CABLE WARS

After years of complaining that I do not get my money's worth out of cable, I went cold turkey today and shut it off.

I used to get HBO, and ten years ago realized that the $80 I was paying for cable TV was more than 1/3 for HBO (counting the digital box rental, the movie 'tier' and the HBO fee.

So I cut back to basic and expanded, then a cost of $45 a month-still high, but I do watch ESPN in the mornings (Mike & Mike) and for Monday Night Football.

For the most part, however, the set is off, and when it is on, I am mostly streaming via Amazon Prime or watching a DVD.

And the bill climbed steadily, until with this month's bill, I realized that with tax, the bill was back to the $80 mark.

Enough is enough.

I bought a six dollar digital antenna, hooked it up in five minutes, and got the networks and a few surprises (ION TV, who shows Cold Case, a show I do often turn the box on for).

When football season starts up, Sling TV offers a streaming service that I can run through the TV that includes ESPN and about twenty other channels for $20 per month. They even offer a movie package for $5.

Now for my main TV, I will need a converter, and missed getting the free ones courtesy of Barack O, so that will cost me about $40. and I'll need a second antenna for that TV. 

But basically, for a one-time $50 investment in equipment (two antennae and a converter), I am going to save $80 a month (almost $1,000 a year). 

Even if I purchase the streaming service with the movie package, it's still saving me more than $50 a month.

Considering I watch maybe five hours a week,  I was paying $18.50 per hour watched. 

With the antenna, it's free. 

Considering what is mostly on TV, it's worth about that.

Now I am still paying $65 a month for internet service, but I use that. I'd consider scaling back if the cost creeps up (the Cox site actually suggests I am paying for a higher level of service than I need) but between uploading music to my cloud space (I have a huge collection-it's been a two year process and will probably continue for another couple of years), streaming music and video, and the time I spend online, I feel like I am getting my money's worth.

I often post about what technology takes away from us-but the internet has enabled me to opt out of two of the handful of regulated monopolies we're all stuck with (bye bye phone and cable, still stuck with water, electricity and the postal service).

Do you feel like you get your money's worth from cable? Ever think of turning it off?