Cutting the cable cord

I dumped cable about 5 years ago. I haven't really missed it. I dumped netflix as well, cause they never seem to have anything new, and I've seen everything I want to on it. I may bring it back in a year or two to see if anything's changed. (They're hot 100 list hasn't changed in more than 3 years.).

Anyway, I digress. There is one trend that needs to be noted here. I watch all tv shows online. I don't pay for fancy boxes or equipment. I dropped cable for economic reasons and really don't have the money for those hookups, even if they do eventually pay for themselves. I pay for my internet because I need it for my job so I can work at home. (Saves on gas and parking fees.)

So, some networks are getting smart or greedy. Depends on how you look at it. TBN won't let you see any of their shows unless you have an account for a cable service. I never got to see the end of the The Closer and some other shows I liked on there because of it. FOX TV makes you wait a whole week before you can see their episodes. USA Network makes you wait for a whole month before you can stream their videos.

Some of the national networks like CBS and NBC will let you view their shows the next day - some they will not at all. The Mentalist and Harry's Law come to mind for that. CBS has some of their comedies not streaming - 2 Broke Girls was streamed until they won the People's Choice Award last year, and then it was cut off.  My personal suspicion is that they are setting us up for purchase of their dvds Again, more of that corporate greed thing.

Not all of these shows are on Netflix either and Hulu  also won't let you stream certain shows unless you pay their monthly fee. It's not a lot, but still annoying for something that was free for a long time. Also, please note that Hulu does not have all the major networks. They do not have shows from CBS or TBN.

So, totally dumping your cable is not a total bed of financial roses. If you know the ins and outs and can accept the fact that some things you're not going to be able to see without it costing you something (even it's far less than the $85/month cable fee), you'll be fine.

I'm still mad about TBN, but eventually, I'll find the final season of the Closer. The other stuff is a minor annoyance. The nice thing is that you don't have to worry about rushing home to catch your favorite show, or wondering if I remembered to set the TiVo.

As for commercials, there are a lot less ( and I have yet to see one political ad, thank you very much), but you need to get over the fact that they keep playing the same ones over and over again, every time there's a commercial break. I find I can refill  my ice tea glass in the 120 seconds that the break occurs.

Happy surfing. 

I've really cut back from watching allot of tv. I'd say only six expisodes of Family Guy and 2 episodes of Star Trek on Netflix at night.  I then spend the last 3 hours searching the internet for information of alien lifeforms that might be living in the united states.  When I knew I needed to cut the addiction was after watching 23hrs straight of Tivo'd General Hosital. I only ate three boxes of pop tarts for the whole day and never moved an inch. Now, with all this free time to roam the internet I'm becoming quite the expert on UFO's.  You need to cut the cord and cancel the subscription. The only way to overcome the addiction is to slice the cord with a pair of knitting scissors. That's what I did. Then  I called Comcast and told them off in ways that would be considered illegal in most middle eastern countries.