Who still has TV service through cable or satellite?

[pam]

Pam, I think those services are hanging on for dear life.

 

If that is the case, you'd think they would lower prices to keep customers instead of having such high prices.

[The Folk Prophet]

It's always disheartening, and somewhat frustrating to me, that people are often so intent on making excuses for things with no eternal grounds. I think if we'd really step back and look at things from a big-picture, eternal perspective -- and I mean really see it this way through the eyes of the Spirit and what's truly important in life and the eternities -- we might stop justifying disregard for the counsels we have been given under the guise of the idea that horrible things we have been counseled to avoid are somehow good for us.

[The Folk Prophet]

If that is the case, you'd think they would lower prices to keep customers instead of having such high prices.

 

Read up on the sad case and history of Nokia as an example of the way big business tends to deal with changes in the market. When cables companies do change in the ways they should (after changing a hundred times the wrong way first (like, you know...raising prices to cover their diminishing customer base)), you can pretty much bet the farm that it will be too little, too late.

[The Folk Prophet]

Re: Nokia: From wikipedia: In 2007, Nokia had a market capitalisation of €110 billion; by July 17, 2012 this had fallen to €6.28 billion;

 

Holy cow!

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

When I started this thread it wasn't even about the kind of shows we should watch or not watch.

 

It's all about the outrageous price of having satellite service when you use it so very little.   :)

 

Oh yeah...about THAT, :)  

 

Personally I wouldn't mind dumping cable and just having Netflix...but I want the internet and that is part of the cable package...  If I could get internet without cable (or satellite) and just do Netflix, I would do it in a heartbeat....my family wouldn't go for it though.  They like cable.  

[zil]

Oh yeah...about THAT, :)

 

Personally I wouldn't mind dumping cable and just having Netflix...but I want the internet and that is part of the cable package...  If I could get internet without cable (or satellite) and just do Netflix, I would do it in a heartbeat....my family wouldn't go for it though.  They like cable.  

 

My aunt and uncle have cable internet (Xfinity) and either they don't have cable tv, or it's not hooked up - I didn't ask which, I just know it's not hooked up to their 12" television that's never used (and they have no other TVs).  FWIW.

 

I think I mentioned elsewhere, cable television (don't know about satellite) is highly controlled by government (at least in Utah), and not just in expectable (new word for Firefox's dictionary) ways (taxes, no smut), but right down to which channels are available in which city.  I declined to continue participation in such evil...  I think this is why prices don't react well to the market - city government are involved, and government ruins everything (no offense to Adam Conover).

[Guest Godless]

Read up on the sad case and history of Nokia as an example of the way big business tends to deal with changes in the market. When cables companies do change in the ways they should (after changing a hundred times the wrong way first (like, you know...raising prices to cover their diminishing customer base)), you can pretty much bet the farm that it will be too little, too late.

 

I'm very interested to see how the cable companies react as Google Fiber becomes available in more markets. It's currently only available in 3 cities, with 6 more confirmed in the near future (including SLC and my residence of San Antonio) and more being targeted. Once Fiber goes live here, I'll literally have no reason to continue doing business with TWC. It can't come soon enough.

[Guest]

We have cable TV only because of high-speed internet.  Otherwise, we won't get it.  It was actually cheaper to get cable TV with the high-speed internet than just the high-speed internet with a monthly subscription to the NFL channel or Hulu or Netflix, etc.

 

I need the highest speed internet so I can work from home.

[Palerider]

One of my daughters and her husband do not have TV in their home. No cable or antenna. They do have a TV only for DVD's they rent or buy. They also do not have the Internet in their home. I don't ever see them getting it either. I am fine with that and hope they always feel that way. None of my 3 daughters or my son are or ever have been sports crazy like their Dad.

[theSQUIDSTER]

To th OP.. Seems like you can probably dump cable unless you're a big sports junky. A gagillion useless channels for what? Sister Squidster and I have gotten by for over 23 years without a cable subscription. For years we just watched local Tv .. mostly PBS.. Then about 4 - 5 years ago we got a Roku and get by with streaming content almost exclusively.

To the other aspects of discussion I admire those who are doing what they feel they must to make wise decisions of what media to allow in their homes. For the Squidster family the biggest challenge is not so much what's appropriate vs. what isn't .. but HOW MUCH TIME is spent! We're binge watchers and love to blow through entire series/seasons .. That eats up a ton of time that could be better spent ..

[Guest]

One of my daughters and her husband do not have TV in their home. No cable or antenna. They do have a TV only for DVD's they rent or buy. They also do not have the Internet in their home. I don't ever see them getting it either. I am fine with that and hope they always feel that way. None of my 3 daughters or my son are or ever have been sports crazy like their Dad.

 

I can't imagine how I survived before the internet... especially in the Philippines where Public Libraries are virtually non-existent.  I remember going through journals and magazines at the school library to get the inserts that would advertise free technical publications and such that I collected so I can use them for references when writing research articles.  The photocopy services were big money-makers around the school.  Some guy would get a book from some relative in the US and we would all pay him a peso a page to photocopy parts of the book we need for reference.

 

And I remember how I would wait a month to get a letter from my cousins in the US and Europe.  I had pen pals in Egypt and Finland and half the time I won't get the letter they sent so they got frustrated and quit writing.  I was about 13 at that time and I went to the mayor's house to demand better postal service.

 

Calling the next island over was a long distance call... big bucks.

 

The world was very small back then.

[Backroads]

I know intellectually I could function without the internet, but I do love it. I respect those who do without it.

Many schools want to go paperless and extend much work to online, but it's difficult because still many families don't have the internet.

[Guest]

I know intellectually I could function without the internet, but I do love it. I respect those who do without it.

Many schools want to go paperless and extend much work to online, but it's difficult because still many families don't have the internet.

 

My kid goes to a technology school and most of their textbooks are online.  They are allowed to use their own electronic device in school if they have one... especially since they got rid of the lockers.

 

Now, this is cool... except... A lot of the teachers are now doing their quizzes online (they won't have to grade it - it grades itself).  I hate these quizzes because... everything is multiple choice.  In my opinion, critical thinking is lost in multiple-choice quizzes especially with these internet quizzes where there's a "try again" button.  I had to sit my kid down because he was doing "which is the best guess out of all these choices?" instead of actually solving the problem.

 

So yeah, the internet is great... but it shouldn't replace common sense.

[Capitalist_Oinker]

We disconnected from TV several years ago because we couldn't justify the expense when neither my wife nor I ever watched it.  My sons were a little bummed at first, but they've gotten used to it. 

 

I have never been a TV or movie watcher, and I couldn't care less about sports. I haven't seen a movie in years, and the last time I watched a TV program was over ten years ago while convalescing in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident. However most days I'll spend several hours per day on the internet. I'm a news junkie and the internet is where I get it.

[Guest]

We disconnected from TV several years ago because we couldn't justify the expense when neither my wife nor I ever watched it. My sons were a little bummed at first, but they've gotten used to it.

I have never been a TV or movie watcher, and I couldn't care less about sports. I haven't seen a movie in years, and the last time I watched a TV program was over ten years ago while convalescing in a hospital bed after a motorcycle accident. However most days I'll spend several hours per day on the internet. I'm a news junkie and the internet is where I get it.

We have TV with all the trimmings - even comes with HBO on demand. For some reason my kids don't watch it. The only time they sit to watch TV is when we have a family movie night. They used to watch Phineas and Ferb and Adventure Time and River Monsters when they were little but they outgrew it when my oldest was about 10. I don't watch TV either, so the TV is basically my husband's. He is a sports junkie.

[rayhale]

I have all the big three, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. If I didn't pay cable through rent, I wouldn't have it. Recently all the big three pay-to-see channels, HBO, Showtime, and Starz, are available without a need of any kind of cable, or satellite subscription. I added all the prices up for these services, if I had the money, for the price for my local premium cable package, I would have the benefit of being to watch all the episodes of a show, plus the new ones, whenever I want. How cool is that?

[The Folk Prophet]

I have all the big three, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. If I didn't pay cable through rent, I wouldn't have it. Recently all the big three pay-to-see channels, HBO, Showtime, and Starz, are available without a need of any kind of cable, or satellite subscription. I added all the prices up for these services, if I had the money, for the price for my local premium cable package, I would have the benefit of being to watch all the episodes of a show, plus the new ones, whenever I want. How cool is that?

 

Pretty cool...except, imho, I don't believe any faithful LDS ought to carry HBO, Showtime, or Starz in their homes that should be temples.

[Backroads]

Pretty cool...except, imho, I don't believe any faithful LDS ought to carry HBO, Showtime, or Starz in their homes that should be temples.

Fully agree. Networks that can do whatever they want... troublesome. At least with movies you can tackle individually. Networks are a bigger challenge.

[pam]

So I thought I'd update since I've gone to no satellite Tv.  I did purchase a tv antenna that allows me to get numerous local stations which is nice.  But so nice knowing I won't be shelling out the $115 a month for satellite that I hardly watched.

And I've found that there has been numerous other benefits to doing away with it.

1.  I'm reading much more again.  I've missed that.

2.  My house is extremely clean.  I mean clean all of the time.  Also helps that I became an empty nester about the same time the satellite tv went away.

3.  I've found I'm cooking more at home instead of running out for fast food.  There's another savings.

4.  I've also been able to check several things off of my to do list that I've procrastinated far too long.  I don't seem to be procrastinating getting some things done that I was guilty of before.

It's just been a win win all the way around.