The Cord Cutter

27/05/2022

TV Solutions for Any Budget, Starting at $0/mo.

Our mission here at Cord Cutter is to empower you to watch TV on your terms, and avoid the ever increasing prices and poor customer service of cable and satellite TV. Those dinosaurs act like a monopoly and want you to think that you have no option other than their predatory pricing.

TV used to be free, delivered over the air by a TV antenna on your roof. When cable TV started delivering hundreds of channels of crystal clear content, everybody had to have it. Companies that installed TV antennas quit getting calls and eventually went out of business.

But things have changed. Now over the air TV signals are digital and actually better than cable. Streaming TV has evolved to provide all of the channels that you want. There is no contract and you don’t have to pay extra for channels that you don’t watch.

It is a golden age for TV. You can watch whatever you want whenever you want. Instead of being held hostage to a single cable company there is true competition. And that competition is creating new content at a feverish pace. There is more to watch than ever before.

Entertainment is a very personal thing. Some people watch a lot of TV. They have a long list of channels and shows they like and a big budget to match. Other people are more casual viewers and are happy with just the local channels. The Cord Cutter can create a solution that is just right for you, starting at $0/mo.

There are a lot of different options to get TV today and they are constantly changing. We use a proprietary program we have developed over 5 years working with dozens of clients to sort through all of the services available and provide you with the channels you want at the lowest cost.

For example lets say you watch local news and the Bears. You also like to watch new TV shows and movies. For that you will need ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN. Our solution would be Hulu with Live TV. Besides the channels we listed you woud get Hulu’s library of TV shows and movies. That would cost $230* for the equipment installed and only $65/mo.

If you are on a budget you may want just local channels. For that we can just install an indoor TV antenna for $95* installed. Another option is a streaming device with free apps that provide hundreds of TV channels for $140* installed. Then your monthly cost is reduced to 0.

Most of our clients will save $75-100/mo. compared to cable or satellite so our service pays for itself in 1-3* months and after that you are making money. Our TV solutions are so easy that anyone can use them and the interface is beautiful to look at. Call us today to upgrade your TV!

*Pricing is for 1 TV.

28/08/2020

The Problem
Cable and satellite companies have been acting like monopolies. They try to hook us with low promotional pricing and then repeatedly jack the price until we are paying way too much. Their customer service is terrible, making them some of the most hated companies in America.

The Solution
Streaming TV provides all of the channels you love over your existing Internet connection. You now can choose from multiple good providers. It is better looking, reliable and saves an average of $75/mo. so it pays for itself. The only thing stopping most people is confusion.

Click the link below or call 815-900-9600. Our cord cutting analyst will work with you to understand your needs and explain all of the options that are available. Then they will create a customized solution just for you.

We will answer all of your questions and train you how to use your new TV solution. We pride ourselves in being able to make anyone comfortable and proficient in this new technology.

Please fill out questionaire to determine the best TV Channel solution. We will call you to discuss your needs and explain your options.

26/08/2020

State of Streaming 2020 – Linear TV

Streaming TV is a better alternative to cable or satellite. You can shop around for the channels you want and not have to pay for ones you don’t. There are no contracts and free trials so you can test them out.

There are basically two types of streaming TV, linear and on-demand. Linear TV is the traditional experience of watching a particular show when it is scheduled on a particular channel. Linear TV is a passive experience. Once you pick a channel, you watch whatever is on.

Linear TV is most comparable to cable and satellite TV, but less expensive and with no contracts. This is probably what you want to try when you are first getting into streaming.

On-demand TV is a technology where you can watch the program you want whenever you want. You can start and stop the program as needed.

If you are a more experienced streamer, or you know exactly what you want to watch, on-demand streaming may work better for you. A lot of Millenials start with on-demand services like Netflix and never use a linear service.

TV provided over the Internet is called Over the Top or “OTT”.
Of course you can also get linear TV with a TV antenna. This is called Over The Air TV or “OTA”. If you live near a big city you can get up to 100 channels. Rural locations may get only a few.

You can get OTA TV without an antenna. The Locast app streams TV over the Internet for $5/mo. In Chicago we get about 60 crystal clear channels. With a VPN service we can deliver this anywhere.

Sling TV was the first service to provide linear TV over the Internet. It started as an ethnic and international service called DishWorld in 2012 and launched as a mainstream TV alternative in 2015. It has dedicated packages for Asian, Middle Eastern, European and South American viewers. Local stations are limited to ABC, NBC and Fox and there are no regional sports networks. At $30/mo. Sling TV is a good balance between cost and number of channels. Choose either Sling Orange with ESPN/Disney channels or Sling Blue with Fox/NBC channels. Then add “Extras” to get the package you want without paying for channels you don’t need.

YouTube TV is a popular streaming service owned by Google that started service in April 2017. YouTube has the best channel lineup (85+ channels) except for some of AT&T’s more expensive packages, which we don’t recommend. It has a DVR with unlimited space and all of your local channels including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and PBS. It has good sports coverage with CBS, NBC and Fox sports networks as well as NBA, MLB and ESPN. You can share your account with 6 family members and 3 people can stream at a time. Pricing for YouTube TV is $64.95/mo.

Hulu + Live TV is another good service with a lot of channels. It was launched in May 2017. It’s has a few less channels (80+) and costs $10 less than YouTube TV ($54.95/mo.). The inclusion of Hulu’s on-demand content makes it a good value and as of Q3 2019 it is the top linear TV provider. Hulu has feeds of the five major broadcast networks ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW. Sports coverage includes CBS, NBC and Fox sports networks and includes ESPN but no NBA or MLB. It has a standard DVR capacity of 50 hours which can be upgraded to 200 hours. You can stream Hulu to 2 different screens or upgrade to unlimited screens.

Fubo TV launched in January 2015 as a soccer streaming service and expanded into a full service provider in 2017. It still is a good choice for sports fans but lacks Turner networks CNN, TBS and TNT. Fubo has an extensive list of channels with the 110 channel Family package going for $64.99 and the 192 channel Ultra package for $84.99/mo. In most cities you will get local channels CBS, NBC, Fox and Telemundo. Sports coverage is very good, with CBS, NBC, Fox, BTN, beIN Sports and TUDN sports networks as well as ESPN and NFL. There is 500 hours of DVR capacity and you can stream to 3 screens at a time.

The last option for full service linear TV is AT&T TV Now. All of the providers have increased their pricing in the last year but AT&T has done it repeatedly. AT&T will probably do it again but you can try it out since there is no contract. The service was launched as DirecTV Now in November 2016. There are Spanish, Vietnamese, Brazilian and Korean Packages. The main US packages are Plus with 45+ channels for $55 and Max with 60+ channels including HBO and Cinemax for $80. Local channels include ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW. Plus has only one Fox sports channel. Max has CBS, Fox and NBC sports networks plus ESPN.

In the end, the best streaming TV service will be the one with the channels you want at the price you can afford. Sling TV is best for casual TV viewers or people on a budget. Hulu w/Live TV is the best value for a complete set of channels plus on-demand offerings. Fubo is a great service for sports lovers. At this time we do not recommend AT&T TV Now because of all the recent price increases.

26/08/2020

State of Streaming 2020 – History

The growth of streaming TV shows no signs of stopping. More and more people are discovering that it actually provides better TV for less money.

When American’s first saw cable TV the quality and variety was so great that everyone had to have it. Then satellite TV became available and we had even more options. Companies that installed TV antennas have mostly gone out of business.

The cost of providing this kind of service limited the providers to just a few companies. Cable companies did exclusive deals with cities and villages that limited competition. As they grew they started to act like monopolies.

Like so many American companies the stockholders were valued more than the customers. They demanded more and more money and the cost of TV continued to grow. A service that we used to get for free from a TV antenna now costs an average of $100/mo.

Meanwhile the Internet grew to the point where virtually everyone had a high speed Internet connection. Phone service over the Internet became available. Combined with cell phones, these new technologies have made the old phone companies irrelevant.

A similar disruption is happening with TV service. A ubiquitous Internet connection made expensive TV transmitters unnecessary. TV cameras went from hundreds of thousands of dollars to thousands. More and more companies started making streaming content.

Exclusive deals between cable and satellite providers and content companies expired and little production companies started looking for a way to cut out the middle man. In 2012 Dish Network began testing an Internet based over-the-top “OTT” TV service called DishWorld providing access to 50 ethnic and international TV networks using the Roku digital media player.

In 2014 Dish struck deals with cable channel owners A&E Networks, The Walt Disney Company and Scripps Network Interactive that included OTT distribution rights. Dish Network chairman Charlie Ergen said they were planning to launch their OTT service by the end of the year.

He said cable and satellite were mature businesses. “You can’t just go back every day and say I’m going to raise my rates to make my budget”. In January 2015 Sling TV was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show. DishWorld was rebranded as Sling International.

Cable and satellite companies kept acting like monopolies. Their business model was low promotional pricing to start, followed by multiple rounds of jacking the price up. Customer service was terrible. In 2017 Comcast was the most hated company in America according to 24/7 Wall Street.

In Q2 of 2019 Comcast, AT&T and Charter lost 1.25 million pay TV customers – a 5.5% drop. “With Comcast’s, AT&T’s and Charter’s [second quarter] earnings in the books, the early read on traditional cord-cutting is freaking ugly,” said Michael Nathanson of firm MoffettNathanson.

According to data from Convergence Research Group, 36% of homes didn’t pay for regular TV at the end of 2019. They estimate that the number will grow to 42% in 2020, and finally to a majority of 54% in 2022. So in less than two years, we could finally see a market where cable is in the minority. Cable companies have been trying to compensate by raising their rates on Internet service. But satellite companies do not have that option.

TV streaming has matured to the point where it is easy, reliable and less expensive. The only thing preventing most people from cutting the cord is lack of knowledge. That is where we come in. The Cord Cutter has been helping clients drop cable and satellite TV since 2013.