The (Not-Quite) New Austerity

[lagilman]

I grew up with cable tv. My parents got it the moment it was available in our town -- with a family of five, it actually WAS cheaper than going to the movies, even then. I've had it for most of my life, except when I lived in dorms, and thought the cost justified. But the two years I lived in New Haven, I went down to Basic Cable (translation: the major networks and a few smaller channels that didn't have enough ooomph that Comcast thought it could get extra for them. Although I was sad not to get Food Porn or Sci-Fi or TNT, I survived just fine (visiting friends when there was something I HAD to watch).

When I moved down to NYC three years ago, Cablevision made me a decent offer for bundled "Family Plan" cable with my internet, and so suddenly I had All. Those. Channels*, and more. And it was glorious....

Until, the past year, I started to realize that I was watching a lot of repeats, bad movies that weren't amusing me any more, and only two or three shows (mainly on TNT/SyFy)that I ended up buying on DVD as soon as they were available, anyway. And yet, Cablevision kept increasing the rates. Was it worth it?

Last week, I decided that no, it really wasn't. The $500/year difference between Basic Cable and "Family Plan" could be better used elsewhere (like buying a Nook and a lot of books to put in it!).

So I am now down to the so-called "free" channels, for $15/month (and they increased the cost of my Internet connection by $5 to $49, because I no longer had a "package." Classy, Cablevision.) I'll let you know if I start to get the shakes when the new season of Leverage starts, and I have to wait a few days to see it....





*still no HBO or Showtime, though, as that would have been even more money, and I am a Humble Freelancer

Comments

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

We look through the cable-channel listings and decline even "basic cable" as wasted coin . . .

[lagilman]

As Life in the Big City requires either cable or contortions to get decent reception, $15/month to get both basic cable and the option of on Demand is worth it, since they're already wiring the apartment for internet....

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

We manage to get the three "major" networks, Fox sports, and PBS over-the-air. Was touch and go on the digital changeover, and I know a lot of people lost signals. Part of the Cable Conspiracy.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Cable seems to be coming up on a lot of hit lists recently.

[lagilman]

The Internet may have cut their throat - when you can view a show directly from the studio's website a few days later, or rent it on d/l from Netflix or iTunes.... it's harder and harder to say "well, this is the best game in town."

Because, well, it's not.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Ironically enough, that may save the local telco, since they provide internet access without requiring cable itself.

[divanoir.livejournal.com]

I'm looking at making the same decision soon. I'm going over my expected expenses for this year. High-speed internet is essential for work, but the digital cable channels aren't. I unsubscribed from HBO and Showtime when I got laid off, but giving up Leverage, The Closer, Southland is gonna hurt. Like you said though, I can still watch them and the USA network shows on the respective web sites.

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

I just dumped cable the beginning of December. I've subscribed to Netflix, and I can get movies at the library, too, or even Blockbuster. I haven't seen my new bill yet (I still get the land line phone and internet through the same provider), so I'm not exactly sure how much this is saving me. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if phone/internet/cable companies started screwing us even worse when we dump cable, by jacking up the internet fees. Hey, guess what: I haven't missed cable at all; who knows, maybe I could even learn to live without my daily internet fix - just pop into the library and use their computers once or twice a week...? You know, like in the olden days - that one- or two-million year span when humans got along just fine without all this stuff?

I think you'll be surprised how easy it is to live without cable. I was.

[lagilman]

maybe I could even learn to live without my daily internet fix

Not an option for me, as I need it to perform my job and maintain various social relations. But there are other providers, once uncoupled from television

[threeoutside.livejournal.com]

A point that all providers should keep in mind...

[delkytlar.livejournal.com]

I can understand the need to make those choices. We just played a shuffling game with Dish Network. We have their America's top 60 package (which really has about 100 channels, though many are foreign language or shopping channels that we don't view). We pay $39 or $49/month for it. For the first few years, we never had any premium movie channels, but would occasionally order something on PPV for a treat.

In 2008, they offered us a great deal - $0.01/year (yes, one cent) for five Cinemax channels for switching to paperless-billing, with that price lasting as long as we maintained paperless-billing. We accepted. Flashforward to 2010, they tell us our "one-year promo period" for the Cinemax package has exired (as it was about to enter its fourth year), and starting in January, we'll have to pay $13/month for those MAX channels. I argue. I send them the paperwork that shows it was not a limited-time deal, etc. They renege on the deal. I say, fine, I'll either have the cable company in to install my new service, and will call them to pick up their equipment in early January, but if I can't get cable before the new billing period, I want them to cancel the MAX channels at the close of this cycle.

I get passed around because they say they can't cancel it automatically - I have to call them to cancel. Finally, I get a young lady who repeats that I can't get the MAX package, but they'll give me 7 SHOWTIME channels for free for a year, and upgrade my 6-year-old boxes to a new DVR box (we still record on VHS). The new box will control both TV's that currently have boxes, allow us to record two programs at a time, and will cost $1/month less than I'm paying now because the DVR fee is $1 less than the rental fee for the second box. I'm staying with Dish for one more year.

None of the pay TV services make it easy on their customers, and it takes a lot of will-power to reduce TV consumption these days.

[lagilman]

This wasn't about trying to get a better deal. It was about paring away the things I'm not using, and adapting to new ways of getting the parts I did.

[chickwriter.livejournal.com]

I'm doing a big budget rework this weekend and this is one of the things I'm considering cutting. Like you, I watch only a few shows (probably many of the same!) and the extra $$ would really come in handy.

[mikaela-l.livejournal.com]

I got dumped by Comhem, my cable provider, a year ago. At first, I was pissed ( still am), since there were no warning. Just one day I had all the channels, the next day I was down to the basics. ( = the public service channels plus channel four) But honestly, I dont need them. If I want to watch the shows, I can stream them over internet. I watched the first season of NCIS Los Angeles that way.

[lagilman]

They dumped you, specifically, or stopped covering the area? I can't remember a single customer ever getting singled out like that without warning -- how odd!

[wood-dragon.livejournal.com]

I'm considering doing the same thing. I watch way too much tv, especially Food network. I'm hoping less channels would mean I'd actually get more writing and other things done.

[paulliver.livejournal.com]

If I moved back to the States permenantly, I'd get Netflix and screw the rest. Anything really good, even TV, will come out on NetFlix eventually, and I can wait. The world will not end because I only saw one episode of "Sopranos." I know that because we're all still here.

[camille-is-here.livejournal.com]

My building does a bulk purchase of a couple tiers, HBO, and internet. I pay about $10 for the DVR and HD. But I'd be down to basic if I had to pay myself. Would really miss my Foodtv, though. I am addicted to Triple D.

[barbhendee.livejournal.com]

JC was starting to actually get stressed out by the relentless commercials, so he hooked a computer up to our TV set (using our set as a monitor), and he canceled the cable completely.

We have a Netflix subscription for $13.99 a month, and so we just stream Netflix or watch Hulu or watch news programs on MSNBC. So far, this has worked fine, and we haven't missed the cable.

Now, he's after me to cancel my phone, as we have a land line and everyone calls us on that . . . and I only use the cell when we're away from home. It's $45 a month, and a part of me agrees that it's a needless expense, but I do like having it on vacations.

[lagilman]

Hrm. I got rid of my land line years ago, as it was damned expensive and pretty much useless to me compared to my cell, which is my 'everyday' phone as well as being the business line.... I guess proof (if it were needed) that everyone's experience is different and offering advice based on your own scenario is useless (not that this lets anyone on the Internet stop them!)

[barbhendee.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'd prefer that we each had a cell phone and just cancel the land line--as I need to be able to get a hold of him if I'm away from home, and he'd need to be able to call out, so he would need a cell too. He's not crazy about that idea.

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Maybe something like Tracfone? Inexpensive phones and no monthly fees.

[barbhendee.livejournal.com]

Yes, a friend of ours just suggested the same thing. I will look into this.