UNITED STATES—It is a conversation that I am currently having with so many people in my family. It involves cable TV versus streaming services. I have always been a proponent of cable because I like the notion of turning on the TV and just being able to channel surf. However, the cost of cable is constantly on the rise and it’s not fun people. My provider has recently raised rates yet again and it has become a staple point of me getting ready to cut the cable cord.
There is no way I should be paying so much for cable when nearly half of the channels I have I’m barely watching or they’re duplicates people. The negotiation tactic with these cable providers is beyond a headache people. I mean hell some of them don’t even care if the consumer tells them well I’m going to terminate my contract and leave the company. It is almost like they are saying, go for it, do it, we want you to! Really, that doesn’t make me feel good as a loyal customer for more than 15 years people.
With that said, I am starting to consider more and more cutting the cord as people call it. I cannot tell you the hundreds of thousands of dollars I have spent over the years and the customer service is some of the worst. You have this automated system that does EVERYTHING in its power to prevent you from speaking to a live person on the phone, it glitches constantly and it is just annoying.
If a company doesn’t appreciate your loyalty and your business, it is sometimes a sign that you should look elsewhere for the services you want or need people. The great thing about streaming is the affordability, but the problem is that there are so many damn streaming services. I mean you have Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Paramount+, HBO Max, Starz, Showtime, MGM+, BET+, Discovery+, Disney+, I can keep listing people that is how mad things have become. If you purchase all these streaming services on a monthly basis it would almost be like actually paying for cable.
So it becomes a game of picking and choosing, which of this streaming providers has the content you want and the content that you will actually watch. You don’t want to have a gazillion streaming services because you’ll face that headache of exiting one streaming service to enter into another to watch a particular program or movie that is exclusive to that streamer. Yeah, that is the problem, the rights for so much content when it comes to entertainment is constantly changing from month to month. Something that is on Paramount+ one month switches to Starz the next month.
There is never a constant especially when it comes to movies people, TV shows are a bit different. With a lot of these streaming services you can see a cost of around $5 to $6 per month, but if you have 10 to 15 streaming services do the math people, it is almost like paying for cable. The great thing with cable you just utilize a remote to change the channel and view the guide to see the content you want to see. You’re not forced to open this app, exit this app, click on this, exit on that. It just becomes way too much at times people.
Look at your budget and start to see WHAT YOU WANT vs. WHAT YOU NEED. Cable is a plus, it is something special; it is not something that is needed to survive. For some people that is not the case, I guess that depends on your form of entertainment. If TV is a must for you, then you’re likely willing to spend the money, but everyone has a cutoff people, everyone, including me and I think I have finally reached my breaking point with all the bad customer service and rising rates from my provider. Right now I could probably save $100 by cutting the cord people. That is a $100 that I can use for a lot of other things right now with inflation rates still in flux and not great in my personal opinion. Any money you can save is better than spending more money than you have.
