Rob V

My two year contract with Comcast ends in August this year... and I hate them. I literally have no other option where I live other than satellite and I don't want to go down that road either.

Since we mostly watch the DVR and Netflix (mostly, not always) I've been considering just keeping Netflix and getting Hulu Plus. That said, I love baseball and football and still want to be able to see Fox Sports and ESPN.

What options exist so I can still see live sports that aren't OTA? Anybody cut the cord and totally regret doing it?

shadokitty

I don't know about Football, but baseball has MLB.TV.

Eddie W

I just cut the cord last weekend due to the ever increasing prices. Checking the guide & seeing nothing but a bunch of commercial infested reality shows just started to make me angry.

I'm thinking about adding the sling TV app to my Fire. For $20/mo you get some live sports & basic cable networks. I've already added the Tivo OTA DVR & it's fantastic. It integrates will with most of the major streaming sites. I've found that most of the few basic cable shows I like (Walking Dead, Bates Motel, etc) are available for purchase the day after they air. And the upside is that they are in MUCH better quality than on cable. No station logo bugs/wall of promo text, no commercials, 1080p with DD+ sound. And I'm still saving $$ just buying what I want to watch.

Overall, it feels really good to be rid of that $100+ monthly bill. And the HBO Now app is gearing up to start in April. If the other premium channels follow, that will eliminate my biggest reason for ever having cable.

I figure even if I spend $60 on streaming services, I've cut my bill in half. And feel a lot more satisfied with my TV experience.

RichC2

Yeah oddly I cut my cable cord a couple weeks ago and HBO was included with my downgraded package, so I get HBO Go now. My cable bill dropped from $180 to $70, add Sling.tv and I'm at $90 which isn't terrible for me.

I already had Netflix so I'm not sure if I count that or not. If Roku and TiVo or Tablo would team up for an all-in-one box I'd be stoked.

Sling.TV is your best bet for ESPN right now. Base package: $20, Add-ons: $5.

This is the much hyped "Cable without cable" service. For $20/mo you get ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, Food Network, HGTV, Disney Channel, TNT, El Rey, Travel Channel, TBS, Maker (this is like a YouTube clips channel), Adult Swim / Cartoon Network, CNN, IFC, ABC Family and Galavision, all in HD (though El Rey is predominantly SD).
Sports Package ($5 extra): ESPN U, SEC Network, ESPNEWS, Bases Loaded, Buzzer Beaters, Goal Line, Bein Sports, Universal Sports, Univision
Hollywood Extra ($5/mo add-on) Epix, Epix 2, Epix 3, Epix Drive-in, Sundance TV
Kid's Extra ($5/extra) Disney Junior, Disney XD, Boomerang, Baby TV, ducksomething
News and Info ($5/extra) - HLN, Cooking Channel, DIY, Bloomberg

Mix and match, upgrade/downgrade however you want whenever you want.

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MLB/NHL/MLS/NFL/WWE/etc all have their own services as well with a variety prices from $10 a month to $350 for a season.

Device wise, I'm hoping the Roku 4 will be out soon. The Roku 3 is still excellent, the Fire TV is alright, the Fire TV Stick can be fickle but has gotten a lot better, Apple TV is a little behind the curve, and Chromecast is better as an "Additional Device" than a primary one. Xbox One also works well as a media device (since you can use an IR remote with it).

writer106

It was mentioned back in November that Showtime is considering offering a standalone version of Showtime Anytime.

PhantomStranger

Baseball on cable can largely be replaced with MLB.TV, depending on which team you follow and what market you are in.

hanshotfirst1138

I NEED to have Turner Classic Movies. Otherwise it wouldn't be a big issue for me.

DaveNinja

mlb.tv with either a VPN or a DNS faker means you can watch any baseball game

Rob V

I need to learn more about this. If I can watch the Tigers and get Nickelodeon for the kids... I'm in pretty good shape.

Sling.TV looks like a pretty solid option for me. Is it compatible with the X1 or PS4 or Roku only?

RichC2

Sling is available on the Fire TV Stick, Fire TV, Android, iOS, and Roku. It is coming soon for the Xbox One (which will include a free month of service), don't know about the PS4 since Sony is launching its own competitor for it.

Rob V

Another question: if I get Hulu Plus, can I have several TVs running off one account at the same time? In other words, can I watch a show in my room while the kids watch a show in the family room using just one account?

RichC2

I think it's listed as one but I don't know that it's actively enforced.

FiveO

I cut the cord last July when Charter wanted to up my bill from $145 a month to $195 a month for:

Internet
Cable
Movie Channels (3)/HBO/Cinemax/Showtime

My 2 year deal was up. When I inquired about signing up for a new deal they said they weren't offering any. I said no problem...cancel all cable service. I brought my two DVR's in and cancelled. They said that the internet would be $60 a month....I said no problem.

I have Amazon Prime and Netflix.

I could care less about any type of sports programming and have come to hate regular TV due to all of the commercials.

I was a bit nervous at first but agreed to give myself a few months....and 8 months later I don't miss regular TV at all. I've been streaming VUDU/Netflix and Amazon off of my Sony Blu-Ray players, haven't had any issues at all, other than they're a bit slow.

Recently got a Roku3 and really see what I've been missing out on...the Roku is blazingly fast compared to the DVD players and I love it! Going to hold off getting another Roku3 for the bedroom set to see if they come out with a new player.

I like the way some channels are going. SlingTV and the new standalone HBO are things I may buy. I'm currently paying about $17/month for Amazon and Netflix total but could see spending about $50 total.

The interesting thing is Charter has had me paying $40 a month for internet, not the quoted $60 since I cancelled. Even it the cost was $60 I'd still pay it...their cable internet has been really good and very few hiccups.

And....I get weekly mailed "offers" from Charter to come back as a Cable TV customer at introductory offers. No way no how.

TheBigDave

You might want to consider a basic plan if it's cheap enough. Roku has some great apps for Fox, ESPN, Disney Channel, DisneyXD, A&E, Lifetime, History, etc. But they require a cable subscription. If you can get a cheap plan, it might be worth it.

RichC2

This is normal. If you subscribe to any type of cable plan, your internet price goes down. On Comcast it's cheaper to have internet + limited basic cable ($60) than just Internet ($74).