I just got rid of DirecTV and am down to a few streaming services. Fubo TV is okay because it gives me MSG, but I cant find anything with the YES Network. How do you cord cutters watch YES?
but it looks like they don't even offer YES in my area (just did a quick search using my address).
I'm still on Cable though and keeping it this year since cutting the cord won't save me much. YES is a big deal for me too and I don't feel like jumping through hoops to get it so Cable it is until there's a better solution.
I actually don’t think cord cutting saves me any money anymore. Between what I pay for internet, FuboTV, Hulu, Disney+, etc, I think I am around what I was paying for cable. Especially once FuboTV stopped carrying YES. I use my in-laws’ cable login and watch Yankee games on the Fox Sports app. That’s what it’s really about these days, networking with friends and family to use each others’ logins. I use my in-laws cable account for Fox Sports Go, they use my Disney +, I use my parents HBO Max, they use my FuboTV...ultimately, I still like not having cable. It simplifies things in terms of hardware in my house, but financially, it isn’t as lucrative as it was a few years ago. FuboTV has gone up $20 a month in the past year.
somehow these fuckwads managed to collude enough so that you can't really cut the cord without sacrificing and it's just not worth it. If you don't watch sports you can get away with it, but yeah....no.
I was all set to cancel my cable and go with FuboTV. I called my cable company (Spectrum) to cancel and they said that they could/would match the cost of FuboTV with their own streaming service, that they didn't advertise.
So I am getting the same exact channels I was getting before, but without a box, with Cloud DVR and for $40 per month less.
I actually don’t think cord cutting saves me any money anymore. Between what I pay for internet, FuboTV, Hulu, Disney+, etc, I think I am around what I was paying for cable. Especially once FuboTV stopped carrying YES. I use my in-laws’ cable login and watch Yankee games on the Fox Sports app. That’s what it’s really about these days, networking with friends and family to use each others’ logins. I use my in-laws cable account for Fox Sports Go, they use my Disney +, I use my parents HBO Max, they use my FuboTV...ultimately, I still like not having cable. It simplifies things in terms of hardware in my house, but financially, it isn’t as lucrative as it was a few years ago. FuboTV has gone up $20 a month in the past year.
agreed, same for hulu, up $20 and no yes network anymore,
and also agreed that once you have smart tv or roku/fire sticks/whatever on the tv's, would never go back to a cable box again
because my basic package with FiOS doesn't include YES. But, I missed the games too much. So last year I switched my custom package to a Sports package during the season. Technically, I can switch custom packages at no cost. Each one has a different number of channels based on the theme of the package (News vs. Reality vs. Sports vs. Kids etc.). But, the Sports package carries a monthly local broadcasting fee, which pisses me off. So, I only do it during the season.
I was seriously considering switching to Spectrum because their basic package is cheaper, has more channels, offers faster internet speeds, and includes the sports packaging and does so with no additional broadcast fee. But, I keep reading of service issues in the area and that was my constant experience with them when I had Time Warner.
Sports is one big reason I haven't cut the cord yet. I am inching closer, but the last couple of years have made it less appealing. Now, you are inclined to have so many different streaming options that it isn't much of a savings, if at all, especially when eliminating TV from any bundles usually results in more expensive internet.
but, I have a problem paying a local fee when FiOS is already more expensive with fewer channels offered. On principle, I don't appreciate the extra fee.
YTTV cut YES before last season, so I temp switched to Hulu for a few months to watch the Yanks.
I was planning to do that again but now they don't carry YES any longer.
I guess I will switch to AT&T streaming but they are super expensive
It is just one in a long line of reasons the Yankees have become a shitty organization to be a fan of. The new leadership created a very different atmosphere, with that shit stadium at the center. Nothing they do has the average fan in mind, nor does it have winning a championship in mind. I wonder what my level of interest would be if it weren't for my boys.
doesn't move the needle for me, that's probably the maximum i'd save cutting the cord but I'd also lose a bunch of content, YES included. This was always going to happen with cord cutting, it just happened faster than people thought/wanted it to.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
doesn't move the needle for me, that's probably the maximum i'd save cutting the cord but I'd also lose a bunch of content, YES included. This was always going to happen with cord cutting, it just happened faster than people thought/wanted it to.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
So you're saving minimum 240 and max 360 a year. You can get MLB gamepass (all teams) for $130 and a VPN for the year for $60. If you live out of market, you don't even
need the VPN. Maybe that's not worth the hassle, but it's an option.
It is just one in a long line of reasons the Yankees have become a shitty organization to be a fan of. The new leadership created a very different atmosphere, with that shit stadium at the center. Nothing they do has the average fan in mind, nor does it have winning a championship in mind. I wonder what my level of interest would be if it weren't for my boys.
Love the yanks. My Dad gave them to me and I want to give them to my kids. But I agree completely that as a product, they have perfected the art of not giving a shit about the fan- from the network to the customer service to the stadium.
if for some reason I don't like it or it doesn't work well for me, i'll then have to get my cable back and I can see that being a giant pain, and will also lose the lifetime pricelock I have.
I'd only watch the Yankees anyway so the full MLB package wouldn't be a value add. Plus I get NESN and SYN with cable so I've got the games in the Northeast covered just in case, along with whatever ESPN plays on sunday night baseball.
I actually don’t think cord cutting saves me any money anymore. Between what I pay for internet, FuboTV, Hulu, Disney+, etc, I think I am around what I was paying for cable. Especially once FuboTV stopped carrying YES. I use my in-laws’ cable login and watch Yankee games on the Fox Sports app. That’s what it’s really about these days, networking with friends and family to use each others’ logins. I use my in-laws cable account for Fox Sports Go, they use my Disney +, I use my parents HBO Max, they use my FuboTV...ultimately, I still like not having cable. It simplifies things in terms of hardware in my house, but financially, it isn’t as lucrative as it was a few years ago. FuboTV has gone up $20 a month in the past year.
It doesn't. It's becoming the cliché thing to do with no real benefit.
When I switched to DirecTV Now, the cost was only $35/month. Now, it has ballooned up to $60/month. I'm actually paying more for the service compared to cable but I like the ability to watch live TV anywhere. I'm also grandfathered into a package no longer offered so if I leave, I lose it for good.
It is just one in a long line of reasons the Yankees have become a shitty organization to be a fan of. The new leadership created a very different atmosphere, with that shit stadium at the center. Nothing they do has the average fan in mind, nor does it have winning a championship in mind. I wonder what my level of interest would be if it weren't for my boys.
Love the yanks. My Dad gave them to me and I want to give them to my kids. But I agree completely that as a product, they have perfected the art of not giving a shit about the fan- from the network to the customer service to the stadium.
I have been a fan since 1977, after my first game at Yankee Stadium. They and baseball are my first loves of sports. But, as a fan, that feeling they don't give a shit about me is very tangible at this point. You feel it i the ballpark, in the way they run their network, in the way they run the organization now. You saw it in the spat over StubHub a few years ago.
Why don't you all cut cable, cut the internet and cut streaming and look at all the money you will save. Hey, why not cut off electricity in your house, save even more! And while you're at it, cut off home heating that's overrated anyway and you could just put on a sweater, Oh, and another thing, cut off your water, people in Texas are getting used to it. You can get free water at the faucet in the park.
With all the money you'll be saving, you'll be rich!
empty seats throughout the lower deck on gamenights- and I don't know how ANYBODY thinks that this OK (the same goes for empty 50 yard line seats in PSL stadiums like our own). When I was a little kid in the 80s and early 90s my dad would get us seats downstairs- I have no idea what they cost him. Now, it would cost $1000 to get those seats. And not because of demand (like at a Giant game pre-PSL). Just because that's where the Yankees set the price.
Indefensible.
I remember when the Yankees were playing Florida in 2003, maybe it was the World Series or maybe it was interleague, and they asked one of the visiting pitchers what it was like to play in Yankee Stadium, he mentioned that it was dizzying and disorienting... because they really had never played in a full stadium all year. It was distracting for a pitcher who was not used to it to see rowdy, invested fans filling the seats. Well those days are long gone.
Why don't you all cut cable, cut the internet and cut streaming and look at all the money you will save. Hey, why not cut off electricity in your house, save even more! And while you're at it, cut off home heating that's overrated anyway and you could just put on a sweater, Oh, and another thing, cut off your water, people in Texas are getting used to it. You can get free water at the faucet in the park.
With all the money you'll be saving, you'll be rich!
You’re comparing entertainment to utilities. So, what’s your point?
I was all set to cancel my cable and go with FuboTV. I called my cable company (Spectrum) to cancel and they said that they could/would match the cost of FuboTV with their own streaming service, that they didn't advertise.
So I am getting the same exact channels I was getting before, but without a box, with Cloud DVR and for $40 per month less.
Spectrum offers cloud DVR? I did the exact same thing in September, and often use their app instead of the cable box because the processor and interface are better through Apple TV and my Roku.
I dont understand. I have 2 TVs one a smart TV the other not a smart TV.
How does this work?
Not sure your question. I have altice, its a cable service and the type of TV you have doesn't matter. I have a main box + router and then a small mini upstairs. I can use their App to stream on my ipad. Having a smart TV doesn't matter.
Piracy is easier than navigating the half dozen or so services that have siloed off their content. Fact.
Definitely "do you". I couldn't be more turned off by it, but that's just me. I don't mind paying the money, this thread exists because people are willing to spend, haha.
Piracy is easier than navigating the half dozen or so services that have siloed off their content. Fact.
Definitely "do you". I couldn't be more turned off by it, but that's just me. I don't mind paying the money, this thread exists because people are willing to spend, haha.
yes your stance has been noted on these threads over the years.
I still have cable. My point is that their apps/backend is shoddy. I get kicked off of NBC sports app regularly. Similar location verification issues with msg go. In those instances, a 2 second Google leads me to a high speed crystal clear stream. It's a joke
is uzzu.tv A buddy told me about this place. Stream all NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL games for $100. No commercials, no DVR, no FF or REW, just live games. Home and away broadcasts. He is using it and loves it since YouTube TV cancelled the local sports networks.
I have Fubo and they just reported they will be adding on an additional $5 a month for the local sports networks, in my case NESN Uzzu - ( New Window )
regardless of how expensive the apps get. I'll prove it.
There are 74million Netflix accounts. 112million Amazon Prime accounts.
Only 35million Cable subscribers.
If you subscribe to cable and do not have either a Netflix account or an Amazon Prime account (in most cases, both), you are in extremely rarified company.
That means that virtually all cable subscribers are already ALSO paying for these very substantial streaming services, on top of their cable subscription.
Until people are more willing to walk away from Amazon Prime and Netflix than their cable package, streaming will always be cheaper, by minimum hundreds of dollars a year.
The difference between cable and streaming only isn't x. It's cable.
regardless of how expensive the apps get. I'll prove it.
There are 74million Netflix accounts. 112million Amazon Prime accounts.
Only 35million Cable subscribers.
If you subscribe to cable and do not have either a Netflix account or an Amazon Prime account (in most cases, both), you are in extremely rarified company.
That means that virtually all cable subscribers are already ALSO paying for these very substantial streaming services, on top of their cable subscription.
Until people are more willing to walk away from Amazon Prime and Netflix than their cable package, streaming will always be cheaper, by minimum hundreds of dollars a year.
The difference between cable and streaming only isn't x. It's cable.
35 million cable subscribers? That number seems way off. Directv alone has 13 million.
That's a weird number, and Im not sure where the site I saw (first one I saw) got it. Here is number from a different link posted below: 83million households with pay TV (and falling). link - ( New Window )
especially if you factor in the content lost from Cable to something like YouTube TV.
My Optimum Select + Local Sports + DVR + Equipment Rental + Taxes - Under $90/ month.
YouTube TV is $65/ month, minus a ton of channels.
That's the $25 I was talking to above and that's regardless of whatever else I subscribe to. It also doesn't factor in the bundled Internet i'd lose by cancelling cable which would be $10/ month minimum added to the YouTube TV bill.
"Cutting the Cord" isn't moving from Cable to Netflix/Amazon. Its whatever you are replacing Cable with - YouTube, ATT, Fubo, etc and all of them keep upping their prices.
In sum the cost savings is negligible unless you flat out cut live TV which is a completely different conversation.
and want to watch the Yankees, the work around seems to be to pay $130 for MLB TV and use a VPN to make it work if you are in market, so that's what, $12-$20 per month depending on location?
With Cable, YES is part of that local sports fee included in my package.
To me, there are 3 big differences between cable and streaming
1) Extra fees: Fees and taxes often add $10-$20/month on top of the "advertised" cable prices.
2) Hardware rental fees: If you have a number of TVs in your house, paying for a cable box for each one gets pricey. Almost everyone I know that has had a >$200/m cable bill was paying >$50/m in hardware fees. With streaming boxes <$50 each, that monthly fee makes a big difference. This is bit better now since some providers have apps on Roku/FireTV/Etc boxes. But not all do...and not all boxes are supported.
3) Easier to turn off services you don't want: You can cancel/suspend services when new content is not available. Not many people do it, but I know some people that subscribe to one or two services for 3 months, then subscribe to others for 3 months, etc. Far more difficult to do with cable.
those prices I quoted above reflect all those hidden fees. Their "core" TV is $40 - all in i'm at $90 so its been accounted for.
Agree on ease of use, being able to just cancel streaming services is a huge plus. I do want to cut the cord, but the sports factor is a big problem still. The reward just isn't there yet for me and won't be until I find a way to get everything I want and/or save enough per month for my troubles (I'd say $50 atleast).
Pay over 200 a month for directv. Not thrilled about it. However, it’s all right there for me. I get Yes and Snytv so I get to watch geico sport nite and I get the Yankee games. Also get my Giants football which should be interesting after the contract with directives ends. I look at it as entertainment. I use to have to go to a sports bar each week to watch the giants before I got direct tv. The savings and not having to drive 45 minutes to the bar is well worth it.
Is you now need 5-6 services to replace it. So it's like you need one company to manage it all, haha.
As an out of market Giants fan, I'm tethered to directv until Sunday ticket isn't exclusive. I'm also a picture quality snob and most of the streams just aren't up to snuff on the quality. At least with directv it's consistent.
I've always been impressed with YTTV picture quality and now they offer 4k, but you still need many other services to match the cable packages
empty seats throughout the lower deck on gamenights- and I don't know how ANYBODY thinks that this OK (the same goes for empty 50 yard line seats in PSL stadiums like our own). When I was a little kid in the 80s and early 90s my dad would get us seats downstairs- I have no idea what they cost him. Now, it would cost $1000 to get those seats. And not because of demand (like at a Giant game pre-PSL). Just because that's where the Yankees set the price.
Indefensible.
I remember when the Yankees were playing Florida in 2003, maybe it was the World Series or maybe it was interleague, and they asked one of the visiting pitchers what it was like to play in Yankee Stadium, he mentioned that it was dizzying and disorienting... because they really had never played in a full stadium all year. It was distracting for a pitcher who was not used to it to see rowdy, invested fans filling the seats. Well those days are long gone.
Excellent post. First, you are spot on about the pricing. It is not supply and demand. It is just a price set by the organization and by their own admission it is set that high, in part, to keep out the riff raff. They fail to realize the riff raff is what made Yankee Stadium such a crazy place to play (both good and bad).
Second, interesting perspective from a team like the Marlins. But, even in general, the aura is greatly diminished. The field dimensions may be the same and they may have tried to keep a similar look with the facade and general layout. But, where the stands were closer and the fans felt like they were on top of you, they are now pushed back so they are further away. It completely changes the dynamic of the stadium.
I dont disagree with your post, which is why I said I focus on value rather than bottom line price.
But when people reference Netflix & Amzn Prime that shouldn't count b/c most everyone who has those services would have them with cable or with a streaming service.
But the other things you note - having to buy indiv services to make up for what is lost by switching from cable, totally agree with you
Question: Does anyone us a VPN to get around geo restrictions?
I'd be interested in getting an account that would let me stream get local coverage of Mets, Knicks and local coverage of the Giants, but I'm way, waaaay out of market here in SoCal.
RE: Question: Does anyone us a VPN to get around geo restrictions?
I'd be interested in getting an account that would let me stream get local coverage of Mets, Knicks and local coverage of the Giants, but I'm way, waaaay out of market here in SoCal.
I do it at work. I work for a foreign organization, and our office is routed through their VPN at the mothership... so to stream local radio, I use my own VPN on top of their's to get 'back into' the United States and then can stream local radio.
with cutting the cord is not replacing it with streaming live tv. That's still expensive because it's essentially cable on a different platform.
I don't have YTTV or Fubo or whatever. We have Netflix and Disney Plus, and then we alternate between Hulu and HBO depending on what's airing. Sports I find live streams.
But my watching habits are MUCH different than when I had cable. I was more of a browse and watch whatever shitty game was on ESPN before. But when we cut the cord, I basically only ever watch Knicks/Giants. Sometimes Rangers, sometimes Yankees (but MLB.tv from Tmobile takes care of that).
I also notice that a lot of people include the cost of internet when factoring in cable vs. cord cutting. I mean, when I had cable, we had internet and Netflix as well. So that's how I determined the bottom line.
But to each their own. You def don't need ALL the services EVERY month of the year. If you're interested in savings, there's savings to be had. But I think a lot depends on your income and your watching habits.
i cannot figure out the streams for live sports everyone talks
I tried the Reddit one for the Nets/Sixers game a few weeks back that was suggested on BBI and it may as well have been in Japanese.
no idea how to actually access them.
First things first, make sure your browser has good Adblock. I use uBlock Origin, and AdBlock or Adblock Plus.
From there, you can go to sites like SportSurge or BilasSports and find your sport then the game. Bilas is a little easier to use, you just select your game and then play the video after the game has started.
If you have Chromecast, you can right click on the stream and select "Cast" and cast it to the TV or device of your choosing.
doesn't move the needle for me, that's probably the maximum i'd save cutting the cord but I'd also lose a bunch of content, YES included. This was always going to happen with cord cutting, it just happened faster than people thought/wanted it to.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
So you're saving minimum 240 and max 360 a year. You can get MLB gamepass (all teams) for $130 and a VPN for the year for $60. If you live out of market, you don't even
need the VPN. Maybe that's not worth the hassle, but it's an option.
That's a pain in the ass to save $50 a year. If you just keep cable/fios/dtv, you can watch the Yanks and still flip channels during commercial breaks.
I get that every dollar saved is still a dollar, but at some point the savings vs. inconvenience requires a really miserly position to be worthwhile.
Not to mention, you can probably get things like free HBO via the retention team of whoever your traditional TV provider is, which more than offsets that savings if you were going to subscribe to HBOMax anyway.
if for some reason I don't like it or it doesn't work well for me, i'll then have to get my cable back and I can see that being a giant pain, and will also lose the lifetime pricelock I have.
I'd only watch the Yankees anyway so the full MLB package wouldn't be a value add. Plus I get NESN and SYN with cable so I've got the games in the Northeast covered just in case, along with whatever ESPN plays on sunday night baseball.
I had gone down to one Fios box in my house and had Hulu Live in the bedrooms and basement, and had downgraded my Fios channels to basically cover whatever Hulu didn't. I just recently took advantage of the free Hulu (w/ commercials, no live content) that VZW was offering in the Disney bundle for my cell phone, got rid of Hulu Live, upgraded my Fios channel lineup to include everything, added the Fios mini boxes (might as well be Apple TV hardware, they're that small and require no coax wiring) to my bedrooms, and I'll stick to streaming services in the basement, which is really just our home gym anyway, so even having Pluto available down there is fine - it's not like I'm going to hop on the bike while there's a game on.
My home office has also kind of become my de facto man cave, so I wanted to make sure that I had the full suite of sports up here, and it's nice to have multi-room DVR again. On top of that, I'm saving money by just leaning into Fios, and I don't have to sacrifice any channels or content in the process.
Granted, I wasn't a full cord-cutter in the first place, so it's easy to save money compared to an attempt to pair live streaming with traditional cable (or Fios, in my case). But I think my use case might be pretty common - a customer who half-asses the cord cutting process to avoid losing any elements of an eclectic content mix (especially between Mrs. Dunk's preferences and my own) and has so many different streaming services that the cost savings, if they exist at all, are nominal. And I don't think people properly valuate their own inconvenience. I'm not jumping through hoops to change apps for every different thing I want to watch so I can save what? $500 a year? There are other things I can cut back on to achieve those savings if necessary.
and I value live sports over programing, so I prefer having cable so I don't need to mix and match services to get all of the sports networks I want. I don't have a Netflix account or Hulu or Disney + (or any other + out there). Every year when my promotional cable pricing expires, I call up the provider and threaten to leave and get the promotion extended for another year. I've been going through the same routine since I've owned a home.
streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
with cutting the cord is not replacing it with streaming live tv. That's still expensive because it's essentially cable on a different platform.
I don't have YTTV or Fubo or whatever. We have Netflix and Disney Plus, and then we alternate between Hulu and HBO depending on what's airing. Sports I find live streams.
But my watching habits are MUCH different than when I had cable. I was more of a browse and watch whatever shitty game was on ESPN before. But when we cut the cord, I basically only ever watch Knicks/Giants. Sometimes Rangers, sometimes Yankees (but MLB.tv from Tmobile takes care of that).
I also notice that a lot of people include the cost of internet when factoring in cable vs. cord cutting. I mean, when I had cable, we had internet and Netflix as well. So that's how I determined the bottom line.
But to each their own. You def don't need ALL the services EVERY month of the year. If you're interested in savings, there's savings to be had. But I think a lot depends on your income and your watching habits.
Many are factoring in internet because often when you unbundle TV from the cable provider, the cost for internet increases. This cuts into any savings.
streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
I mean, I agree with almost everything that you said, but I am confused at how you landed on it being the consumers fault.
Cable companies stuck to their guns with an antiquated business model and bet on the fact that everyone would just have to deal with their shitty business practices.
streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
I mean, I agree with almost everything that you said, but I am confused at how you landed on it being the consumers fault.
Cable companies stuck to their guns with an antiquated business model and bet on the fact that everyone would just have to deal with their shitty business practices.
What is the consumers' fault was the login sharing, which will probably accelerate the streaming services' response to lock down accounts and/or geo-fence multiple logins based on IP addresses. That's happening quicker than it would have taken for traditional cable providers to feel enough pain to consider a la carte pricing.
So the cord-cutting will be curtailed before the cable industry is forced to correct itself - because customers took advantage of every single loophole (I'm looking squarely at Gen Z consumers here), including what amounts to a borderline theft of service by sharing logins, we may not see the full pendulum swing back toward cable companies needing to lure customers back with enticing offers and a complete reimagining of the way they package their content.
I think that train has left the station with the streaming services and all the media conglomerates are going that way. I think they probably could have secured their place among services by offering a la carte channel selection, but it feels more and more that that's what the streaming services are. A la Carte. Buy one, drop one, change one. And they need tentpole shows to get people to keep them.
I mean, you already have some of the ISPs trying to capture marketshare with their own streaming service, but I think the natural reaction will just be the increasing cost of internet and implementing data charges. Comcast has already started where they're charging if you go over a certain data limit, so if that is successful for them, I'm sure it'll become more and more commonplace.
The shared login issue... I know that it's been talked about by some of the main streaming services (I read an interview with an exec from HBO Go, so they've got their eyes on it). I'm sure as soon as they're able, they'll close that loophole. And if not, they'll keep inflating the price of their services.
a la carte was never realistic for cable companies
their prices being affordable hangs completely on their bundled content. If you unbundle 25% of the content you might as well just unbundle the entire thing because the price will no longer make sense or be competitive.
Limiting logins to one screen at a time is not hard. Every app on the planet has done it forever. If the streaming apps wanted to do it, they could easily do it.
HBO LET'S people share logins. Why? I don't know... my guess is that they're getting tons and tons of actionable data from it.
When they are ready to make their move and lock it down, they will. Almost every other app, including Netflix, already limits the screens that can watch content at one time.
I actually don’t think cord cutting saves me any money anymore. Between what I pay for internet, FuboTV, Hulu, Disney+, etc, I think I am around what I was paying for cable. Especially once FuboTV stopped carrying YES. I use my in-laws’ cable login and watch Yankee games on the Fox Sports app. That’s what it’s really about these days, networking with friends and family to use each others’ logins. I use my in-laws cable account for Fox Sports Go, they use my Disney +, I use my parents HBO Max, they use my FuboTV...ultimately, I still like not having cable. It simplifies things in terms of hardware in my house, but financially, it isn’t as lucrative as it was a few years ago. FuboTV has gone up $20 a month in the past year.
I will suggest you should try the free trial of ustvnow360 they are offering several channels and DVR. ustvnow360 - ( New Window )
I'm unclear on how streaming via mlb.tv works in terms of blackout rules etc for those living in market. Anyone got a handle on this?
I'm still on Cable though and keeping it this year since cutting the cord won't save me much. YES is a big deal for me too and I don't feel like jumping through hoops to get it so Cable it is until there's a better solution.
I'm unclear on how streaming via mlb.tv works in terms of blackout rules etc for those living in market. Anyone got a handle on this?
So I am getting the same exact channels I was getting before, but without a box, with Cloud DVR and for $40 per month less.
agreed, same for hulu, up $20 and no yes network anymore,
and also agreed that once you have smart tv or roku/fire sticks/whatever on the tv's, would never go back to a cable box again
I was seriously considering switching to Spectrum because their basic package is cheaper, has more channels, offers faster internet speeds, and includes the sports packaging and does so with no additional broadcast fee. But, I keep reading of service issues in the area and that was my constant experience with them when I had Time Warner.
Sports is one big reason I haven't cut the cord yet. I am inching closer, but the last couple of years have made it less appealing. Now, you are inclined to have so many different streaming options that it isn't much of a savings, if at all, especially when eliminating TV from any bundles usually results in more expensive internet.
Youtube TV recently dropped YES
I was planning to do that again but now they don't carry YES any longer.
I guess I will switch to AT&T streaming but they are super expensive
It's not perfect, but I watch the Yanks on Reddit streams when there is a big game. I grew up without cable, so don't miss it as much.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
So you're saving minimum 240 and max 360 a year. You can get MLB gamepass (all teams) for $130 and a VPN for the year for $60. If you live out of market, you don't even
need the VPN. Maybe that's not worth the hassle, but it's an option.
Love the yanks. My Dad gave them to me and I want to give them to my kids. But I agree completely that as a product, they have perfected the art of not giving a shit about the fan- from the network to the customer service to the stadium.
I'd only watch the Yankees anyway so the full MLB package wouldn't be a value add. Plus I get NESN and SYN with cable so I've got the games in the Northeast covered just in case, along with whatever ESPN plays on sunday night baseball.
It doesn't. It's becoming the cliché thing to do with no real benefit.
When I switched to DirecTV Now, the cost was only $35/month. Now, it has ballooned up to $60/month. I'm actually paying more for the service compared to cable but I like the ability to watch live TV anywhere. I'm also grandfathered into a package no longer offered so if I leave, I lose it for good.
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It is just one in a long line of reasons the Yankees have become a shitty organization to be a fan of. The new leadership created a very different atmosphere, with that shit stadium at the center. Nothing they do has the average fan in mind, nor does it have winning a championship in mind. I wonder what my level of interest would be if it weren't for my boys.
Love the yanks. My Dad gave them to me and I want to give them to my kids. But I agree completely that as a product, they have perfected the art of not giving a shit about the fan- from the network to the customer service to the stadium.
With all the money you'll be saving, you'll be rich!
Indefensible.
I remember when the Yankees were playing Florida in 2003, maybe it was the World Series or maybe it was interleague, and they asked one of the visiting pitchers what it was like to play in Yankee Stadium, he mentioned that it was dizzying and disorienting... because they really had never played in a full stadium all year. It was distracting for a pitcher who was not used to it to see rowdy, invested fans filling the seats. Well those days are long gone.
With all the money you'll be saving, you'll be rich!
You’re comparing entertainment to utilities. So, what’s your point?
So I am getting the same exact channels I was getting before, but without a box, with Cloud DVR and for $40 per month less.
Spectrum offers cloud DVR? I did the exact same thing in September, and often use their app instead of the cable box because the processor and interface are better through Apple TV and my Roku.
How does this work?
How does this work?
Not sure your question. I have altice, its a cable service and the type of TV you have doesn't matter. I have a main box + router and then a small mini upstairs. I can use their App to stream on my ipad. Having a smart TV doesn't matter.
Definitely "do you". I couldn't be more turned off by it, but that's just me. I don't mind paying the money, this thread exists because people are willing to spend, haha.
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Piracy is easier than navigating the half dozen or so services that have siloed off their content. Fact.
Definitely "do you". I couldn't be more turned off by it, but that's just me. I don't mind paying the money, this thread exists because people are willing to spend, haha.
I still have cable. My point is that their apps/backend is shoddy. I get kicked off of NBC sports app regularly. Similar location verification issues with msg go. In those instances, a 2 second Google leads me to a high speed crystal clear stream. It's a joke
They keep this up and they will prIce people right back to the CABLE Co's.
I have Fubo and they just reported they will be adding on an additional $5 a month for the local sports networks, in my case NESN
Uzzu - ( New Window )
There are 74million Netflix accounts. 112million Amazon Prime accounts.
Only 35million Cable subscribers.
If you subscribe to cable and do not have either a Netflix account or an Amazon Prime account (in most cases, both), you are in extremely rarified company.
That means that virtually all cable subscribers are already ALSO paying for these very substantial streaming services, on top of their cable subscription.
Until people are more willing to walk away from Amazon Prime and Netflix than their cable package, streaming will always be cheaper, by minimum hundreds of dollars a year.
The difference between cable and streaming only isn't x. It's cable.
as you note, people who have cable likely also have a Netflix or Prime service therefore those should be excluded form any financial comparison.
Personally I try to focus more on 'value' of the services rather than actual hard $$.
There are 74million Netflix accounts. 112million Amazon Prime accounts.
Only 35million Cable subscribers.
If you subscribe to cable and do not have either a Netflix account or an Amazon Prime account (in most cases, both), you are in extremely rarified company.
That means that virtually all cable subscribers are already ALSO paying for these very substantial streaming services, on top of their cable subscription.
Until people are more willing to walk away from Amazon Prime and Netflix than their cable package, streaming will always be cheaper, by minimum hundreds of dollars a year.
The difference between cable and streaming only isn't x. It's cable.
35 million cable subscribers? That number seems way off. Directv alone has 13 million.
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My Optimum Select + Local Sports + DVR + Equipment Rental + Taxes - Under $90/ month.
YouTube TV is $65/ month, minus a ton of channels.
That's the $25 I was talking to above and that's regardless of whatever else I subscribe to. It also doesn't factor in the bundled Internet i'd lose by cancelling cable which would be $10/ month minimum added to the YouTube TV bill.
"Cutting the Cord" isn't moving from Cable to Netflix/Amazon. Its whatever you are replacing Cable with - YouTube, ATT, Fubo, etc and all of them keep upping their prices.
In sum the cost savings is negligible unless you flat out cut live TV which is a completely different conversation.
With Cable, YES is part of that local sports fee included in my package.
2) Hardware rental fees: If you have a number of TVs in your house, paying for a cable box for each one gets pricey. Almost everyone I know that has had a >$200/m cable bill was paying >$50/m in hardware fees. With streaming boxes <$50 each, that monthly fee makes a big difference. This is bit better now since some providers have apps on Roku/FireTV/Etc boxes. But not all do...and not all boxes are supported.
3) Easier to turn off services you don't want: You can cancel/suspend services when new content is not available. Not many people do it, but I know some people that subscribe to one or two services for 3 months, then subscribe to others for 3 months, etc. Far more difficult to do with cable.
Agree on ease of use, being able to just cancel streaming services is a huge plus. I do want to cut the cord, but the sports factor is a big problem still. The reward just isn't there yet for me and won't be until I find a way to get everything I want and/or save enough per month for my troubles (I'd say $50 atleast).
As an out of market Giants fan, I'm tethered to directv until Sunday ticket isn't exclusive. I'm also a picture quality snob and most of the streams just aren't up to snuff on the quality. At least with directv it's consistent.
I've always been impressed with YTTV picture quality and now they offer 4k, but you still need many other services to match the cable packages
Indefensible.
I remember when the Yankees were playing Florida in 2003, maybe it was the World Series or maybe it was interleague, and they asked one of the visiting pitchers what it was like to play in Yankee Stadium, he mentioned that it was dizzying and disorienting... because they really had never played in a full stadium all year. It was distracting for a pitcher who was not used to it to see rowdy, invested fans filling the seats. Well those days are long gone.
Second, interesting perspective from a team like the Marlins. But, even in general, the aura is greatly diminished. The field dimensions may be the same and they may have tried to keep a similar look with the facade and general layout. But, where the stands were closer and the fans felt like they were on top of you, they are now pushed back so they are further away. It completely changes the dynamic of the stadium.
But when people reference Netflix & Amzn Prime that shouldn't count b/c most everyone who has those services would have them with cable or with a streaming service.
But the other things you note - having to buy indiv services to make up for what is lost by switching from cable, totally agree with you
I do it at work. I work for a foreign organization, and our office is routed through their VPN at the mothership... so to stream local radio, I use my own VPN on top of their's to get 'back into' the United States and then can stream local radio.
I don't have YTTV or Fubo or whatever. We have Netflix and Disney Plus, and then we alternate between Hulu and HBO depending on what's airing. Sports I find live streams.
But my watching habits are MUCH different than when I had cable. I was more of a browse and watch whatever shitty game was on ESPN before. But when we cut the cord, I basically only ever watch Knicks/Giants. Sometimes Rangers, sometimes Yankees (but MLB.tv from Tmobile takes care of that).
I also notice that a lot of people include the cost of internet when factoring in cable vs. cord cutting. I mean, when I had cable, we had internet and Netflix as well. So that's how I determined the bottom line.
But to each their own. You def don't need ALL the services EVERY month of the year. If you're interested in savings, there's savings to be had. But I think a lot depends on your income and your watching habits.
I tried the Reddit one for the Nets/Sixers game a few weeks back that was suggested on BBI and it may as well have been in Japanese.
no idea how to actually access them.
I tried the Reddit one for the Nets/Sixers game a few weeks back that was suggested on BBI and it may as well have been in Japanese.
no idea how to actually access them.
First things first, make sure your browser has good Adblock. I use uBlock Origin, and AdBlock or Adblock Plus.
From there, you can go to sites like SportSurge or BilasSports and find your sport then the game. Bilas is a little easier to use, you just select your game and then play the video after the game has started.
If you have Chromecast, you can right click on the stream and select "Cast" and cast it to the TV or device of your choosing.
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doesn't move the needle for me, that's probably the maximum i'd save cutting the cord but I'd also lose a bunch of content, YES included. This was always going to happen with cord cutting, it just happened faster than people thought/wanted it to.
I'd pretty much just pay that savings for YES alone if it were an option.
So you're saving minimum 240 and max 360 a year. You can get MLB gamepass (all teams) for $130 and a VPN for the year for $60. If you live out of market, you don't even
need the VPN. Maybe that's not worth the hassle, but it's an option.
That's a pain in the ass to save $50 a year. If you just keep cable/fios/dtv, you can watch the Yanks and still flip channels during commercial breaks.
I get that every dollar saved is still a dollar, but at some point the savings vs. inconvenience requires a really miserly position to be worthwhile.
Not to mention, you can probably get things like free HBO via the retention team of whoever your traditional TV provider is, which more than offsets that savings if you were going to subscribe to HBOMax anyway.
I'd only watch the Yankees anyway so the full MLB package wouldn't be a value add. Plus I get NESN and SYN with cable so I've got the games in the Northeast covered just in case, along with whatever ESPN plays on sunday night baseball.
I had gone down to one Fios box in my house and had Hulu Live in the bedrooms and basement, and had downgraded my Fios channels to basically cover whatever Hulu didn't. I just recently took advantage of the free Hulu (w/ commercials, no live content) that VZW was offering in the Disney bundle for my cell phone, got rid of Hulu Live, upgraded my Fios channel lineup to include everything, added the Fios mini boxes (might as well be Apple TV hardware, they're that small and require no coax wiring) to my bedrooms, and I'll stick to streaming services in the basement, which is really just our home gym anyway, so even having Pluto available down there is fine - it's not like I'm going to hop on the bike while there's a game on.
My home office has also kind of become my de facto man cave, so I wanted to make sure that I had the full suite of sports up here, and it's nice to have multi-room DVR again. On top of that, I'm saving money by just leaning into Fios, and I don't have to sacrifice any channels or content in the process.
Granted, I wasn't a full cord-cutter in the first place, so it's easy to save money compared to an attempt to pair live streaming with traditional cable (or Fios, in my case). But I think my use case might be pretty common - a customer who half-asses the cord cutting process to avoid losing any elements of an eclectic content mix (especially between Mrs. Dunk's preferences and my own) and has so many different streaming services that the cost savings, if they exist at all, are nominal. And I don't think people properly valuate their own inconvenience. I'm not jumping through hoops to change apps for every different thing I want to watch so I can save what? $500 a year? There are other things I can cut back on to achieve those savings if necessary.
I don't have YTTV or Fubo or whatever. We have Netflix and Disney Plus, and then we alternate between Hulu and HBO depending on what's airing. Sports I find live streams.
But my watching habits are MUCH different than when I had cable. I was more of a browse and watch whatever shitty game was on ESPN before. But when we cut the cord, I basically only ever watch Knicks/Giants. Sometimes Rangers, sometimes Yankees (but MLB.tv from Tmobile takes care of that).
I also notice that a lot of people include the cost of internet when factoring in cable vs. cord cutting. I mean, when I had cable, we had internet and Netflix as well. So that's how I determined the bottom line.
But to each their own. You def don't need ALL the services EVERY month of the year. If you're interested in savings, there's savings to be had. But I think a lot depends on your income and your watching habits.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
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streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
I mean, I agree with almost everything that you said, but I am confused at how you landed on it being the consumers fault.
Cable companies stuck to their guns with an antiquated business model and bet on the fact that everyone would just have to deal with their shitty business practices.
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In comment 15160559 UConn4523 said:
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streaming services get stricter with their screen cap (number of screens to be logged into) and overall account sharing. They are letting it slide right now but I'm not sure how long that will last. I can see more expensive "family plans" to offset this in the near term, and act as a soft bridge to flat out blocking multiple screens on different IP's at the same time.
I think it's only a matter of time before this happens (and is enforced). And when it does, cue the outcry from the cord-cutters that the big bad media companies are out to get them.
The shame of it is that there was a real opportunity with cord-cutting, that cable companies would offer more competitive a la carte pricing to allow customers to assemble their own bundles (and stop paying for channels they never watch, but those carriage fees are baked into their monthly bill), and that would have resulted in legitimate savings without having to piecemeal content. Alas, the cord-cutters went too far, cut too many cords, stole content along the way, and now the pendulum may swing back with minimal changes to the previous cable infrastructure.
As usual, humans can't be trusted to behave themselves.
I mean, I agree with almost everything that you said, but I am confused at how you landed on it being the consumers fault.
Cable companies stuck to their guns with an antiquated business model and bet on the fact that everyone would just have to deal with their shitty business practices.
What is the consumers' fault was the login sharing, which will probably accelerate the streaming services' response to lock down accounts and/or geo-fence multiple logins based on IP addresses. That's happening quicker than it would have taken for traditional cable providers to feel enough pain to consider a la carte pricing.
So the cord-cutting will be curtailed before the cable industry is forced to correct itself - because customers took advantage of every single loophole (I'm looking squarely at Gen Z consumers here), including what amounts to a borderline theft of service by sharing logins, we may not see the full pendulum swing back toward cable companies needing to lure customers back with enticing offers and a complete reimagining of the way they package their content.
I mean, you already have some of the ISPs trying to capture marketshare with their own streaming service, but I think the natural reaction will just be the increasing cost of internet and implementing data charges. Comcast has already started where they're charging if you go over a certain data limit, so if that is successful for them, I'm sure it'll become more and more commonplace.
The shared login issue... I know that it's been talked about by some of the main streaming services (I read an interview with an exec from HBO Go, so they've got their eyes on it). I'm sure as soon as they're able, they'll close that loophole. And if not, they'll keep inflating the price of their services.
Limiting logins to one screen at a time is not hard. Every app on the planet has done it forever. If the streaming apps wanted to do it, they could easily do it.
HBO LET'S people share logins. Why? I don't know... my guess is that they're getting tons and tons of actionable data from it.
When they are ready to make their move and lock it down, they will. Almost every other app, including Netflix, already limits the screens that can watch content at one time.
I will suggest you should try the free trial of ustvnow360 they are offering several channels and DVR.
ustvnow360 - ( New Window )