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I had the SAME experience when I canceled my cable. I had a theory that they did it on purpose in order to make me so frustrated that I would give up. Then I read stories like yours and I realize just how much truth there is to my theory.
Believe it or not, when we called to cancel directv about 2 months ago I was on the phone for approx. 6½ minutes from the time I dialed the phone number until the time I hung up. I got right through to the retention team and the woman on the other end of the line didn't even try to get me to stay. She literally said, "OK, so that will be cancelled as of tomorrow, is there anything else I can help you with"? I said, NO and goodbye.
I was bracing myself for this back and forth BS...it was a breath of fresh air
I see what you are saying. I think in general what is driving cord cutting in the Triangle is not the cost, but the fact there is a large population who likes tinkering with technology and there are lots of low tech and high tech alternatives tech savvy people can play around with and it is fun to share the results and options with others interested.
I'll gladly admit that the biggest motivating factor for me was the savings. I'm frugal for sure.
It's not just cable though, I try and keep all my recurring monthly expenses to a minimum. I have internet through Earthlink, Netflix, OTA antenna, and use the heck out of some Plex. If you have a good network of friends on Plex, or just one guy with a vast library (thank you IT guy at my work!), then you won't be missing anything.
I cut the cord long ago, because I was tired of being forced to subsidize content I didn't choose and had no interest in. To get the content I wanted I had to pay for packages that included it along with a lot of stuff I didn't want and never watched. So I'd end up with 200 channels, only 4 of which were of any interest to me. Being forced to pay for what you don't want sucks. People vote with their money and their feet, or in this case, with their routers.
Is paying $100 something for an Internet/TV/Phone package unaffordable for the masses now? What is with the "frugalness" in this particular area?
First, if you're paying $100 for the Internet/TV/Phone package then you're getting the slowest internet possible and the lowest tier of TV programming so it probably isn't an issue. The people on the $100 plans know what they're getting and they are fine with it. I know for me, with TWC, I was paying $160 for the fastest internet (needed it for work and school) and the mid-level TV package (no premiums).
I'm not sure it's "this particular area", it is happening nationwide. If the technology exists to watch whatever your favorite show is on demand, why not take advantage of that? To me it has nothing to do with frugality, rather why pay for what I don't use? Sure with Cable/Satellite you get 500 channels, but what good is it if you only watch the same 5, 10 or even 20?
With the advent of cell phones, I ditched my landline back in 2002 and it is time for cable/satellite to go that same route. I cut the cord about 2 years ago and don't regret it one single bit! I went from paying $160/month to $80 per month. I'm at the internet for $50, Sling TV for $20 and Netflix for $9. I also have Amazon prime video that comes with my Amazon membership that I would buy regardless of my television configuration.
The bonus is, I can watch on any smart TV (or wherever I take my ROKU), smart phone, computer, etc.
I see what you are saying. I think in general what is driving cord cutting in the Triangle is not the cost, but the fact there is a large population who likes tinkering with technology and there are lots of low tech and high tech alternatives tech savvy people can play around with and it is fun to share the results and options with others interested.
Aside from that, there are people (like me) who travel now and then (work, leisure, child's sporting events) so I was paying for service that I didn't use.
But to your other point, the sharing of results is key (in my opinion). I had been on the fence about cutting the cord and it was on this message board that someone mentioned Sling, and once I looked into it, that was what made me finally make the decision.
I'm a bit of a techie, but for me it's all about the cost. It just wasn't worth it to me to pay for content I wasn't consuming, and getting OTA channels through a whole house antenna was a no-brainer. Plus I can't stand my time being wasted with commercials and I only watch when I can FF through those time-wasters. I purchased a Roku this year so that offers lots of other options as well.
I had the SAME experience when I canceled my cable. I had a theory that they did it on purpose in order to make me so frustrated that I would give up. Then I read stories like yours and I realize just how much truth there is to my theory.
Absolutely not your imagination. I have several friends with similar experiences.
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I think the tech- savvy population in the Triangle may drive it more than other places. Also not to sound snobby but a more educated population probably translates to less need for 1000 channels.
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