I have been without cable tv for about 5 years now. I dropped it because I never watched it and when I did I was watching dvr'd shows. Since I have subscribed to netflix for my entertainment needs and invest in the occasional purchase on iTunes through my apple tv. Sports are a bit o a problem but MLB.tv takes care of that. Either way it's a great way to save $600 a year.
I don't miss cable tv
21–30 of 32 posts
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#22I really, honestly, cannot wait to join the growing trend of ditching cable / satellite TV. I consume the vast majority of my content through Netflix, Hulu, and simply downloading episodes. That said, until the NCAA and NFL are willing to provide a stand-alone service that lets me subscribe to Georgia Tech and Atlanta Falcons football games, the whole concept of ditching cable is a non-starter for me. Since I'm no lo…
Live sports are not the last stronghold. There's a whole slew of shows which would whither and die without a cable subscription model. Think Food Network or Discovery or any show which isn't a serialized story model. Would you actually buy a season of Mythbusters?* I watch those shows all the time, but usually when I'm just browsing. I'm not sure I'd actually buy them ala carte. BTW NFL and NCAA aren't holding out on…
When I had Tivo, I definitely watched things like Modern Marvels, Mythbusters, etc, more than other things like whatever was supposed to be on at 8PM. If the model was based on recommendations and voting, like Tivo, I think a lot of those shows could definitely survive.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#23I don't think I've ever heard of someone giving up cable/TV and regretting it. I don't have a TV, and I don't watch shows online either. I've been entirely TV-free for close to a year, and I haven't missed it once. I watch movies once a week at most, usually much less often. Don't miss that either. Honestly, I don't see how people find the time for it. Between work, keeping up my home, and spending time with my wife,…
We got rid of our cable about ten years ago and never regretted it - not even our kids, who seem to recognize that most of it's crap anyway. With some of the savings from not having to pay a monthly cable bill, we occasionally spring for DVDs of the few TV shows we actually enjoy.
It may be just my own selection bias, but it seems to me that the best TV shows are getting progressively better - by which I mean more connected rather than episodic, as well as smart and content-dense enough to hold up under repeat viewings. This may be a response to the increase in the ratio of home library : broadcast viewings.
On the other hand, I've also noticed that embedded advertising seems to be getting more common. In an episode of How I Met Your Mother, the credits identify Cadillac as a sponsor after one character calls another "the Cadillac of rebound guys".
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Come on dude, don't be a troll. Here we have a personal blog post of a guy who isn't bragging about not having a TV, but explaining the flaws he sees in American TV. It's a blog - it's the guy's thoughts. He's not constantly bringing it up at your house parties or anything. Don't be the crazy hobo outside the bar.
Benevolent message, but .. far more people than you can imagine have "quit TV". In fact, my entire twitter graph, people on IRC, social networks, even the local pubs I frequent, and everyone who responded in this thread have all quit TV. Stories of triumph over the tube are abundant, and the reasons nearly identical. People have been unanimous on two things: 1) their disdain for TV, American or otherwise and 2) their…
I think it's worth talking about. For half a century, nearly the whole country has been glued to the TV and told (sometimes more subtly than others) what to think. That we are breaking free of that is newsworthy.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#25Between dumping cable and using an ad blocker in Chrome, the only political ads I saw this past election cycle were the occasional billboard. It was absolutely blissful. Here's hoping ad buys on Hulu continue to remain so expensive that politicians can't get in on it.
I saw political ads on Hulu. I believe it was for Ron Johnson for WI senate.
he had 8.5 million of his wife's money to spend.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
Come on dude, don't be a troll. Here we have a personal blog post of a guy who isn't bragging about not having a TV, but explaining the flaws he sees in American TV. It's a blog - it's the guy's thoughts. He's not constantly bringing it up at your house parties or anything. Don't be the crazy hobo outside the bar.
Benevolent message, but .. far more people than you can imagine have "quit TV". In fact, my entire twitter graph, people on IRC, social networks, even the local pubs I frequent, and everyone who responded in this thread have all quit TV. Stories of triumph over the tube are abundant, and the reasons nearly identical. People have been unanimous on two things: 1) their disdain for TV, American or otherwise and 2) their…
Massive shifts in TV usage haven’t happened yet. It is increasing or stagnant, even among young people. While some countries show very coy declines in TV usage among young people (on the order of one or two percent) you have to consider that TV usage only ten years ago was way down compared to today.
Multitasking seems to become the predominant usage model. Americans use media on average for twelve hours per day, that wouldn’t be possible if they weren’t using some things at the same time.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#27Hands down the best thing about giving up cable (and broadcast) television is that I never just turn the TV on to "see what's on". If I turn on the TV it's because I make the conscious decision to watch something specific. The first month, in particular was illuminating. I found myself thinking about turning on the TV, but then, when faced with the decision of what to watch, I found it was easier to keep it off.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
Come on dude, don't be a troll. Here we have a personal blog post of a guy who isn't bragging about not having a TV, but explaining the flaws he sees in American TV. It's a blog - it's the guy's thoughts. He's not constantly bringing it up at your house parties or anything. Don't be the crazy hobo outside the bar.
Benevolent message, but .. far more people than you can imagine have "quit TV". In fact, my entire twitter graph, people on IRC, social networks, even the local pubs I frequent, and everyone who responded in this thread have all quit TV. Stories of triumph over the tube are abundant, and the reasons nearly identical. People have been unanimous on two things: 1) their disdain for TV, American or otherwise and 2) their…
So quitting TV and quitting cable are two very different things. Even the article you link to is about cord cutting - not TV cutting.
The current industry trends are not actually people leaving cable all together (though that did happen last quarter but in relatively minor amounts). The scariest thing for the cable operators is people backing off of their premium offerings. People aren't going to pay $10 an month extra for Showtime if they can just buy a season Dexter on Amazon for ~$25.
People love their TV (average 2.5 hours per day watched in the US) they're just finding new ways to get it.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#29I really, honestly, cannot wait to join the growing trend of ditching cable / satellite TV. I consume the vast majority of my content through Netflix, Hulu, and simply downloading episodes. That said, until the NCAA and NFL are willing to provide a stand-alone service that lets me subscribe to Georgia Tech and Atlanta Falcons football games, the whole concept of ditching cable is a non-starter for me. Since I'm no lo…
ESPN3 is great especially now that you can get it through XBOX 360.
Re: I don't miss cable tv
#30"I was sickened at the negative focus of broadcast news. Each and every morning hundreds of millions of Americans are watching and listening to these messages...." Each time I see things like this, I can't believe people don't seem to see the irony. People now do this with twitter, reddit, facebook etc. Even Hacker news has its fair share of gossipy rumour "Mike doesn't like Jason any more!". It's even worse than TV.…
Tech melodrama is something I can tune in or out, and it doesn't have the same emotional damage. It's more like eating too much popcorn for your brain.
The issue with cable tv and news is that many still rely on it to keep up to date on current events. The portrayal of current events is sinister.