it.

TheJackinati wrote on Jul 10^th, 2019 at 5:25am:

Netflix and other online streaming/viewing services are both pretty well-priced and convenient, right now

Every single production company is opening their own Netflix with whichever intellectual property they can find down the back of the sofa, so I do wonder if Netflix is going to be able to keep up with the competition. They keep losing shows because they are all pulling them out to set up their own services. Disney now owns 90% of any media ever produced so they'll do well but some of these other ones... What they don't realise is that no-one is going to have more than a maximum of 3 subscription services so if they have even a slightly weak roster of content they're toast.

They seem willfully ignorant about what the consumers will do. If CBS couldn't milk the star trek geeks (myself among them) to buy their streaming service while holding a new star trek series hostage, the rest of them don't stand a chance.

I've heard that Disney is also planning on ending DVD releases to force you into their streaming service. Eh. It annoys me. But the real thing they don't seem to understand is that if they push the price and convenience too high, a very large segment of consumers will simply return to piracy.

perpetualstudent wrote on Jul 11^th, 2019 at 1:49pm:

They seem willfully ignorant about what the consumers will do. If CBS couldn't milk the star trek geeks (myself among them) to buy their streaming service while holding a new star trek series hostage, the rest of them don't stand a chance. I've heard that Disney is also planning on ending DVD releases to force you into their streaming service. Eh. It annoys me. But the real thing they don't seem to understand is that if they push the price and convenience too high, a very large segment of consumers will simply return to piracy.

It's interesting because I follow the video game industry pretty closely and they are doing the same thing. It's all about watering down the idea of ownership. Both the film and game industry HATE second hand selling. In their minds it's people making money off of their property which is why they've tried cracking down on it in the past. By adding sign in codes and having games be always online, by moving everything onto digital platforms and ceasing production of physical media entirely, they stop you owning a film or a game. Now they sell "access" to their property. If at some point they don't want you to see it or want to force you to watch something else, they'll just take it away from you. This has happened with some video games that required online servers that no longer exist, even games that didn't have online multiplayer, so the games are literally unplayable now. They effectively have ceased to exist despite the fact people paid money to own them and that's exactly what these companies want. They're selfish, they'll wring out every penny from the intellectual property they own and don't even like the idea of someone else owning a copy. It's going to get very hard to document the history of film and video games and TV shows (which as a title of a genre is losing all meaning) from this point onwards.

I used to be very liberal with what I would watch, and I watched way too much crap. Eventually I became so sick of all the bad things media promotes today. Why is it allowed?

I really see no reason for horror genres or psychopatic series like Hannibal to exist. All it does is promote mental illness. Anyone who enjoys watching that type of stuff should really question himself.

Been about a year I cancelled out any fiction shows whatsoever. No services, no television. My mind is clearer and overall more certain regarding what I want to do in life. There are much, much better ways to relax and escape than to waste it watching fiction, and the fiction isn't even good.

I barely even follow the news anymore. I used to  keep up with everything on the internet every day for years! Constant streams of negativity, day in, day out. It was making me bitter and cynical. I had to make a change. One day about a year ago I just stopped following the news, except for tid bits every now and then. I've become a lot more optimistic and happy since.

AncientCraftwork wrote on Jul 11^th, 2019 at 3:40pm:

I used to be very liberal with what I would watch, and I watched way too much crap. Eventually I became so sick of all the bad things media promotes today. Why is it allowed? I really see no reason for horror genres or psychopatic series like Hannibal to exist. All it does is promote mental illness. Anyone who enjoys watching that type of stuff should really question himself. Been about a year I cancelled out any fiction shows whatsoever. No services, no television. My mind is clearer and overall more certain regarding what I want to do in life. There are much, much better ways to relax and escape than to waste it watching fiction, and the fiction isn't even good. I barely even follow the news anymore. I used to  keep up with everything on the internet every day for years! Constant streams of negativity, day in, day out. It was making me bitter and cynical. I had to make a change. One day about a year ago I just stopped following the news, except for tid bits every now and then. I've become a lot more optimistic and happy since.

I stopped following the news decades ago.  Enough news tidbits filter down to me through the internet to keep me informed about any new happenings.  If I'm really interested in something  I can look it up.  News providers sensationalize EVERYTHING. Plus they focus on negative and disturbing items.  I'll watch a story on a news show and ask myself "Why do I need to know that depressing bit of horse crap?" The answer is that I don't and I'm happier without it.

No cable no tv no news. We watch a movie (cd) every now and then. If it gets stupid violent or boring, I just go read or work on one of my many hobbies. Or just go to sleep. I am definately happier than I used to be :)

There is a lot in the news which just isn't necessary to know. "200 die in a train crash in a country on the other side of the world" so I need to know about some horrible suffering I can do nothing to help with? I'm supposed to just know that and then carry on the rest of the day knowing, not just guessing but actually knowing for sure, there are people experiencing the worst grief and anguish imaginable? Great. Thanks 24/7 news!

With avoiding some media because of it's content, I've done that with some programs when it involves... oh boy... well... assault of a sexual nature. It's why I haven't watched Game of Thrones. I don't want to see that. I don't want it even really alluded to. It's not going to give me some great insight, it's not going to be great entertainment for me. It's just horrible. It's too often used for shock value and then explained away as "gritty" and "gives characters emotional depth". No. I disagree. It's a crutch and often the sign of an ignorant writer. It's not entertainment. I'm really very liberal and think that art can and absolutely should challenge people and confront taboos and nothing should be off limits, BUT (and it's a big but, capital letters and everything) it should be done well, with purpose and for the right reasons. Chucking in a scene so they can get some T&A in is frankly despicable. Not for me.

News invariable involves politics and the older I get the more I understand why speaking about politics was considered rude for a very long time. That was not public or normal interaction. It was something reserved for close friends and political organizations. Without that personal connection, it's easy to find a hateful/crazy/dangerous example of the "other" team and wind up in an echo chamber about how dangerous "they" are. So I still check the news but I don't obsess about it anymore. And I don't discuss it often or with many people.

What's kosher in entertainment is a good question. Taste varies. And ever will. And we can and should argue about whether something was done well, added to the story, made you think, or was just titillation. Again though, those are conversations best had in person.

  I'm a few days into this new cable TV free way of life.  Cable TV is a sort of addiction.  You get hooked on your shows.  They become a regular part of your life. In beating any addiction a certain amount of withdraw is involved.  I do miss it some. I miss some of the shows I had a lot of time invested in.  It is a little depressing.  But in the overall scheme of things this is small potatoes.  I'll get over it.
Edit:  I've had Cable TV for almost forty years so this is an adjustment for me.