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This cartoon sums up the switch to streaming pretty well lol

8K views 152 replies 14 participants last post by  Jon W 
#1 ·
#2 · (Edited)
My triple-play Frontier plan dropped from $280 to $78 when I got rid of the DVR. I now have YouTube Plus for $55/month. Netflix is free with my T-Mobile plan. Prime Video is included with my Amazon Prime account. I have HBO Max for $55 for a year after an Amex discount. I have Acorn TV at $5 per month and Paramount+ for $90 for a year. I also signed up for three months of free AppleTV+.So my total cost for TV, internet and home phone service is about $150 per month.

We got used to the DVR showing the time for the past ten years or so on our entertainment center. I bought a digital clock for $15 to replace the DVR. That's less than the monthly rent of the DVR.
 
#3 ·
Just a total falsehood.

First off, only $100 for a cable package?

Average pricing for DirecTV is over $130 a month, even with any services from cable/Sat. you can have Broadcast fees, RSN fees, DVR fees, Box fees.

This is what I have Streaming, no Live TV service and it includes the vast majority of content on Live TV except certain sporting events.

All in yearly prices because of some deals, all commercial free except ESPN+

Hulu with Disney, ESPN+ -$240 (need ESPN+ for the Red Wings).
Paramount+ with Showtime-$129
Peacock-$50
HBOMAX-$149
AMC+-$30
Apple TV-$44 ( bought gift cards when on sale at Costco, paid up until 2026)
MLB-$59 ( wait until May for the better price) need it for the Tigers since I live in Florida now.
Netflix-$240

So, $941 divide by 12 is $78.42

Show me one cable package that is that price with HBO and Showtime.

Then of course, with cable/sat Netflix and Apple TV is not available

So, without the premium stuff, but including sports because DirecTV/Cable has the RSN-
Hulu with Disney, ESPN+ -$240 (need ESPN for the Red Wings).
Paramount+ -$99
Peacock-$50
AMC+-$30
MLB-$59 ( wait until May for the better price) need it for the Tigers since I live in Florida now).

So $478 divide by 12 is, roughly, $40 a month.
 
#4 ·
Just a total falsehood.

First off, only $100 for a cable package?

Average pricing for DirecTV is over $130 a month, even with any services from cable/Sat. you can have Broadcast fees, RSN fees, DVR fees, Box fees.

This is what I have Streaming, no Live TV service and it includes the vast majority of content on Live TV except certain sporting events.

All in yearly prices because of some deals, all commercial free except ESPN+

Hulu with Disney, ESPN+ -$240 (need ESPN for the Red Wings).
Paramount+ with Showtime-$129
Peacock-$50
HBOMAX-$149
AMC+-$30
Apple TV-$44 ( bought gift cards when on sale at Costco, paid up until 2026)
MLB-$59 ( wait until May for the better price) need it for the Tigers since I live in Florida now.
Netflix-$240

So, $941 divide by 12 is $78.42

Show me one cable package that is that price with HBO and Showtime.

Then of course, with cable/sat Netflix and Apple TV is not available

So, without the premium stuff, but including sports because DirecTV/Cable has the RSN-
Hulu with Disney, ESPN+ -$240 (need ESPN for the Red Wings).
Paramount+ -$99
Peacock-$50
AMC+-$30
MLB-$59 ( wait until May for the better price) need it for the Tigers since I live in Florida now).

So $478 divide by 12 is, roughly, $40 a month.
I have Preferred Xtra / HR54 / AM21 and with my DirecTV promos I'm paying $91/mo out the door. No RSN fee on this package. I also have Cox Gigabit + digital phone (Cox makes you take it or the internet is higher lol) for like $119 I think, but it has a 1.25TB data cap and to get rid of that for streaming is an extra $50/mo. No thanks. Plus, no streaming service has all the Los Angeles locals and I'd lose the OTA integration. Plus Preferred Xtra has a lot more channels. Don't care about sports, so love that I don't pay the $12/mo RSN fee on this package.
 
#19 ·
The thing is, that of those services in the cartoon, if they didn't "cut the cord" how many would they still have? My assumption is that the $200 scenario would include an OTT service. That's just essentially a cable/Sat replacement (same thing, different delivery method), Let's assume that the OTT costs $80 a month. So when comparing apples to apples, it's a $20 savings. But everyone's situation is different. I would assume that the other 8 streaming services are either A) something they would have paid for anyway (I have Sat, but I also have an AP account, Netflix, Disney+ and a couple of inexpensive add ons I got through various promotions.) or B) Might not be something they continually have, i.e. they play the rotating streaming service game....only pay when there's something to watch.

Sure, I predicted that at some point streaming prices would start to rival cable/sat in price point, and especially OTT services are getting closer to that point. I also think, at some point, they will also follow the model that cable/sat has and sell you packages of channels, or, they will consolidate and start to be owned by just a few companies. I think the TV landscape 5 years from now will look completely different, and 10 years from now, even MORE different.
 
#20 ·
(same thing, different delivery method)
Not. OTT is generally "skinny" packages. On DirecTV Stream the top package is less channels then on my lowly Preferred Xtra. The comparable priced package is 105 channels vs. 220+ on sat. Also, nobody streams CW and some don't have some other channels like PBS.

I have DirecTV (obviously) [legal / paid, but on steep discounts through the loyalty program]. I also get several streaming OTT & VOD services for free through work [all legal -- except for Netflix which is a family password share lol which may go away next year].

So technically I could drop my DirecTV and pay nothing every month since it's covered by all the other free services.

Even without the nuisance of having to pay for "9 streaming services", I still favor DirecTV and keep it. Muscle memory on the channels & shows I watch + full unified interface under one roof + OTA, etc.

Also, not really worth it to keep any of the services with so called "exclusive content" year round. Last show I legit watched on Netflix was Man vs. Bee and I finished that in a day. Only used Amazon Prime recently to watch a movie. Haven't used it in years other wise. Nothing on there.
 
#43 ·
That is weird. I installed it on my Fire TV Cube yesterday and it didn't work. Allowed me to login but the the only option was that it wanted me to sign up for STREAM. I will check if there was an update overnight.
 
#44 ·
The only thing that cartoon suns up is what streaming haters believe. Outside of people who get the overpriced DTV streaming service, I know no one spending $200 on streaming apps per month. For me, even including paying for internet, I'm under $120/month and that includes Amazon Prime (which many people don't consider it in their package pricing) and Philo. We are thin on sports, but neither my wife or I are really into that. T-Mobile gives me MLB for free while Apple TV+, Amazon Prime and OTA serve to quench the sports thirst when it happens.

The big thing about streaming is that I don't have to sub to every service I want at the same time.
 
#46 ·
I have DirecTV but I don't get why some think streaming is more expensive. If a person subscribed to these ad free ones. Total would be $80. Are people forgetting the extra fee's cable and satellite have? Charter's select plan is $80 but without the equipment and broadcast fees. Discovery+ and HB0 Max could raise their price one they are combined. Same if Disney buys the rest of Hulu combines that into Disney+.

Paramount+ - $10
Disney+ - $11
Discovery+ $7
HBO/Max - $15
Netflix - $20
Hulu - $8
Prime Video - $9
 
#64 ·
After reading dozens of threads like this, I'm convinced that what works for some, doesn't work for others, and what's cheap for one person isn't cheap for another, depending on your situation. Cord cutting works for some, not for others, Sat or cable work for some not for others This reminds me of the Mac vs. Windows arguments 10-15 years ago, where cord cutters try and convince non-cord cutters why what they do is better and vice versa. Really, at this point, do what works for you and stop trying to convince you, me or someone else that yours is better!!!

That said, the future is going to be streaming, there's no doubt in my mind about it. The media companies are going all in. The quality of what we get on linear services has gone downhill as these companies have ported their best stuff to streaming for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is guaranteed direct payment for what they show and/or produce rather than having to fight with cable and satellite companies tooth and nail for rights fees among other things. If you are CBS, you have full control of what goes on Paramount+ as opposed to fighting with linear affiliates or cable or satellite companies. As long as you get enough subs to pay for it. And sure prices will go up, but they are going up on Cable/Sat too. To me the biggest detriment to streaming is that it's still a wild west and there's no real organized way to watch content in the ways that traditional TV gives us. So it's endless searching and trying to figure out what show is on what streamer and then subbing to whatever that is for however long you need to. It take "work". It's not as easy to do for a lot of people. But anyway, it works for many, and it's a waste of time to try and go "nanananana, I stream and it's better than what you do" or vice versa. People just got to realize that what you do doesn't work for me, and what I do doesn't work for you and leave it at that, instead of spending countless hours and threads trying to convince otherwise. Why?
 
#66 ·
After reading dozens of threads like this, I'm convinced that what works for some, doesn't work for others, and what's cheap for one person isn't cheap for another, depending on your situation. Cord cutting works for some, not for others, Sat or cable work for some not for others
Hey, somebody finally gets it. I probably watch NOTHING that Bender watches and he probably watches NOTHING that I watch.

The quality of what we get on linear services has gone downhill as these companies have ported their best stuff to streaming for a lot of reasons
You started off so well and then you went off the rails again.

"ported their best stuff"? Neither streaming or traditional has great content nowadays lol. Most of it is all woke garbage. Streaming tends to be more so.

, not the least of which is guaranteed direct payment for what they show and/or produce rather than having to fight with cable and satellite companies tooth and nail for rights fees among other things.
You went off the rails here again. EVERY single streaming company (except for Netflix) is bleeding heavily. Did you not see Disney's losses last week? Did you not hear the CEO got fired over it? I've told you countless times that video distribution via the streaming/cloud is much more expensive then traditional. I've also mentioned that satellite is probably the cheapest since you just launch a sat and you're done and it scales to infinity (extra outlets don't put strain on the system). Cable/fiber have to tear up streets and scale up infra, streaming has massive hardware and personnel requirements, has to constantly scale up as they give stuff away for below cost to attract viewers. People have no clue how much more effort it takes on the backend of a streaming service vs. traditional. You think you just get a video from somewhere and plop it into the system and its ready in 30 seconds?

That being said, we know unless they launch new sats that DirecTV/Dish will be gone in 10-15 yrs. And yes, we know media companies have gone all in on streaming.

So are media companies going to continue suffering brutal loses? Nope. They're going to raise prices. That's also something that we've seen repeatedly. That they raises prices at a much faster clip. DirecTV Stream is already the same price as DirecTV for half the channels lol.
 
#75 ·
$500M to launch a sat that'll last 10-15 years is certainly cheaper then $1.5B loss per quarter.

That being said, DirecTV seems to be taking it into the future via streaming at this point. Although supposedly they're developing a new sat receiver. It would certainly be more convenient to have streaming apps on the DirecTV box so people don't need multiple remotes / switch inputs, etc. But if you are going streaming, why would you do that through DirecTV?

Btw, the HUGE majority of the market for linear channels is still delivered through traditional means (cable/sat/fiber) vs. streaming. Streaming is the king for VOD though. OTT market is relatively small.

And don't get me wrong... if a content / TV provider said no to streaming today, yeah, they're going to be left in the dust in the future.

The traditional sky isn't falling as hard and fast as you say it is ;).
 
#101 ·
We have Spectrum 200/10 but they said we were supposed to get 300 D months ago. Speed test still shows 200 and no change from the past. No data cap

My wife still always defaults back to DirecTV instead of streaming- every.single.day. We have available to stream (but rarely ever gets used)-

-Amazon Prime (mostly for free shipping)
-Disney Plus (We pay the yearly rate)
-HBO Max (Free with DirecTv)
-Paramount+ (Free with Walmart+)
-Apple TV+ (Free with phone upgrade)

Once the DirecTV birds crash to the ground, then it’s onto the next for viewing. In the meantime she refuses to take on new remotes and services by other providers as she has DirecTV memorized. And she can still skip commercials and watch Sunday Ticket for now. I’m not looking to drop DirecTV anytime soon and piss her off- whether at home or 139 miles away at our campsite land. 😀
 
#123 ·
With the cable networks abandoning first run programming the cable channels will mainly have nothing but reruns and old movies. Would the ratings on those channels go down if that is all that is on them? How many times can you watch those before you would get bored with them? They would then only appeal to younger viewers who have never seen them. Then they would probably watch them on streaming. Also, wouldn't streaming those shows be cheaper then running a cable channel?
 
#125 ·
With the cable networks abandoning first run programming the cable channels will mainly have nothing but reruns and old movies.
News to the rest of us. I watch first run shows on History, Discovery, ID, Science Channel, NatGeo, channel 204, I forget what its called lol and VH1 (and probably a few others). Although I don't watch them, USA & TBS also have first run shows as does CNN (non news).

Regardless, how does that compare to, say, Peacock, which is mostly reruns and old movies? When I logon, I see mostly old TV shows in my feed.
 
#128 ·
However, I do like that DTV is innovating again with the new DTV APP and maybe having the C71KW work with DTV>
I'd hardly call it innovating if the new app isn't as capable as the old apps. I'd certainly buy "consolidating" but I'm not sure what the point would be other than to shorten the hop to the STREAM product.
 
#144 ·
An "easy" merger can be done in 3 - 6 months. A merger where people throw a hissy fit and object can take 1-2 years. I'm an investor in a stock where they tried to do a messy international merger and it took 2 yrs before it got rejected by regulators. I think Blizzard+Microsoft has been going on at least a year?

DirecTV + DISH have no international regulators to worry about since they're US only. You might have an objection from US regulators though, but maybe not. The official objection in 2001 was because both companies were hot at the time.

Now they're not.

Ergen hinted in the Q3 earnings that he'd wait til after the mid terms. Ergen is still interested in saving the satellite industry, unfortunately AT&T and TPG are not.

Ergen hinting in the Q3 earnings + my billing reverting to directv.com recently + TPG saying they want out? Mighty suspicious coincidences there ;).
 
#147 ·
Once our bill is migrated over to DTV will that mean getting two separate bills again? I just checked and I think ours is getting ready to migrate. At DTV.com it says see my bill and clicking on it brings up a summary box with we are unable to retrieve your statements at this time.
 
#148 ·
Good luck. After they migrated my DirecTV account to AT&T and then back to DirecTV it was so screwed up nothing worked properly so they eventually gave up on it and had to move that account info to a NEW DirecTV account and it is much better now.
 
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