Cutting the cord is the process of getting rid of your traditional television provider, whether that be cable or satellite. For many people this is a daunting idea because we have become so engrained in the idea that cable is the way to go to get our programing. For many people though, they are learning that cutting the cable is the way to go. Want to determine if cutting the cord is the way to go for you?
How Much Are You Paying for Cable
A lot of people are overpaying for their monthly cable/satellite service. The average cable bill in the United States is $99. This is well above the average cost of basic cable at $66. What would you be paying for a streaming service? The answer is a lot less.
- Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime cost less than $15 a month.
- Sling TV only costs $40 for all of their live channels and access to their on-demand content
- PlayStation Vue starts at $29 a month and goes up to $69 depending on what channels you want
- DirectTV Now starts at $35 a month and goes up to $70 a month depending on the channel lineup
Do You Like Fees?
Most people would answer the question of whether or not they like fees with a no. If you do like fees, cutting the cord would not be a good option for you. Cable companies come with a lot of fees. There are fees for having a DVR, fees for having a set top box, fees for having more than one box, fees for service, and more. There are even fees for having your cable service fixed when it isn’t working.
As far as streaming services go, you won’t find that they have any fees. The only fees you might find are with some services to access HBO or other premium channels. This is only because those channel providers charge them to provide the content.
Do You Like Contracts?
Cable companies (and satellite companies) require that their customers be on contracts. These contracts can be extremely hard to get out of, that is unless you want to pay a decent sized fee. Often times people aren’t even aware that they are getting into a contract when they get a television provider. This is because most people in the modern world don’t read what they are signing. It is not like most companies encourage them to though.
Most customers of a major cable company also don’t realize that their contract cable price is only for one year. After that year, the cost of service will go up significantly. That is, unless you renegotiate a new 2-year contract with the cable company.
A lot of people also don’t realize that they are signing a contract for the specific address that they live at. If you move, you will be charged a moving fee. This fee is to “transfer” your service. You might also be charged additional fees if your connection needs more work to turn on than just flipping a switch.
Do You Like Supporting Monopolies?
A large percentage of cable companies are monopolies in the areas that they provide service. This is partially because they are quick to bully smaller companies out of the area. It is also because of the way the current cable market is set up. The company owns the majority of the cable lines in any one area.
Unlike the real world, the internet is a much harder place to control. That means that there will always be options for you. This is displayed by the number of streaming services that are available to you on the internet. Just take a look at a small list of them.
- Amazon Prime
- Crackle
- DirtecTV Now
- Hulu
- Netflix
- PlayStation Vue
- Sling TV
- YouTube Red
For just about anybody, cutting the cord is the right choice. It helps to free you from a world of monopolies but also helps to save you money. The only time when it might be a good idea to keep cable is when you have a rate that competes with that of streaming services and you are not in a contract. Look more into how to start cutting the cord with some of our other blog posts.
