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People who cut the cable and expect to get the exact same programming and channels for a fraction of the price are usually left disappointed. The people who are willing to sacrifice some shows and channels are the happiest. I have everything I need and want with my antenna, Hulu, and Netflix. Would I like to have HGTV available to me 24/7? Sure, but it's not worth what it would cost me. So I'm willing to give it up. Especially since I have a few seasons of some of the more popular shows available to me on Hulu.
Its not just that for why I haven't given up cable though I'm getting more and more po'ed about the price. (Spectrum just bought TWC here and said they would be cheaper and instead I get fewer channels for more money) Anyway! Its about convenience too. Sure you may be able to cobble together a variety of 6.00 a month bundle channels or free channels to get most of what you get with cable for less. But you really have to work for it, lots of research. Then things change and there you are, trying to figure who is carrying that channel.
The facebook page Roku Rocks has a lot of cable cutters which is helpful because they share info about different channels, I still have cable because I see how hard they work at it.
Getting rid of cable was the best thing we ever did. We use Netflix and Hulu and have been very happy. We don't really watch a lot of stuff any more, but for what we do watch, it's great. No commercials, no ads.
I have found that Direct TV is practically begging me not to cut the chord and giving me discounts every time I phone to cancel.
You can buy an antennae and get local channels for free -- it works great for us.
You don't get commercials with Netflix, Amazon, HBO...so I'm assuming Hulu, Sling, etc. have commercials. You can choose not to have commercials with HULU......I don't know about Sling. I 'tried' Hulu for the Handmaid's Tale and yes it was so frustrating with all the commercials.
I get HBO, Starz and Showtime through Amazon Prime and you can add and delete for without any charges.
My concern is things like the Tour de France my husband loves to watch or college football...everything else I can find online.
i did not know that about Amazon Prime.
On line is fine if you don't mind watching on a computer which I don't. Do you cast?
I have found that Direct TV is practically begging me not to cut the chord and giving me discounts every time I phone to cancel.
You can buy an antennae and get local channels for free -- it works great for us.
You don't get commercials with Netflix, Amazon, HBO...so I'm assuming Hulu, Sling, etc. have commercials. You can choose not to have commercials with HULU......I don't know about Sling. I 'tried' Hulu for the Handmaid's Tale and yes it was so frustrating with all the commercials.
I get HBO, Starz and Showtime through Amazon Prime and you can add and delete for without any charges.
My concern is things like the Tour de France my husband loves to watch or college football...everything else I can find online.
watching the tour is pretty easy without cable. sometimes it will cost some money but not outrageous amounts.
i watch a lot of cycling and so have ponied up money for a VPN and british eurosport subscription.
but check around, it's out there online.
Detest watching a movie with 3-5 commercials every 5-7 minutes, and even worse, it is the S-A-M-E
commercial shown over and over 3-5 times through the entire movie!
I've been streaming for years and never see commercials. You have to learn how to stream this way.
We watch Netflix, Youtube, an occasional amazon.com movie rental, an occasional online TV show from PBS and get no commercials whatsoever.
The streaming stuff with ads is much worse than regular TV with ads. You can't pause and then skip them, nor flip channels until the ads are over, and like you say - it's the same awful ad over and over. You are trapped. I did the free preview of CBS all-access and it was horrible. Streaming is only really worth it if you can get rid of ads.
What "streaming stuff" are you talking about? I have a subscription to Sling TV and the commercials are no different than what normally runs on cable. I pay $25/month for Sling TV and I get about 30 channels, including On Demand content. The same service with cable was costing me close to $100/month.
So think very carefully before you cut that cable service! I would suggest instead, to keep a basic hi-def bundle and add Netflix or similar that does have the programs you want for an added monthly subscription.
OP, some of us live in areas with little competition, so cable bills are sky high. I honestly have better uses for my time and money.
That said, I used TV Fool to research the best antenna for me and how to position it. I get 19 channels over-the-air on a $10 flat antenna that hangs on the wall behind my TV.
One of the free offerings is Antenna TV (called ME TV in some places) that has older shows like "Star Trek," "Bewitched," "MASH," and so on. I missed a lot of these shows when I didn't have a TV at all in the 1980s, so I can often find something to watch.
I've helped a number of seniors on fixed incomes cut the cable. They often didn't have computers, so we made do with over-the-air and for many, it's working out just fine.
Its not just that for why I haven't given up cable though I'm getting more and more po'ed about the price. (Spectrum just bought TWC here and said they would be cheaper and instead I get fewer channels for more money) Anyway! Its about convenience too. Sure you may be able to cobble together a variety of 6.00 a month bundle channels or free channels to get most of what you get with cable for less. But you really have to work for it, lots of research. Then things change and there you are, trying to figure who is carrying that channel.
No research here. Antenna, Hulu and Netflix on my AppleTV, and that's it. I don't need entire "channels" (I do use the PBS channel on the AppleTV, but if I didn't have it I wouldn't be heartbroken, since I pick up PBS on the antenna). Like I mentioned, the only complete channel I wouldn't mind having is HGTV, but so many of the shows are available on Netflix and Hulu, so I really don't miss it. And I still have plenty to watch. Anything I don't get, I don't really need.
Which is what I was saying ... those who are looking for the same "channels" and programming that they're used to on cable will be disappointed. Those who don't need particular channels will be quite satisfied.
Of course, I grew up with four channels, all of which I have now. So if it was good enough for me then ...
I have found that Direct TV is practically begging me not to cut the chord and giving me discounts every time I phone to cancel.
You can buy an antennae and get local channels for free -- it works great for us.
You don't get commercials with Netflix, Amazon, HBO...so I'm assuming Hulu, Sling, etc. have commercials. You can choose not to have commercials with HULU......I don't know about Sling. I 'tried' Hulu for the Handmaid's Tale and yes it was so frustrating with all the commercials.
I get HBO, Starz and Showtime through Amazon Prime and you can add and delete for without any charges.
My concern is things like the Tour de France my husband loves to watch or college football...everything else I can find online.
Those are included in prime at no additional charge? I may have to look into that as that would save me money with Sling since I do have a prime account. I rarely use it for TV though, mostly for shipping. =) n
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) Anyway! Its about convenience too. Sure you may be able to cobble together a variety of 6.00 a month bundle channels or free channels to get most of what you get with cable for less. But you really have to work for it, lots of research. Then things change and there you are, trying to figure who is carrying that channel. 
