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View Poll Results: Is there a specific reason you get cable TV?
I get cable for the mix and watch most channels. 5 17.24%
I get cable but spend most of the time hunting for something to watch. 6 20.69%
I get cable for the sports and could care less about the rest. 3 10.34%
I get cable for the news and could care less about the rest. 5 17.24%
I get cable for the movies and could care less about the rest. 1 3.45%
I get cable for the specialty channels and could care less about the rest. 5 17.24%
I get cable, but for no specific channel groups or types. 8 27.59%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 09-04-2016, 06:54 AM
 
Location: Northern Wisconsin
10,379 posts, read 10,879,090 times
Reputation: 18713

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Our choices of programming is pretty limited. Right now we're watching through reruns of the "big bang Theory". Its light humor and a change. But mostly its crime shows on Investigation discovery, or College Football.
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Old 09-04-2016, 09:56 AM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,650 posts, read 28,563,001 times
Reputation: 50477
I get the cheapest cable you can get because I can't get internet without it unless I spend quite a bit more. But with the cable, I do watch the local news and BBC America. I wish I could get rid of cable and still get internet though.
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Old 09-04-2016, 10:04 AM
 
Location: City Data Land
17,156 posts, read 12,912,897 times
Reputation: 33164
My option isn't on the list either. We have cable because we watch only a few shows on TV but there are so many commercials that we find the DVR a wonderful convenience. Interestingly, most of the shows we watch are plain network channels. But we would be willing to cancel it anyway but for the fact that we watch a lot of Netflix and AT&T has put a data cap on our internet if we cancel our Direct TV. As long as we continue to buy their Direct TV, that cap does not apply. It's a catch 22. We don't need Direct TV anymore because we have Netflix, but if we cancel it and just watch Netflix instead, they charge us for not buying their service. That should be illegal, IMO.
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Old 09-05-2016, 11:42 PM
 
Location: Southern Oregon
934 posts, read 1,124,455 times
Reputation: 1134
I've recently settled on a plan of using the extended cable with all the bells and whistles for fall and winter and turning it down to minimal for spring and summer. Perhaps not the frugalist, but a compromise.
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Old 09-06-2016, 11:04 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,424,739 times
Reputation: 7782
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pooks1976 View Post
My issue isn't on the list. I have cable mostly for the broadcast stations, because an antenna will not get a signal where I live. Since I have cable anyway, I upgrade the package to the one that gets AMC.
It's an overlooked category. There are at millions of homes that don't get CBS/ABC/NBC/FOX on antenna. For at least the next decade the majority of football games will still be broadcast over the air. Back in the analog days, people in our area would opt for so called "lifeline" TV for $20 a month which would just re-broadcast the over the air stations in the area for people who couldn't get antenna reception because of intervening hills. This concept was the original motivation behind what was then called CATV or Community Antenna Television. Theoretically, it was just a big antenna on a nearby hill with cable running to the homes.
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Old 09-08-2016, 09:42 PM
 
23 posts, read 36,471 times
Reputation: 22
I too am in an area where I can only get ABC, CBS, and PBS without cable. As a previous poster said, my cablebox with DVR is my friend. I record everything on the DVR and watch nothing live except for the cable news channels. Since the DVR will remember my favorite programs from year to year I don't need to search all the time to see if one of my favorite programs has started it new season episode. The DVR does it all for me. I HATE the amount of money the 2 cableboxes cost me to rent each month ($35 for the pair).

I do subscribe to SHO channels for 6 months then switch to the HBO channels for 6 months. I do this because HBO has more current movies and SHO has a few series that run at the beginning of the year. I don't think I get my money's worth from the premium channels.
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Old 09-10-2016, 08:54 AM
 
Location: East Bay, San Francisco Bay Area
23,401 posts, read 23,819,817 times
Reputation: 23818
Live sports and news only, I have a Roku box for streaming.
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Old 09-14-2016, 08:21 PM
 
1,636 posts, read 3,159,188 times
Reputation: 2747
If we cancelled cable, we would only save $20/month.

My husband watches sports a LOT when he has time. We did consider cutting cable, but after hearing it was only $20 we opted to keep it.
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Old 09-16-2016, 08:08 PM
 
Location: SC
8,793 posts, read 8,131,848 times
Reputation: 12991
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmw36 View Post
If we cancelled cable, we would only save $20/month.

My husband watches sports a LOT when he has time. We did consider cutting cable, but after hearing it was only $20 we opted to keep it.
You are only paying $20 a month for cable TV? What part of the country is this?
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:00 PM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,346 posts, read 80,658,912 times
Reputation: 57356
Id be happy if they ever offered TV by the channel, and would only have 12 or so, rather than over 200. Some of my favorites are Velocity, Discovery, Food Network, CBUT (Canada), Travel, and History. Most sports are available online with a smart TV now.
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