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Inching closer and closer to Big Cable prices. Considering most streamers have both Netflix and Hulu, the cost of "cutting the cable" is slowly becoming noncom

Inching closer and closer to Big Cable prices. Considering most streamers have both Netflix and Hulu, the cost of "cutting the cable" is slowly becoming noncompetitive.

Retric 10y ago
Not when a HD DVR is ~20$/month on it's own. However, stopped using Hulu a long time ago. If you look at their paid customer numbers is relativity tiny @12 million for $7.99 per month. By comparison 25% of households in the US have 'cut cable' and many people have cable because it's cheaper as a bundled service.
- sixothree 10y ago
  Tivo is $15/month or less. And remote boxes are free.
  - Retric 10y ago
    http://www.defefx.com/fios-tv-equipment/ http://www.defefx.com/fios-tv-equipment/ Cable Card is 4$ / month, and there is an extra fee for HD TV but does not provide access to Video on Demand. The downside is that you’ll also need a TiVO subscription which is $12.95 per month 13 + 4 = 17$/month. On top of this there is a fee for HD TV.
- josefresco 10y ago
  DVR service (in any room) from Comcast costs me $10/month.
  - Retric 10y ago
    http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge-5-49-every-tv-use/ http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge... Now that fee is jumping from just $3.49 to $5.49 a month, which means that if you have three TVs in your house you will pay an extra $16.47 a month just for this fee. http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge-5-49-every-tv-use http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge... So adding a new TV costs ~10$ + $5.49 a month. That sounds like it's costing 16$/month per HD DVR. Here are some other 'fees' https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161213/09004336262/happy-new-year-comcast-usage-caps-rate-hikes-more-sneaky-fees-2017.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161213/09004336262/happy...
    - josefresco 10y ago
      Until I see it on my bill, it's pure speculation.
awinder 10y ago
This pricing seems to include live TV + traditional hulu which is not a nominal differentiation
bpicolo 10y ago
> most streamers have both Netflix and Hulu That's not a true statement. Netflix has almost an order of magnitude more subscribers.
- josefresco 10y ago
  Correct, I should have stated "most people with Hulu probably also have a Netflix subscription"
JohnTHaller 10y ago
It was cheaper for me to uncut cable. 90 a month for internet. 75 for internet and basic cable with a free Roku 3 with no contract. I don't use cable or the Roku.
- gnopgnip 10y ago
  You didn't shop around enough then. If you can get internet+cable+taxes for less than the cost of internet only there is a better deal out there
  - rconti 10y ago
    nope. $5/mo cheaper for double the internet speed and "free" cable TV. Comcast is desperate to get their subscriber numbers up.
    - scarface74 10y ago
      But with Comcast, I would also pay each month. $50 - 5 extra set top boxes $10 - "HD Technology Fee" $5 - "Broadcast Access Fee" $5 - "Regional Sports Fee" That's $70/month in fees. I pay: $10 - Netflix - I would have this anyway. $19 - Sling ($30 normally. I get a $5 discount through TMobile and a $5 discount for being on the Orange Beta) $11.99 - Netflix no commercials $6 - CBS all access I also have Amazon Prime. I probably would have that anyway but I do have Amazon Prime Video. Let's say it's worth $5.00 a month. I pay less for all of the subscriptions services than I would just in fees for Comcast. On top of that, they are a lot less of a hassle to cancel.
  - JohnTHaller 10y ago
    Nope. Like most of the US, I have access to only one provider here in NYC (Unless you include slow, unreliable DSL or... shudder... dialup). And a friendly employee I know was kind enough to look through all possible deals
- rconti 10y ago
  It's been cheaper for a long time. In fact, I "pay" for cable TV service because it doubles my internet speed and drops my price $5/mo, even though the cable box is sitting in my attic and I use my antenna for TV programming.
WalterSear 10y ago
It's just Hulu that is becoming noncompetitive.
- josefresco 10y ago
  Agreed. Netflix will catch up - they can't (or won't want to) continue to pay top dollar for talent & content and be a low cost provider.
e1ven 10y ago
I recommend buying individual shows, via iTunes/Google/etc. These are typically ~25/season, and don't include any commercials. No need to deal with DVR restrictions, fastfowarding issues/etc.
deegles 10y ago
As I get older I'm starting to consider other types of costs as well. My time and "brain space" are more valuable to me now, so if I'm going to spend an hour watching something with my wife, I don't want 15-20 minutes of that to be ads. I want to find something interesting quickly. This is also why I'm unhappy with the new Netflix rating system, since I feel it's going to lead to worse recommendations for me. As always when these topics come up, I think video content licensing needs to be revamped, so that anyone can create a streaming service as long as they pay a fixed rate to the license owner. It would spur so much innovation!
- z0r 10y ago
  I really wish that the content library subscription business model wasn't inextricably linked to a given provider's user interface. Our software could be so much better if the APIs for accessing content were open, especially for music. I really don't like using cloud software with shifting feature sets beyond my control.

Inching closer and closer to Big Cable prices. Considering most streamers have both Netflix and Hulu, the cost of "cutting the cable" is slowly becoming noncompetitive.

Retric 10y ago

Not when a HD DVR is ~20$/month on it's own. However, stopped using Hulu a long time ago. If you look at their paid customer numbers is relativity tiny @12 million for $7.99 per month. By comparison 25% of households in the US have 'cut cable' and many people have cable because it's cheaper as a bundled service.

sixothree 10y ago
Tivo is $15/month or less. And remote boxes are free.
- Retric 10y ago
  http://www.defefx.com/fios-tv-equipment/ http://www.defefx.com/fios-tv-equipment/ Cable Card is 4$ / month, and there is an extra fee for HD TV but does not provide access to Video on Demand. The downside is that you’ll also need a TiVO subscription which is $12.95 per month 13 + 4 = 17$/month. On top of this there is a fee for HD TV.
josefresco 10y ago
DVR service (in any room) from Comcast costs me $10/month.
- Retric 10y ago
  http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge-5-49-every-tv-use/ http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge... Now that fee is jumping from just $3.49 to $5.49 a month, which means that if you have three TVs in your house you will pay an extra $16.47 a month just for this fee. http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge-5-49-every-tv-use http://cordcuttersnews.com/starting-2017-comcast-will-charge... So adding a new TV costs ~10$ + $5.49 a month. That sounds like it's costing 16$/month per HD DVR. Here are some other 'fees' https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161213/09004336262/happy-new-year-comcast-usage-caps-rate-hikes-more-sneaky-fees-2017.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161213/09004336262/happy...
  - josefresco 10y ago
    Until I see it on my bill, it's pure speculation.

awinder 10y ago

This pricing seems to include live TV + traditional hulu which is not a nominal differentiation

bpicolo 10y ago

> most streamers have both Netflix and Hulu That's not a true statement. Netflix has almost an order of magnitude more subscribers.

josefresco 10y ago
Correct, I should have stated "most people with Hulu probably also have a Netflix subscription"

JohnTHaller 10y ago

It was cheaper for me to uncut cable. 90 a month for internet. 75 for internet and basic cable with a free Roku 3 with no contract. I don't use cable or the Roku.

gnopgnip 10y ago
You didn't shop around enough then. If you can get internet+cable+taxes for less than the cost of internet only there is a better deal out there
- rconti 10y ago
  nope. $5/mo cheaper for double the internet speed and "free" cable TV. Comcast is desperate to get their subscriber numbers up.
  - scarface74 10y ago
    But with Comcast, I would also pay each month. $50 - 5 extra set top boxes $10 - "HD Technology Fee" $5 - "Broadcast Access Fee" $5 - "Regional Sports Fee" That's $70/month in fees. I pay: $10 - Netflix - I would have this anyway. $19 - Sling ($30 normally. I get a $5 discount through TMobile and a $5 discount for being on the Orange Beta) $11.99 - Netflix no commercials $6 - CBS all access I also have Amazon Prime. I probably would have that anyway but I do have Amazon Prime Video. Let's say it's worth $5.00 a month. I pay less for all of the subscriptions services than I would just in fees for Comcast. On top of that, they are a lot less of a hassle to cancel.
- JohnTHaller 10y ago
  Nope. Like most of the US, I have access to only one provider here in NYC (Unless you include slow, unreliable DSL or... shudder... dialup). And a friendly employee I know was kind enough to look through all possible deals
rconti 10y ago
It's been cheaper for a long time. In fact, I "pay" for cable TV service because it doubles my internet speed and drops my price $5/mo, even though the cable box is sitting in my attic and I use my antenna for TV programming.

WalterSear 10y ago

It's just Hulu that is becoming noncompetitive.

josefresco 10y ago
Agreed. Netflix will catch up - they can't (or won't want to) continue to pay top dollar for talent & content and be a low cost provider.

e1ven 10y ago

I recommend buying individual shows, via iTunes/Google/etc. These are typically ~25/season, and don't include any commercials. No need to deal with DVR restrictions, fastfowarding issues/etc.

deegles 10y ago

As I get older I'm starting to consider other types of costs as well. My time and "brain space" are more valuable to me now, so if I'm going to spend an hour watching something with my wife, I don't want 15-20 minutes of that to be ads. I want to find something interesting quickly. This is also why I'm unhappy with the new Netflix rating system, since I feel it's going to lead to worse recommendations for me. As always when these topics come up, I think video content licensing needs to be revamped, so that anyone can create a streaming service as long as they pay a fixed rate to the license owner. It would spur so much innovation!

z0r 10y ago
I really wish that the content library subscription business model wasn't inextricably linked to a given provider's user interface. Our software could be so much better if the APIs for accessing content were open, especially for music. I really don't like using cloud software with shifting feature sets beyond my control.