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[ManaByte]

In 2022 I officially cut the cord, but since I watch a lot of sports I still needed to have some kind of linear TV streaming service for NFL games and the like. In 2025 you can mostly do without that for NFL games, with the exception of the NFC games (and the 2025 Super Bowl) airing on Fox as they don't have a streaming option not tied to linear TV. The CBS, NBC, ESPN games all have a streaming option. But back in 2022 you had to have some kind of streaming TV for sports. And at the time things like Hulu, Sling, and Fubo WERE cheaper than traditional cable.

I spent the last couple of years jumping between the various streaming TV services. YouTube TV, DirectTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu Live TV. Fubo and DTV have the RSNs, but that makes them pretty expensive. YouTube TV is pretty bare-bones but the interface is the best. The best deal always ended up being Hulu where you can get Hulu Live TV + the ad-free Disney Bundle for the same or less than the others. This doesn't even include things like Netflix, Max, Prime, etc.

Two years later and with streaming price increases, and that's no longer true. Both YouTube TV and Hulu have jacked up prices.

I was shocked this weekend when an ISP issue took me down a new path.

Yesterday my ISP's dynamic IP refreshed and in their infinite stupidity they provisioned me with a new IP range 2,000 miles away from where I live. Obviously that fucks up streaming TV as I can't get local or regional channels anymore. I spent hours fighting with their idiot out-sourced techs who couldn't even configure a router or knew what DHCP was and obviously couldn't fix what IP range I was provisioned for, so I decided to look into other options.

The only viable option for no-data cap unlimited fiber where I am is a cable company I was with for 15 years in CA (and never had any real issues with). Their 1g fiber is a little less than what I've been paying for the last two years, but I was shocked to see the price with their "cable" (it's not "cable" anymore, it's just streaming TV). Basically I'm going to be getting the TV I had before WITH the regional sports networks Hulu doesn't have yet (they will soon with the Fubo merge and price increase), still have streaming services with it, and with the same internet speed I had, and I'll be saving about $50 a month. The trick with this (which I did every 2 years for 15 years) is you're in a contract and after two years you just need to have them re-bundle you to keep what you're saving.

It's pretty crazy how after years of people sticking it to the cable companies by cutting the "cord", they're now being fucked even harder with streaming and the old "cord" is actually cheaper and a better option that they don't even see.

 

[Ikutachi]

Instructions unclear, now my TV isn't working anymore.

 

[ManaByte]

Instructions unclear, now my TV isn't working anymore.

Did you install the wireless power firmware update?

 

[rm082e]

You mean replacing cable is more expensive then canceling it. If you just cancel it and don't try to replace it, there is still money to be saved.

 

[Sp3eD]

I don’t need tons of sports in my life so cable cutting for me has been way cheaper.

I hunt for deals on streaming services like the peacock $20 for a year deal at Black Friday and abuse the free months with new email sign ups when something I want to watch on the big ones. Honestly the only one I pay for legit monthly is YouTube for the 0 ads (and they have decent movies on there movie section sometimes. I use tubi and Pluto TV (free services) for random movies of tv shows. So about $16 a month for me. However I know that won’t work for everybody but its still better then cable in the 90’s. I can at least pick movies I want to watch even if some free stuff has ads.

 

[WoJ]

We got rid of cable years ago. We did PS Vue until they raised the price. Then we just did netlfix and hulu.

At this point there's so many streaming services I've considered going back to cable, but there's nothing there I'm interested in. So while we currently have Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney, Peacock and Max I generally feel like we get our money's worth more than cable. Once college football is done we will dump Hulu. Prime we pay for anyways. My wife rotates between watching the Office, Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 so we always get our money's worth on Peacock. My daughter watches a ton of Disney and Netflix. We could probably dump Max. Even tho we are probably paying more than cable I feel like we are getting better value. We probably need to do more rotating between a couple of these tho.

I'm also going back to physical media more. It's a pain with stuff going from service to service. So stuff I really like I just buy and am working on creating my own Plex server.

 

[jufonuk]

All suppliers of streaming are bundling their services via cable providers. We’ve come full circle.

 

[ManaByte]

We got rid of cable years ago. We did PS Vue until they raised the price. Then we just did netlfix and hulu.

At this point there's so many streaming services I've considered going back to cable, but there's nothing there I'm interested in. So while we currently have Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney, Peacock and Max I generally feel like we get our money's worth more than cable. Once college football is done we will dump Hulu. Prime we pay for anyways. My wife rotates between watching the Office, Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 so we always get our money's worth on Peacock. My daughter watches a ton of Disney and Netflix. We could probably dump Max. Even tho we are probably paying more than cable I feel like we are getting better value. We probably need to do more rotating between a couple of these tho.

I'm also going back to physical media more. It's a pain with stuff going from service to service. So stuff I really like I just buy and am working on creating my own Plex server.

I had the Hulu Live TV bundle for most of the time. That's $100 now, but it gets you the most out of the live TV services for the same price. YouTube TV is almost the same price, and that doesn't include Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+. Fubo and DirectTV stream have the RSNs, but you'll be paying a minimum for $115 a month for either of those with the RSN fee. I have Max through my mobile plan, Peacock is like $8 without ads so that's nothing for the WWE PPVs, I pay for Prime for Thursday football, and I have Netflix.

But for TV, going back to "cable" will save me $50 and I'll even have the RSNs that Hulu doesn't have. Hulu and Fubo are merging to stop the Venu lawsuit, and Fubo will run the carraige deals for Hulu. That means Hulu will get RSNs most likely, but then it'll get ANOTHER price increase.

All suppliers of streaming are bundling their services via cable providers. We’ve come full circle.

My "cable" (again it's still just streaming) is $50 less than Hulu, includes the RSNs, and then D+/ESPN+/Paramout etc. So at this point it's cheaper than the streaming options.

 

[jshackles]

"Cutting the cord is more expensive"

but since I watch a lot of sports I still needed to have some kind of linear TV streaming service

Found your problem OP

 

[poodaddy]

I don't watch sports, but I have noticed the streaming subscriptions getting out of hand. Canceled HBO, Disney, Paramount, and Hulu, probably gonna cancel Netflix at some point but I've got a deal through my ISP where it's damn near free as a perk, so no reason right now. I've kinda gone back to actually just buying movies I like, and I'm happier for it. Makes the content seem less disposable. It's crazy, when I had HBO Max, I kept intending to watch Righteous Gemstones and Dune, never got around to it. Bought them both on sale recently and blasted right through em. I think it's a mental thing, but having the option to stream something doesn't make me as motivated to watch as if I bought it for some reason. One day I'll just be done with streaming subscriptions altogether, and that'll be just fine.

 

[Branded]

Haven't had cable (or a TV subscription) for eons. There's nothing but slop on that thing.

 

[Mistake]

Some cable packages now include streaming services, so it evens out. I've been sailing the seven seas for years though, so I don't pay jack. Then again, I don't care for sports either

 

[Trogdor1123]

We certainly pay more now than before but there are also more options. You also don’t need everything. We have way too many subscriptions imo but we were pretty smart about it. Our Netflix is included with our tv package and our tv package was pretty cheap. Our Disney subscription was included with our cellphones. Our prime video is included with prime (still pisses me off they added commercials), we got paramount + at 50% off, Apple TV is included with our subscription to Apple one which has been helpful, and Sirius sub we get for about 9 a month I think.

I think it is stupid how many we have as I rarely watch any but at least the damage is minimized.

 

[ReBurn]

It's still cheaper to me. After the initial specials my cable company signed me up for ended my bill for TV + internet ballooned to $350 per month. I dropped TV and my $89 internet runs me $120 after junk fees. I subscribe to $60 worth of streaming services, so I'm still $170 to the good.

 

[Punished Miku]

I paid for internet when I had TV so I'm not factoring that in. I get 1 streaming sub for TV / movies at a time and cancel / switch when I get bored. So my bill is $17 roughly, or cheaper. How much is cable now?

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

I’m going to Love this thread

 

[BlackTron]

Yeah I did the Disney+Hulu thing awhile, until they clamped down on the IP. I'm good with Pluto TV + free Paramount + big ole' HDD.

 

[March Climber]

All suppliers of streaming are bundling their services via cable providers. We’ve come full circle.

We've come full circle and the new circle is still miles better than the previous one.

Except for OP's very specific case.

 

[nush]

 

[Trogdor1123]

So serious question For pirate folks. How do you even do that anymore? Aren’t you worried about getting sued or whatever? I pirated stuff 20 years ago but it’s a different world now.

 

[TheAtomicPile]

My isp stopped offering cable a while ago. All I could get from them is a little discount on YouTube TV. Yay.

 

[sharp weiner]

Give me the fucking cord. Also 2x the ads please. Also can I please get a kick in the nuts? Thank you

 

[Kilau]

I feel for you, it’s a mess. I did come up with one simple cheap solution.

Don’t watch anything, ever.

 

[DragoonKain]

It was always going to end up this way. The endgame of any new tech or software =

Introduce a great product at a great price or sometimes even free

Product becomes really popular and gets a large user base

Company increases the price or starts charging for something that's free

User base doesn't drop off

Company increases the price even more

User base still doesn't drop off, but users are starting to get vocal with the price increase

Company starts removing key features or making using the product insufferable unless you pay even more money to get the features back or get a product that isn't annoying to use

And if people pay the fee for that, they know they've got you and can do whatever they want. Price increases every couple years, etc etc.

 

[AJUMP23]

I would love to have the old 30 dollar yttv back. It was great. Now it is 85 a month.

Then I have Netflix and prime. It is silly.

 

[Kacho]

Yep, I've been cancelling subs as prices go up. These companies need to figure out how to make good content before I start paying these ever increasing prices. Most of it is slop for mouth breathers.

I'm good with Netflix for the kids and cable for the wife and I. We just rent/buy the movies we're interested in, which is rare these days.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

In 2022 I officially cut the cord, but since I watch a lot of sports I still needed to have some kind of linear TV streaming service for NFL games and the like. In 2025 you can mostly do without that for NFL games, with the exception of the NFC games (and the 2025 Super Bowl) airing on Fox as they don't have a streaming option not tied to linear TV. The CBS, NBC, ESPN games all have a streaming option. But back in 2022 you had to have some kind of streaming TV for sports. And at the time things like Hulu, Sling, and Fubo WERE cheaper than traditional cable.

I spent the last couple of years jumping between the various streaming TV services. YouTube TV, DirectTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu Live TV. Fubo and DTV have the RSNs, but that makes them pretty expensive. YouTube TV is pretty bare-bones but the interface is the best. The best deal always ended up being Hulu where you can get Hulu Live TV + the ad-free Disney Bundle for the same or less than the others. This doesn't even include things like Netflix, Max, Prime, etc.

Two years later and with streaming price increases, and that's no longer true. Both YouTube TV and Hulu have jacked up prices.

I was shocked this weekend when an ISP issue took me down a new path.

Yesterday my ISP's dynamic IP refreshed and in their infinite stupidity they provisioned me with a new IP range 2,000 miles away from where I live. Obviously that fucks up streaming TV as I can't get local or regional channels anymore. I spent hours fighting with their idiot out-sourced techs who couldn't even configure a router or knew what DHCP was and obviously couldn't fix what IP range I was provisioned for, so I decided to look into other options.

The only viable option for no-data cap unlimited fiber where I am is a cable company I was with for 15 years in CA (and never had any real issues with). Their 1g fiber is a little less than what I've been paying for the last two years, but I was shocked to see the price with their "cable" (it's not "cable" anymore, it's just streaming TV). Basically I'm going to be getting the TV I had before WITH the regional sports networks Hulu doesn't have yet (they will soon with the Fubo merge and price increase), still have streaming services with it, and with the same internet speed I had, and I'll be saving about $50 a month. The trick with this (which I did every 2 years for 15 years) is you're in a contract and after two years you just need to have them re-bundle you to keep what you're saving.

It's pretty crazy how after years of people sticking it to the cable companies by cutting the "cord", they're now being fucked even harder with streaming and the old "cord" is actually cheaper and a better option that they don't even see.

You're cutting a big chord and attaching a bunch of small chords.

Don't do that.

 

[8bitpill]

 

[Cyberpunkd]

You mean replacing cable is more expensive then canceling it. If you just cancel it and don't try to replace it, there is still money to be saved.

This. OP has first world problems. I am cancelling almost all streaming services, I got Amazon Prime through Prime, Disney+ on 1.99€/month and that’s it, I’m keeping nothing else.

 

[El Muerto]

I used to use Sling TV for cable, it's still cheaper than Hulu Live tv and Youtube tv. I also use an antenna for local channels. But there's a decent kodi addon for sports streams if i'm missing something. Superbowl is always on antenna tv anyways and that's where i always watch it. If you stream the super bowl in an app you miss out on all the commercials because the network streaming the game puts in their own ads.
I do prefer streaming over cable. I dont mind paying a few dollars to opt out of ads per app. And the shows in streaming apps are different than your typical network comfort shows like Law and Order or NCIS, etc. Cable channels just show the same shit over and over during the day too. Roku, Google devices, and Fire tv have live channels airing mostly the same re-runs that run on cable. I look at it like this. Commercials take up 20-30% of a timeslot, so if you're cable bill is $120, you're essentially paying ~$25 a month on watching ads.

I also worked at an ISP, i was pretty high up too on the technical side. They do not control the geolocation of IPs. It is all done by a 3rd party. And we were never told who that 3rd party was lol.

 

[FunkMiller]

There is no good reason for anyone who’s technologically savvy to be paying these rapacious, shit loaded companies a dime in 2025.

And regardless, you can always exercise some self restraint and not pay for all those services, OP.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Buy a streaming box for $100-150. Find a monthly service for $10. Get all the channels, sports, pay per view, and movies you want.

 

[Puscifer]

We got rid of cable years ago. We did PS Vue until they raised the price. Then we just did netlfix and hulu.

At this point there's so many streaming services I've considered going back to cable, but there's nothing there I'm interested in. So while we currently have Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney, Peacock and Max I generally feel like we get our money's worth more than cable. Once college football is done we will dump Hulu. Prime we pay for anyways. My wife rotates between watching the Office, Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 so we always get our money's worth on Peacock. My daughter watches a ton of Disney and Netflix. We could probably dump Max. Even tho we are probably paying more than cable I feel like we are getting better value. We probably need to do more rotating between a couple of these tho.

I'm also going back to physical media more. It's a pain with stuff going from service to service. So stuff I really like I just buy and am working on creating my own Plex server.

I wonder how much you'd save just buying the DVDs of those vs blu rays, I bought all my shows on physical media that I like and havent had a real subscription service in years...

 

[newtypepilot]

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Pretty close to dumping my YouTubeTV... I'll probably wait till after the Super Bowl just for convenience.

 

[ManaByte]

I also worked at an ISP, i was pretty high up too on the technical side. They do not control the geolocation of IPs. It is all done by a 3rd party. And we were never told who that 3rd party was lol.

Yes, but the ISP controls the provisioning of the IPs.

I've dealt with IP geolocation before on a technical level. There's not just one 3rd party. There's a whole list and some services use one and not the other to determine where you are. You were probably not told what 3rd party it was because the ISP had no clue which one the customer was being dicked over by was.

A previous job I ran IT for a non-profit who relied on donors. They had a US and a Canadian office. Donors in the US had to give in the US, while those in Canada had to donate to Canada. They had a US and Canadian website and based on the donor's location is what version of the site they'd land on. Frontier/Verizon fucked up twice. One time they provisioned customers in SoCal with IPs located in Quebec, and the other time was customers in Texas with IPs in Vancouver. I kept sending them the bad gateways so much they blocked us from contacting them because they didn't want to bother fixing it, they got their money from the customers and that's all that mattered.

 

[Ribi]

Just know your Russian streaming sites or get IPTV. Wtf

Also I'm looking for a good IPTV service either free or paid. Any recommendations and if not allowed do delete since it's not technically illegal

 

[thefool]

It never made any sense to go from a generalized solution to siloed products. Naturally prices eventually become higher.

 

[AJUMP23]

It never made any sense to go from a generalized solution to siloed products. Naturally prices eventually become higher.

The industry needed to be disrupted and it was better for a time. But it was not really getting rid of cable it was centralizing it to singular providers.

 

[WoJ]

I wonder how much you'd save just buying the DVDs of those vs blu rays, I bought all my shows on physical media that I like and havent had a real subscription service in years...

Probably a decent amount. But I mostly buy used blu rays which helps.

 

[Dural]

So serious question For pirate folks. How do you even do that anymore? Aren’t you worried about getting sued or whatever? I pirated stuff 20 years ago but it’s a different world now.

Newsgroups for most things, never had the ISP say anything about it. 100MB+ download speeds.

For torrents, use something like DelugeVPN.

Just know your Russian streaming sites or get IPTV. Wtf

Also I'm looking for a good IPTV service either free or paid. Any recommendations and if not allowed do delete since it's not technically illegal

I've used Apollo Group for years, they're the best (I've tried out many over the years).

 

[Ribi]

Newsgroups for most things, never had the ISP say anything about it. 100MB+ download speeds.

For torrents, use something like DelugeVPN.



I've used Apollo Group for years, they're the best (I've tried out many over the years).

PVP included? aka ufc

 

[IntentionalPun]

I dunno… it’s roughly the same, maybe a little less?

You can’t include Prime/Netflix in a cord cutting “cost analysis” because they were never a part of cable.

No more need to buy / lease cable boxes instantly makes any of the TV streaming services a lot cheaper.

 

[Drew1440]

Though I still have cable (Virgin Media 360), I mostly find myself using FAST services like Tubi/Pluto TV. Nothing on Netflix/Disney/Prime interests me.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Not even close for me. I was paying over $200 a month for TV and internet. Now I pay like $80.

 

[Dural]

PVP included? aka ufc

Yep. No porn though, but that I'm fine with as my kids are also using it.

 

[T-0800]

I watched more movies when I had movie channels. Something about discovering a movie was on and continuing to watch is more appealing then selecting something from a list on Netflix etc.

 

[Ribi]

Yep. No porn though, but that I'm fine with as my kids are also using it.

Sold. Do you use a VPN with it?

 

[Dural]

Sold. Do you use a VPN with it?

Nope, just with torrents using DelugeVPN. It comes with 5 seats, I think, and my mom, sister, and brother all use it at their houses without issue. I have it on an AppleTV and GoogleTV, my family uses Firesticks.

 

[poppabk]

and I'll be saving about $50 a month. The trick with this (which I did every 2 years for 15 years) is you're in a contract and after two years you just need to have them re-bundle you to keep what you're saving.

So you are on an introductory offer and plan on keeping the introductory pricing? Maybe you live in an area with multiple providers, but for most people the cable company will give you a $10 break per month max if you try and continue on your deal.