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26% of Netflix Users May Cancel Cable TV This Year, Says Survey (huffingtonpost.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the bundle-and-save dept.

The future looks grim for cable TV providers like Comcast and Time Warner Cable. A new survey says that as many as 26 percent of Netflix users may cancel their cable TV service by next year. Huffington Post reports: Where are they going? If you say "Netflix," you're not exactly correct. The fact is that, according to a recent survey by CutCableToday, 67 percent of Netflix subscribers still have cable. That's pretty much right in line with last year's numbers, insinuating that Netflix isn't necessarily synonymous with cord cutting. However, perhaps a more interesting statistic from the study shows that 26 percent of Netflix users may not have cable by next year. More specifically, 11 percent of Netflix users say they're going to cancel their cable contracts. 15 percent say they are unsure if they'll keep cable or cut the cord. What about the other 74 percent? The survey goes on to say that the most common reason people aren't canceling is due to Big Cable's greatest weapon. The bundle. The survey states that 80% of Netflix subscribers have their internet bundled with TV or phone service.

92 comments

  1. Usenet by rfengr · · Score: 1

    And 26% of Netflix users will switch to Usenet.

    1. Re:Usenet by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      I am a Netflix user and I will NOT cancel my cable. Reason: It costs me $0. The Comcast bundle of Internet+TV+Phone costs me exactly the same as just Internet. I have never actually watched cable, and it is not even connected to my TV, but it is nice to have it just in case someday there is something worth watching. In the meantime, it costs me nothing. The free landline phone is also handy when I misplace my cellphone somewhere in the house and need to make it ring so I can find it.

    2. Re:Usenet by davepk · · Score: 1

      I'm a Netflix user and i will not cancel my Usenet.

    3. Re: Usenet by stephencrane · · Score: 2

      But then that just means you're being overcharged for Internet.

    4. Re: Usenet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But then that just means you're being overcharged for Internet.

      And a regional Monopoly that disallows you to select a different ISP

    5. Re:Usenet by mikeiver1 · · Score: 1

      Time Warner is all digital, the ploy is to force one into renting the box for a few dollars more a month. We have only internet, not paying them for a cable box I don't need for a service I have no desire of There are far to many commercials on cable anyway and the programs are abysmal at this point. I am so done with cable TV. I go to my mother in laws house a couple times a month and a couple of hours of cable programming cures me of any desire I might have for cable TV service. Also, I am grown up and don't lose my phone so there is no need of a land line (VOIP) phone.

    6. Re:Usenet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's because you're a fucking moron and they've tricked you into thinking internet alone won't be cheaper.

    7. Re: Usenet by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      But then that just means you're being overcharged for Internet.

      Only if you assume that it costs them more than $0 to provide the TV service. Since all the bits are delivered over the same cable, the marginal equipment cost is zero. So if they make more in advertising revenue than they pay in licensing fees, the cost is negative, and the "Internet only" people are being undercharged.

      The likely reason they give TV away for free, is so they can claim a larger audience, and thus charge more for TV ads.

    8. Re:Usenet by jetkust · · Score: 5, Insightful

      smh. Have you ever thought why they are offering these "extra" services for no extra charge? The end result is you end up getting a bill for services you didn't want. You DON'T have control over this. They can charge you whatever they want regardless of anything they told you. My guess is the internet only option scares them because it's harder to find a way to sneak extra incomprehensible costs into your bill.

    9. Re: Usenet by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

      The likely reason they give TV away for free, is so they can claim a larger audience, and thus charge more for TV ads.

      Yeah, because the people buying adspace are retards who blindly trust the TV providers and do no market research of their own.

      I prefer to asssume that the people who are actually making a living doing something are atleast as knowledgeable about their job as me.

      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    10. Re:Usenet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know what bundle you found, but every bundle I've seen has at least a $10 increase (plus some taxes) to add Cable TV to Internet (even the most basic Cable). I've never seen a 2-way bundle that is the same price or cheaper than the Internet alone.

      From my perspective, the home phone portion is irrelevant. It's the rare person who doesn't have a cell phone for nearly every person in the family mature enough to be left home alone, so a home phone is a redundant device. The phone also comes with a set of its own taxes too. So unless 3-way bundle is actually less than the 2-way bundle, I can't imagine why someone would buy it.

    11. Re:Usenet by martinfb · · Score: 1

      I am a Netflix user and I will NOT cancel my cable. Reason: It costs me $0. The Comcast bundle of Internet+TV+Phone costs me exactly the same as just Internet.

      Indeed. Comcast's wisdom was in bundling. However, there needs to be a movement to force public ISPs to offer Internet only at a FAIR price.

      I have never actually watched cable, and it is not even connected to my TV, but it is nice to have it just in case someday there is something worth watching.

      You are not missing ANYTHING! Cable TV is a 'bundle' of channels that repeat shows over and over and over and over .... and ... over and over...
      And, the shows are, at best, mediocre. It is obvious that Comcast is buying the cheapest shows at whatever deal they can get. There is NO consideration for consistent quality. It is the POOREST VALUE of any service I have ever seen. EVER. An obvious monopolistic money making scheme. Unethical, criminal.

      --


      Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
    12. Re:Usenet by Karlt1 · · Score: 1

      I looked into that recently. Comcast charges you the following fees on top of the quoted prices:
      - box rental
      - HD technology
      - regional sports
      - broadcast TV
      - universal Connectivity (for the bundled landline)
      - Regulatory Recovery (not a government fee)
      - TV communications fee (some states but you wouldn't have to pay the fee if you don't have TV service)

      https://consumerist.com/2016/0...

      Most of these fees can be avoided if you go Internet only. Also if you want Internet without a cap, it's an additional $50 for Residential. When we move, we will be getting Comcast Business for $89 (25/10) with no caps and be buying our cable router outright.

    13. Re: Usenet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Way over simplified. Every customer that has TV and does not watch devalues the ads they sell. And plenty of ISPs have said in the past that TV is expensive because of licensing, to the point that they use profit from their ISP side to prop up their TV by associating the cost of the infrastructure with Internet services.

  2. finger in the air day by epine · · Score: 1

    Another one, just like the other one. How come nobody told me it was Finger in the Air day?

    1. Re:finger in the air day by JustNiz · · Score: 2

      Its been scientifically proven that 103% of all statistics are made up lies.

  3. Not this one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I never had cable.

  4. innumeracy overload by Ken+D · · Score: 1

    67% of netflix subscribers still have cable!
    74% of netflix subscribers aren't going to cancel cable!
    15% of netflix subscribers are uncertain about canceling
    11% of netflix subscribers are going to cancel ... or is that 74% of the 64% of subscribers who have cable?? ...carry the 1..
    anyone understand reverse polish notation?

    1. Re: innumeracy overload by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      104% of slashdotters don't like your comment

    2. Re:innumeracy overload by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      People are always saying they're going to cancel. When push comes to shove, they want that one sports channel that is only available by cable or satellite, or the cost of just internet access comes out to only a few dollars less, or the company offers them a deal that is too good to pass up. The cable companies and satellite providers have way more experience playing this game than the 26% who say they're going to leave.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    3. Re:innumeracy overload by Cyberax · · Score: 1

      Fortunately, more and more people are getting cured out of the "sportsball watching" disease.

    4. Re:innumeracy overload by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Me and my brother's solution to that (neither of us have cable) is to drive over to my parent's house on Sunday to watch football. My folks still like their cable shows, so they stay subscribed, and it gives the family a nice excuse to spend the day together, yelling at the TV (nothing like a nail-biting come-from-behind win to get the blood pumping) and sharing a meal together afterwards.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    5. Re:innumeracy overload by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      Some sort of gif Venn diagram or a new look MONIAC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... using fluidic logic and a series of tubes to model the intentions of captive consumers.
      Actions like data caps, loss of usenet, deep packet inspection, slowing p2p, a la carte television, the costs of just profiting from expensive new fast internet could all be explored for shareholder profits.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    6. Re:innumeracy overload by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 1

      or finding quite nice free streaming sites

      --
      People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
    7. Re:innumeracy overload by DeBaas · · Score: 2

      and now 26% of parents of Netflix subscribers are thinking about cancelling Cable......

      --
      ---
    8. Re:innumeracy overload by martinfb · · Score: 1

      I DO!

      Yet I do not understand this article!

      --


      Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
  5. Won't effect me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have no TV.

    1. Re: Won't effect me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Maybe the tv would explain when to use affect vs effect

  6. Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by CaseCrash · · Score: 1

    Nice! Now I can cancel my Comcast television! And pay more for Comcast internet. And pay $10/month for Netflix, and $12/month for Hulu because I want to watch recent shows, not just seasons from two years ago (without commercials, since I can't fast forward like my DVR can), maybe another $9 if I want Showtime. And then $8.25/month for Amazon prime to fill in some gaps. And I like John Oliver and Game of Thrones so just $15 more a month. Oh! And I watch Stephen Colbert on CBS which was free for like 70 years, but now I'll pay $10/month for that too. Although I do like football so I guess I'll have to find a friend who still has cable so I can use his account to watch the games.........

    --
    No, that link you posted to a web comic we've all seen a hundred times is not "obligatory."
    1. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by secretsquirel · · Score: 2

      If you're that concerned about your media selection, perhaps cord cutting is not for you.

    2. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by KitFox · · Score: 2

      It's okay.

      Cost for me for Internet (Very Fast) + Cable TV == $270 a month, plus $22 cable box rental plus $15 for HBO + $15 for Showtime. == $322 per month.

      Cost for me for Internet alone: $150. $10 Netflix. $12 Hulu. $15 HBO, $11 Showtime. $10 one time OTA antenna of 3-day delay for CBS Online (Which is fine for me ), and of course Amazon Prime, which costs me $8.25 a month and saves me hundreds a year in shipping fees. But yeah, folks who like to watch sports are screwed, with NFL games online starting at $50 a month for four months and then getting worse.

      Mind you, the vast majority of the people I've done the math for get things cheaper online, but that's not everybody. There will always be some folks who have no choice but to get the TV service.

      --

      @Whee

    3. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by asylumx · · Score: 2

      There will always be some folks who have no choice but to get the TV service.

      Watching TV is a choice. No, I'm not the guy who has no TV, but I do at least recognize that I've made a choice by having one at all.

    4. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by lgw · · Score: 1

      Most people get internet + Netflix + torrents (and already have Amazon Prime for the shipping). Just sayin'.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    5. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by kimvette · · Score: 1

      Try sling.. I'm going to be trying it out as the end of my Comcrap "contract" comes up soon. If Sling is as good as they claim I'm cutting the cord. :D

      --
      The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    6. Re:Sweet I can cancel Comcast! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Participating in culture is a choice. You always have the option to be that anti-social recluse that doesn't know any pop-culture references. In order to participate in society, you need to have some culture in common with others and culture is a moving target that changes rapidly. You could always pick up a hobby that other's share so you have something to talk about, but most hobbies cost more than TV.

  7. I'm part of the 26% from 10 years ago. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I haven't had cable in 10 years. This means I missed a lot of social memes, cues, and references. I'm better than ok with that.

    Bizango? Buzinga? I don't give a fuck.

    1. Re: I'm part of the 26% from 10 years ago. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bizango? Buzinga?

      It's Ben Gozzi. Apparently Hillary knows him.

  8. Bundling is monopolistic by somenickname · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, basically, you have a physical monopoly (the connection coming into your house), that we, the taxpayers subsided, that is now being abused as a content monopoly. "Sure, you can have just an internet connection. But, it will cost you the same as getting internet/phone/tv. Oh, and we are going to cap your internet connection so, I highly recommend you take the bundle." I really can't wait until these fuckers finally generate enough hate among their users that it becomes a re-election issue for congress critters. The *only* way this problem will be solved is if the outrage of the voters outweighs the lobby money from the monopolies.

    1. Re:Bundling is monopolistic by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1

      So, basically, you have a physical monopoly (the connection coming into your house), that we, the taxpayers subsided, that is now being abused as a content monopoly.

      I think it's a bit more complicated than that. Customers who have both TV and internet service are more likely to watch TV shows via the TV service. Particularly for cable, that comes out of a different bucket of bandwidth than if you watch TV shows via an internet streaming service. In short, cord-cutters will use more--and likely far, far more--internet bandwidth over time than will TV subscribers. Building out infrastructure so that any given subscriber can reliably stream around the clock costs money. Data caps help keep the aggregate demand in balance with the current size of the infrastructure, and surcharges for uncapped data help the infrastructure grow to balance the increased demand.

      I don't like it any more than you do, but at bottom there's no such thing as a free lunch. (In the hope of fending off at least a few reflexive downmods, let me be clear that this is a different issue than whether a provider's overall pricing is reasonable or is a monopoly rent -- I'm just discussing the provider's pricing delta (or lack thereof) between a TV subscriber and a cord cutter.)

  9. Ahead of the game. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I cancelled cable 3 years ago. Land line telephone service too. Now using cell phone mostly and OOMA VOIP as a backup.

    1. Re:Ahead of the game. by amxcoder · · Score: 2

      Just did this about 4 months ago. Cancelled TV and home phone. Switched to Internet only, and added OOMA VoIP service. Saving quite a bit than I was previously paying.

      I'm not sure how people are saying that internet a la carte is the same as a bundle price, unless you are comparing non-promo internet pricing to promo bundle pricing. Sure you might not save a hundreds of dollars, but in my case, the tv portion was going to be over $120 after promo pricing, and home phone was going to be $40. This was for the mid-tier channel lineup only, no premium channels.

      I also don't think some people take into account the add-ons they end up having, or getting talked into. Sure, in some cases, with promo pricing, maybe TV is only $10-$20 more than just internet, but then when all is said and done, they realize that there is 1 channel that the base tier doesn't include, and move up to the next highest tier, then many want to add on HBO, Showtime, Sports package, or other popular packages as well. Also the monthly rental fees of the set-top boxes, and all the numerous taxes are higher because of the TV service being active on the account that aren't included in the price that is advertised (so they aren't factoring these in).

      I think with a lot of people, they see the promo price of the bundle, and their brain locks that price in, "oh, I can get all 3 services for $60/mo!", but if they look at their bill after the first year or two, they would realize that after the special pricing ends, and they are paying all the real prices, and all the "Free HBO for 3 months" is over, with the options that they really signed up for, and they will realize that they are easily paying $150-$200/mo.

  10. Remember in America by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    you're not allowed to make less money this year then you did last year. At least not if you're a corporation. Nintendo has enough money to lose $250 million a year for the next 20 years and they were scared enough of their investors to make an endless runner for iOS...

    We're backing the cable companies into a corner. The FCC is about to take away their exclusive set top boxes and 20 billion a year in revenue there. Netflix is attacking them on caps and ESPN is putting sports online.

    It begs the question: what awful things these guys are gonna do to survive? They're not going to go quietly into that good night and we don't have the political will in this country to reign them in....

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Remember in America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It begs the question: what awful things these guys are gonna do to survive? They're not going to go quietly into that good night and we don't have the political will in this country to reign them in....

      They could offer pay-tv on the internet - netflix style. If people won't pay for foozball over cable - then they pay for foozball on some former cable company's version of netflix instead. People wan't foozball on a screen - and they won't care how it gets to their screen - as long as it gets there somehow.

      When there are several communications infrastructures, they compete. Eventually, internet wins, because it can provide all the services: fazebooks, spoortz tv, phoonez. Cable don't usually provide all of them, landlines definitely can't provide all of them. So most people will have internet, and eventually sufficiently many realize they no longer need to pay for the other infrastructures. Then the others collapse and become more expensive for the few oldies who cling to them for a while. And someday communication==internet and they young won't understand that there used to be other kinds of electronic communication. Similiar to how they already think computer networking==internet, with the only two flavors being ip4 and ip6.

  11. Give me local news and I'll cancel by Snotnose · · Score: 2

    Used to be football and news, but after the realizing last year how hard the Spanos family was totally fucking Chargers fans and San Diego taxpayers I don't really care about football anymore.

    Don't say "antenna", I live in San Diego and with all the mountains I might get 1 or 2 stations.

    1. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by Nethemas+the+Great · · Score: 1

      Give me the Hallmark Channel as a streaming service and I'll cancel. Until then, doing so would place my life in imminent jeopardy by my wife.

      --
      Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
    2. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 1

      yeah, I hear these 30% will cancel cable...and I think 100% of those are single.

      Even if you could get all the equivalents via streaming...it took my wife a few years to get the hang of Tivo. Tivo! that bastion of stupid simple TV watching. I haven't yet seen a decent interface that can really qualify as luddite friendly and encompass streaming, internet and likely some OTA.

      --
      People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
    3. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, I hear these 30% will cancel cable...and I think 100% of those are single.

      Sure, single people may be the first. Then, some company realize they can reach those single people (young men, some of them with money) if they provide a netflix-like service. And the dam bursts. They desperately want to reach all the young people - because if they haven't got a cable TV habit by 25-30, it won't happen later.

      And as singles pair up, there will be discussions like "cable TV? You wan't that, YOU pay for it.". A discussion the man sometimes will loose, and sometimes win. And so at least some women will consider if cable is worth the cost, and some of the women channels/shows will appear on internet TV too. That dam will burst.

    4. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by stinerman · · Score: 1

      Have you tried a big honkin' ass antenna mounted on a tower? Just a suggestion.

      I can get most of the football games I want over an antenna, all the soccer, and then there's just the problem of hockey. I'm thinking of going to SlingTV for that. I just received one of those flat "Leaf" type antennas today and try that out for a few months. If not that, I might have to try to be handy and put something better up in the attic.

    5. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by Solandri · · Score: 1

      I had the same problem. I ended up getting a Roku. CBS, ABC, and BBC have pretty good free global news channels. And there's a channel called NewsON which gives you access to local news feeds. (The app used to be really flaky and crashed a lot, which is why its rating on Roku isn't very high. But an update this summer greatly improved reliability and usability.)

      And I would get a Roku 2 instead of a Roku 3. The button layout on the 3 remote is brain-dead. The select (OK) button is below the navigation buttons, instead of in the center. And the voice search button is right next to select. If you accidentally hit voice search instead of OK, when you cancel it it dumps you back to the home screen and you have to start your navigation all over again. And this annoying voice search button has replaced the extraordinarily useful instant replay button entirely (to replay the last few seconds you just missed). The two Roku boxes themselves are identical - I paired the Roku 3 remote to my Roku 2 before returning the 3, and all the Roku 3-exclusive functions still worked.

      If you really want voice search, you can get the Roku app on your phone - it has voice search, the search and navigation doesn't interrupt what the Roku is currently playing, and it will automatically control your Roku when you've picked a selection. The main thing you lose is the RF control on the Roku 3 remote (don't need to point it at the Roku box). The Roku 2's remote is IR, and not very good IR. It's the only remote I have which doesn't work when bounced off walls. I ended up getting a Logitech Harmony Companion. It's also a RF remote and controls the Roku over wifi. And since I run my A/V through a receiver, it's handy for turning on/off both my TV and receiver at the same time. It's expensive though - more than the Roku. The RF control is well worth it IMHO, but be aware that it means you can't just drop the remote on the sofa. If you accidentally sit or roll onto it, the buttons still work even though there's no line of sight. You have to be careful to place the remote on the armrest or table.

    6. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by pixelpusher220 · · Score: 1

      the flaw in your argument is copyright. you can't just start up a service delivering content without paying for it.

      Netflix bread and butter was DVDs...because they didn't have to pay for them each rental. Just buy a DVD and rent it 100-1000 times at pure profit.

      Now, they are charged ridiculous streaming rates, per view. It's why Netflix keeps dropping movies...unless there's a significant viewership ongoing it's not profitable to keep it in stock. (and this is not a stock rotation thing...it costs them basically zero actual dollars to keep movies active on their service...only the copyright fees prevent it).

      --
      People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people :-D
    7. Re:Give me local news and I'll cancel by evilviper · · Score: 1

      Go to TVfool.com and put in your address, and about 20' antenna height. Anything -120dBm or above, you can get with good antennas and a mast mounted preamp. I'd bet big money you can get most local stations, and for under $200 total.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  12. Cheaper to bundle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I had Comcast, it was cheaper for me to have their triple-play bundle (tv, phone, internet) than it was to have just the internet service.

  13. Netflix has no flix. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Watched everything worth watching in less than two months. In the third month maybe three more items worth watching were posted. Then I cancelled. You would think a 21st century service that calls itself Netflix would have a huge selection of movies. They don't. They have hardly any. More like Netnoflix.

    Netflix has no content. I have no idea what these Netflix subscribers are watching. Maybe they just think it's cool to say they have a Netflix subscription?

    I don't have cable TV.

    1. Re: Netflix has no flix. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't Netflix and chill without the Netflix account! Well worth the $10 a month regardless of the lack of content.

  14. I don't know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can't get crap for movies on Netflix. Couldn't get Happy Gilmore tonight. Dropping Netflix like last week's trash.

  15. We should get out more by jenningsthecat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'd be happy to see more and more people dumping, (in addition to cable), Netflix, Facebook, online gaming, porn, etc. Go out and take a walk, talk to your spouse and kids and parents and siblings, get together with friends to play some old-fashioned board games. Too many people, (myself included), are excessive consumers of prepackaged entertainment authored by other people.

    BTW, I suppose I should add Slashdot to that list of stuff to devote less time to. Gotta go kiss my girlfriend now... Bye!

    --
    'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    1. Re:We should get out more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd be happy to see more and more people dumping, (in addition to cable), Netflix, Facebook, online gaming, porn, etc. Go out and take a walk, talk to your spouse and kids and parents and siblings, get together with friends to play some old-fashioned board games. Too many people, (myself included), are excessive consumers of prepackaged entertainment authored by other people.

      BTW, I suppose I should add Slashdot to that list of stuff to devote less time to. Gotta go kiss my girlfriend now... Bye!

      This has nothing to do with that dribble and you really need to stop preaching. You can be plenty interactive and still take advantage of modern technology and entertainment. Stop even implying that things are bad because you have self control issues. If you're so addicted to something that you literally have to make a special effort to kiss or talk to your SO you have a severely addictive personality. If you stop doing X you'll just find Y to fill it. Netflix, Facebook, online gaming, porn, etc... aren't the problem. You are. Seek treatment and for damn sure don't give anyone advice.

    2. Re:We should get out more by jetkust · · Score: 1

      So true. One of the most insightful posts on Slashdot in a while, and may be completely ignored.

    3. Re:We should get out more by jenningsthecat · · Score: 2

      This has nothing to do with that dribble and you really need to stop preaching. You can be plenty interactive and still take advantage of modern technology and entertainment. Stop even implying that things are bad because you have self control issues.

      Whoa, slow down there Sparky! Touched a nerve there did I? I just read your response to my GF - the first words out of her mouth were "Transference, much?", followed by "you might want to mention that when you're watching too much TV or too many movies it's usually with me".

      If you're so addicted to something that you literally have to make a special effort to kiss or talk to your SO you have a severely addictive personality.

      Again, whoa! That's quite a jump from 'an excessive consumer of prepackaged entertainment' to 'severely addictive personality'. Leapt right over that vast middle ground between the two, didn't you? Probably didn't even notice it whizzing past in your rush to deliver what I'm sure you mistakenly thought was a crippling blow. As for 'special effort', I kiss my girlfriend several times a day - no effort required, except perhaps in finding still more opportunities to do so...

      If you stop doing X you'll just find Y to fill it. Netflix, Facebook, online gaming, porn, etc... aren't the problem. You are. Seek treatment and for damn sure don't give anyone advice.

      If you're so touchy that you have to lash out in an over-the-top angry response to a bit of mild philosophical musing by a complete stranger, my words aren't the problem. You are. Seek treatment, and for damn sure get them to pull the pickle out of your ass and reverse that humorectomy.

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
    4. Re:We should get out more by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have you met my wife? You spend time with her!

  16. Kill cable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Had cable/ internet / phone for $180.
    Now have internet for 60, Netflix for 10, sling for 10, and antenna for broadcast.
    $100 more per month to spend on overpriced micro brews.

    1. Re: Kill cable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correction. Sling for 20, and 90 for beer. Still a win

    2. Re: Kill cable by stevez67 · · Score: 1

      Sling? Seriously? They're another bundler of channels. We cut the cable years ago, went with a Roku and and now subscribe to Netflix and Acorn and get Amazon Prime video as a side benefit for using prime for shopping and textbook renting (and at the $50/yr student rate). The only thing we're even remotely interested in is a 100% ala carte channel subscription option. Any service that makes us pay for channels we never watch is a non-starter.

    3. Re: Kill cable by secretsquirel · · Score: 1

      Am pretty happy with sling. A bundle sure, but the bundle contains the 4 or 5 channels that I may ever watch. Easier to flip past 10-15 crap channels than 150 crap channels, especially on the relatively nice Roku interface instead of crappy 1980's cable box interface. Doubt any a la catre option would be cheaper than $20 for those channels anyway. As much as cable channels want you to pay, even free viewers make them money, hence bundles.

    4. Re: Kill cable by bigfinger76 · · Score: 1

      Good for you.
      Many people, however, enjoy Sling, and not everyone is a cord-cutting purist. The whole idea is freedom, yet there's always that guy bitching at others for not being free the right way.
      Seriously.

  17. Same here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only my wife watches television, and I get all my news efficiently from the Internet, even when I've blocked all the paywall sites in my hosts file.

  18. I already canceled by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 1

    A few years ago, I asked my wife "Hey, do you watch almost $1000 a year worth of TV?". We decided we didn't.

    Don't miss it, have Netflix and Amazon Prime, and a 30 antenna to watch the superbowl (and Downton Abby on PBS for the missus, in HD, off the air, for free.)

    We can afford it, we just decided it was a waste of money.

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    1. Re:I already canceled by JustNiz · · Score: 1

      Yep this.
      I actually get better content since I cut the cable, from my antenna than the $60/month cable plan I had with Cox.

    2. Re:I already canceled by ZipK · · Score: 1

      I actually get better content since I cut the cable, from my antenna than the $60/month cable plan I had with Cox.

      Indeed. If you like to watch movies and reruns from the 30-70s, and live in a broadcast-rich city, the number of networks (e.g., Movies!, GetTV, LAFF, MeTV, Cozi, Decades, Escape, Grit, Bounce, Ion, The Works) on sub-channels is pretty amazing.

  19. is cancelling Netflix considered cord-cutting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    26% of Netflix users may cancel Netflix

  20. cable went from $130 to $205 in 5 years by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

    and I cut it off. now I'm paying $69.88.

    With HBO.

    Look, cable is "fair" at $50 a month. Any price over that- I'm looking for alternatives.

    I have netflix and it's still okay.

    I just can NOT afford to pay $100 a month for TV. I WILL not pay $100 a month for TV.

    --
    She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    1. Re: cable went from $130 to $205 in 5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This! I am an employee who gets a 50% discount, and I am STILL CONSIDERING CORD CUTTING because TV is just so SHIT! It fucking amazes me how people can afford to pay so much for TV.. like HOW FUCKING BORING IS YOUR LIFE?! KILL YOURSELF!!

    2. Re: cable went from $130 to $205 in 5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the sad thing is, even with your 50% discount, the cable company is still making money off you, at least a 50-65% profit from your discounted rate.

    3. Re: cable went from $130 to $205 in 5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is just nothing worth it. I get everything for free, every channel, ppv, vod, netflix etc (embedded dev that makes stb's for a tv provider so I get that super duper account) and after all that I still rarely watch tv, only the occasional vod/ppv since movies are still good and the daily show while I eat my lunch. Everything else is just stuff the SO is interested in that I can tolerate so I watch it with her. If I didnt get it for free theres honestly no way I would consider paying for it.

      All the educational channels I used to watch have been so dumbed down they are almost as mind numbing as reality tv now. The majority of shows that have a possibility of being interesting end up either being so formulaic they are boring as well, or they get cancelled after a season or two so no point in starting them.

    4. Re: cable went from $130 to $205 in 5 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jokes on them, renting out my basement with internet and cable included so I am actually making money out of them.. haha

  21. Gonna love cutting that CABLE TV....yes siree bub by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Love my DSL connection, wish I had FTTH, but don't plan to ever purchase cable internet again.

    Working fulltime and taking care of an elderly parent is no picnic, but she must have her cable TV. When she passes, bye bye cable TV. (I know how to get those channels via the internet, thank you very much)

    Can wait for her to pass, not going to ever wish for that, but can't wait to cut that cord forever....

    After I cut it, they could offer for $20 per month and I would say HECK NO.

    No matter what they offer it for, the monthly bill only increases in perpetuity...or so an EX-CFO of one of the major cable company's told their investors one year and stupidly posted on social media (I checked and the post is gone now)

    ...we have a great business model, are customers do not have an alternative and we can increase profits every year forever...which they do, religiously.

    With FTTH, it only costs .50 cents per GB to provide bandwidth...I would be happy with an un-molested, un-throttled 10Mb upstream (10Mb/10Mb)...and I would even be will to pay 300% more than their costs for it...$15.00 per month CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW

    Heck, I will throw you a bone cable company, promise me $30 per month for life, a whopping 600% profit to you for 10Mb/10Mb Bandwidth and I will sign up.

    ...but still do not want your Cable TV or phone...

    ...JUST THE INTERNET, thank you very much, now go away.

  22. Is that like Kodi and Exodus? by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 1

    So this Netflix thing... it's kind of like paying for Kodi and Exodus on a Raspberry Pi except that you have less choice of content?

    I don't get it.

  23. Vintage Leather Bags by richardjhonson123 · · Score: 1

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  25. We're cancelling Netflix this year by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    We've just about watched everything on it by which we are really excited and it has been working for shit lately while Amazon has been working just fine. Maybe that's a result of our junior-grade internet connection but as it's literally the best thing I can get here, that's quite irrelevant. We will probably pick up Comedy Central when we drop Netflix, assuming it works worth half a shit.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  26. Internet is cheaper than airfare by tepples · · Score: 1

    get together with friends to play some old-fashioned board games.

    I think people don't try this as often as you wish because many people find Internet cheaper than airfare and/or cab fare to travel to where their friends live.

    1. Re:Internet is cheaper than airfare by jenningsthecat · · Score: 1

      get together with friends to play some old-fashioned board games.

      I think people don't try this as often as you wish because many people find Internet cheaper than airfare and/or cab fare to travel to where their friends live.

      Too true. Sigh...

      --
      'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
  27. Does that include rolling a truck? by tepples · · Score: 1

    With FTTH, it only costs .50 cents per GB to provide bandwidth

    Plus maintenance of the outside fiber, including rolling a truck if needed. Plus depreciation of the fiber modem (or whatever they call the device that takes the fiber line and turns it into 1000BASE-T signals at the wall).

  28. Satellite too will suffer by kgroombr · · Score: 1

    Both cable and satellite companies are forced to bundle by the network providers. I can't get just TruTV, I have to purchase every Turner network channel to include CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, and the ton of other channels. Because of this, we are force to pay high costs to obtain a single channel from the network. I ditched my satellite provider almost a year ago and have been using a plethora of free providers and a couple paid providers (Hulu and Amazon Prime). There are a few things I miss, but it isn't worth the $120 I was shelling out a month. If cable and satellite are to survive, the networks have to move to ala carte TV.

  29. If only I could cancel cable again... by ZipK · · Score: 1

    I hate Comcast so much that I wish I could cancel them a second time.

  30. Cable? Ick! by Tsingi · · Score: 1

    The only time I have had cable in the house is when I had young children, and they were only allowed to watch public TV.

  31. What's "cable"??? by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

    Never had it, never wanted it.

    In Houston, I get about 70 broadcast channels (of which I watch about 3). With Netflix and Amazon, and Sling TV for ESPN during football season, I have no need for cable.

  32. Can't Blame'em by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have DirectTV service and it's getting equally ridiculous on their prices. For what are probably 30 channels I watch with any regularity I have to pay an increasingly large amount per month (and it would be more if I made them send me a bill).

    I've pinged them a couple of times but they're not very helpful or responsive....they want you to call so they can talk you into a deal or something.

    The day will come, perhaps sooner than they think, that I will be calling them to cancel completely. Don't suspect they'll like that, but I can put together a package of what I want to watch online and OTA for a lot less than they're charging me now.

    Ferret

  33. SlingTV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Netflix alone didn't get me to cut the cord, but once I added the Orange and Blue SlingTV packages it was a done deal as I saved $30 per month and could still watch all the channels my family normally watched. That even included a $10 increase on my Internet service due to cancelling the cable TV portion.

  34. Unlikely... by martinfb · · Score: 1

    Unlikely this scare tactic article will affect Comcast - the 800 pound gorilla monster finessing it's way deeper into your wallet...

    --


    Self-importance and self-indulgence is the root of ALL evil.
  35. I am one of them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How did these folks know? I didnt talk to them.

  36. Not bundling - that is marketspeak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The issue is Data Caps.

    Everyone I know with Netflix fears hitting a data cap or gets throttled at some point. That is why they can't leave another provider.

    This has been brewing for some time now as the providers try to offer more.

    The assclowns providing the streaming services are realizing that the pipes they use don't support what they are streaming.

    I know we figured this out around 2012, but it takes longer for some disconnected suit to remove cranium from anus.