In today’s day and age, you have probably heard the term cutting the cords. Cutting the cord refers to the process of getting rid of your cable TV subscriptions while still being able to watch television. The internet now makes it possible to watch almost any television show or movie right from your computer or TV.
In 2011 alone, over 740,000 people left their cable companies in order to stream from the internet. That trend has continued each year, where a large number of subscribers leave the service. It is also becoming more and more popular to not subscribe to a television service in the first place.
Why Cut The Cords?
How did this desire to cut the cables come about, though? Television services have been around for ages and are considered by many a requirement. The reason behind cutting the cords for many people is Comcast’s (Xfinity’s) domination of the internet and television world. This domination has led to them being able to raise the prices continuously until they were astronomical.
The ease of access to cable television alternatives has also increased the desire for people to cut the cords. It is by far easier to subscribe to a streaming service than to have cable television. People love to save money. There is more to it than that, though, many of these streaming services now offer shows that are only available on their services.
Options
There are a multitude of options for cutting the cords. One of the most popular options is Netflix, this well-known service offers access to movies and television series that have already aired. Another popular option is Hulu, while Netflix only offers shows that have been out for a little bit, Hulu adds content the day after it airs. The last option is Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime offers a mix of shows and anything that isn’t available for free can be bought or rented for a small amount of money.
Here are some other options:
- HBO Go
- CBS All-Access
- SlingTV
- DirectTV
Don’t forget that you will also need hardware in order to view your streaming service. While those who have a phone, tablet, or computer can watch it from any of those devices. If you want to watch your streaming service on a television you will either a streaming device or a smart TV. There are a variety of streaming device options out there for you to choose from. Here are some of the most popular options:
- Roku Stick
- Amazon Fire TV/Amazon Fire Stick
- Chromecast
- Apple TV
Why Aren’t More People Doing It?
With how many options there are to cut the cords, why aren’t more people doing it? There are several reasons that you might find people not cutting the cord. For starters, a television subscription has become something that a lot of people become accustomed to having. As such, many people are hesitant to cut the cords because it will no longer be the same television experience.
Another reason that you might find people not cutting the cord is that you can’t find a legal streaming service that provides all of the options you might want. There are still a lot of shows that you have to watch on a traditional television subscription. CBS for example, will not allow its shows to be streamed to services such as Hulu.
The last reason that people might not want to cut the cord is that streaming requires that you have a regular internet connection and either a wired connection or wireless connection. This means that you will still need to have a monthly cable internet bill. It also means that you need to ensure reliable internet. And, if you want to stream high quality or high definition videos, you will need a good internet connection.
Despite there still being issues with cord cutting, there are many people who are doing it in today’s day and age. It has become extremely easy to sever your connections to the TV service provider and go with only the streaming services that you want. It doesn’t hurt that more and more of the problems with streaming media are rapidly getting solved so that more and more customers are attracted to the service.
