A little more than a year ago, Emily and I had decided to cut the entertainment umbilical cord and forgo renewing our digital satellite subscription. Moving to a new apartment seemed like the perfect opportunity to start anew with a clean slate and with one less monthly bill. The decision was partially born of frugality, but also for the fact that we always felt like we were paying a premium for something we could learn to live without in this age of Netflix Streaming, Apple TV, Hulu, and other free online sources.
This patchwork of online and rental services has worked fairly well in keeping us entertained, if only for the fact we're fine with being the duds always behind the broadcast cultural curve. We use the Playstation 3 to rent and view Blu-ray content (and more), Netflix Streaming has let us catch up on notable television programming (albeit a year or two later), while the Apple TV fills in for the occasional rental download for newer releases. We've even dabbled in some alternative digital lifestyle choices, while calling upon the help of the old fashioned indoor antenna to pull down free local HD signals for the occasional public television broadcast.
But there has always been one glaring omission…one that has ultimately brought us back into the cable cult fold: live sports.
Oh, we've tried…after more than a year without cable, we've tried both legit and gray area solutions, all in the desperate attempt to watch a game (you'd be surprised how many live streams there are of most every sport; we viewed Wimbeldon this year online, while Commissioner Stern would likely frown upon some of the international streams we discovered broadcasting NBA games).
One could make the case for watching television show episodes on a laptop screen or even certain movies streaming onto an iPad, yet there's little one could say to convince me watching the Lakers vs. Celts streaming on a small computer screen versus enjoying the game via a HD projector is even comparable. It's proven to be the Achille's heel for every cable-alternative out there currently and the strongest argument that cable isn't going anywhere for now.
So agree or disagree, we're falling off the wagon. We've been happy living without cable, but we're also excited about enjoying hi-def sports again. In some ways, it feels similar to when friends who were formerly vegetarian ease up and mix in a modest amount of meat into their diet again. They always sound a little bit guilty, but also somewhat relieved they can enjoy in some guilty pleasures again. So welcome back, Cable Guy. Hook. Us. Up!
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We have been "off the cable" for a year and half now, and as Tarheel fans, feel similarly when NCAA basketball season ramps up. Let's just say that previously, the local sports pubs may have received most of the money the cable company used to get!
That said, there is a new something on the horizon that might just fill the niche. Soon you'll be able to stream content from your iPad or iPod or iPhone to your television via AppleTV!
Do you think this would be enough of a fix to get you back off the cable?
How would streaming from the "i"Products remedy the lack of cable though? Is there an NBA app or something that can tune into live TV programming?
I've been considering cutting my cable and did come across the NBA league pass broadband package that let's you see every game for up to seven teams for $109. Between that and the MLB Package I can get most of my sports fix for a lot less than my cable bill. Where I'm runninng into a problem is football. I don't get any radio signals where I live. (No cell phone, no tv, no radio.) This means I'd have to completely rely on friend and sports bars for football, and I'm just not quite willing to go that far yet. I also luck out in that I can run HDMI from my computer to my TV. It's obviously not perfect quality but it's good enough for me.
I've been without cable for two years, relying almost exclusively on Netflix, which serves my eclectic cinematic tastes perfectly. It helps I'm not a huge sports fan, but like a commenter above mentioned, local sports bars are perfect for me when I want to see a game. I watched most of the World Cup this way.
@jmilb, iPad/iPhone owners have options:
There is an app for live streaming of MLB baseball: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/iphone/
Perhaps the NBA and NFL will do the same.
I recently moved into a new apartment and it is my first solo apartment, meaning I pay all the bills and I was NOT willing to spend the exorbitant amount of money for cable and my TV was an old CRT and just taking up space which I can't spare in a 300 sq ft studio, so I took the plunge and ditched my TV.
Instead of paying over $154/month ($120 for cable, internet, phone + $14 for Netflix + $20+/month for Center Ice to watch NHL games), I'm paying $74/month and that includes online Game Center Live for NHL games and Netflix.
For football games, I watch only Sunday games (not a problem when you're a Buffalo Bills fan because they're likely to never win and never get another Monday Night Football game again) at a sports bar in my city that's a designated 'Buffalo Bills' backer bar, so it's a win-win - I meet fellow Buffalonians and I get my football fix without dropping the money PLUS free wings!
I guess it's just lucky that I think baseball is really boring and don't particularly care about basketball either, but seriously - ditching my TV was the best decision I ever made.
we haven't had cable since we bought our house 2 years ago. we use the combo of netflix, mlb.tv, my dad's sunday ticket to-go, and bittorrent. seems to be working well.
Word on the MLB.TV PS3 app. I get full access to the entire season of baseball and delayed postseason games - all in HD - for about $120 for the entire year.
Granted, my favorite team is in another part of the country, so I rarely get blacked out of any of their games, but it's still a step in the right direction, I think. It'd be awesome if the NFL or NBA pushed out a similar style app, but I won't hold my breath.
We haven't had cable for awhile now, and we miss our NHL hockey games. We don't miss much else, between renting movies and tv shows via Netflixs (though they have to improve their instant streaming choices) and our local rental place, and the occasional purchase. It was fine during the playoffs since the games were streamed online, but not regular season games. We told ourselves that for the same price as cable we could afford to go out a few times a month to watch the game at a bar or restaurant, but sometimes we just don't feel like going out, or would rather have friends over to watch it (we like hosting, and our friends are cheap, so it works out well).
I haven't had cable in just over 4 years, but it's easier for me as I don't watch sports.
My boyfriend and I moved in together last July, and he's had a difficult time adjusting to life without his weekly wrestling. Instead of forking out the cash for one night a week, though, he just pops over to his parents' house :) He gets to spend time with the fam and get his "sport" fix!
i have thought and thought about ditching our cable and i just can't do it. I don't even watch sports so that isn't even an issue. Part of it is that we can't get a OTA signal in our apartment AT ALL. So that is a huge thing. The fact that I don't even get regular network stuff. If we could do that I would probably cut them loose.
I often watch tv just to relax at night, laying on the couch, and sitting in a computer chair is not as appealing. I have an imac and there is not an easy way to attach it to the tv to watch. I could do an HDMI converter, but it is a room away, and doesn't carry sound, the list goes on.
Hope to find a solution one day. Our cable bill is modest to most, but I would love to ditch it.
I've never had cable in my adult life. I do miss being able to watch some of the big games on cable. I'm from Kentucky so college basketball is a way of life for me. The way I got around cable was ESPN3.com, if your local ISP supports it, you can watch games on there. I watched most of last season through that.
That is too bad, cuz you can easily pipe live sports stream onto a 42" flat screen (or a PJ) via HDMI. We recently cut off 6 months of U-verse after not having cable for 10 years. 6 months of cable made us stay at home to watch Top Chef (BARF), Entourage, Real Housewives AND Hoarders.
Netflix streaming on legacy 4-out plan FTMFW.
I gave up cable on Sept.30th this year, also the phone because I thought I was moving. Well that didn't happen due to a family health crisis, so now I have no idea when I will be moving, no cable, no phone and it's very liberating. Not least of which is the extra $200 a month I don't pay out. I watch DVD's I read more than I have for the last few years, more time on the laptop of course. But to honest I have not missed the endless repeats and total junky shows that the networks think of as entertainment these days. I am missing some of the sports but thats OK, not something I'll die from.
We cut cable television when I left for Iraq, and in the 6 months since I got home I haven't missed it at all. Amazing how much useless programming we'd flip through.
We haven't had cable for over 4 years now. At first we suffered along with over-the-air, but now we run a nice high-speed connection and watch Hulu, streaming Netflix, and have that hooked up to the flat screen TV in the family room. I can get any show I want to watch (some I have to search for).
As a big baseball fan, the blackouts of local team and nationally broadcast games (ESPN, Fox, ...) on MLB.com is the reason why I think cable is still necessary.
I've been off cable for 18 months now. Between Netflix, Apple TV (1st gen), Boxee, and BitTorrent, I have more than I can watch.
I'm currently helping 3 friends ditch their cable, and so far so good, no one has gone back.
Kuanghan is right. Cable is still necessary if the sports teams you want to see are in the local market. Living in St. Louis, I would love to pay $120 for a season's worth of Cardinals on MLB.tv, except for the fact that local games are blacked out, making it useless to me. Netflix and all the streaming alternatives are great, but until I have another way to get my local sports via a reliable HD feed, I'm not canceling my Uverse.
I've been without television for six years and I don't regret it.
It's great because if I'm housesitting or visiting family, tv isn't nearly as annoying. All of the commercials are fresh, tv shows will feel fresh as well.
Of course, within the week, the tv takes its toll; I turn into a sluggish zombie that instantly feels bombarded by insincere voices and laugh tracks, and there is "never anything on".
A week. That's all it takes for television to turn into a form of torture.