(06-04-2014 12:47 PM)BruceMcF Wrote: (06-04-2014 12:42 PM)arkstfan Wrote: I can make a better cup of coffee at home and a better steak than one on the menu for $35 but I don't have to use my time to make the things nor clean up afterwards nor put up with my wife not stopping whatever cleaning chore she's dealing with until the food or coffee is nearly cold because it'll only take a minute to finish.
But the people on the margin of actually dropping cable, or dropping down to bargain basement basic cable, a lot of them aren't making that trade-off in favor of the $22 steak or the $5 cup of coffee.
Even for those who aren't sports fans, and who are cable cutting in favor of Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime subscriptions topped up by Rebox or the occasional iTunes/Vudu/Amazon/Nook video download ... its not an extra $5 in sports channel in the Basic Plus that's driving that, its the base cost of cable.
That's exactly how I feel.
I had DirectTV for two years. I have nothing but great things to say about them. The very few times I called customer service, they were really helpful. Their rates were the best in the industry (at least compared to Time Warner which I used to have) and I had no complaints about them. None.
The main reason why I got rid of DirecTV is really simple. I don't really watch TV at all. When I do watch TV is usually live sporting events but I would rather go to my local sports bar or family/friends house to watch the games that are on cable.....otherwise I'll watch at home if they're OTA like the Super Bowl, the Final Four, World Series, the Olympics, World Cup, etc. I felt I was paying for channels I either didn't care about or never watched (Lifetime, Bravo, E! etc).
I know Big Ten fans will hate me for this but why should I pay to have the BTN when I find their football and basketball brand incredibly boring. In fact, I don't remember the last time I watched a Big Ten game. I know they're really popular and they make tons of money because they have big and loyal fanbases and just because I don't care does not means other people won't (which is why the Big Ten is one of the top two conferences in the nation moneywise because tons of people care). Another brand I really don't care about is the NBA but they're the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer.
I have Netflix, Hulu Plus and Redbox. All together I pay about $25.50 for those 3 services which is 1/3 of what I used to pay DirecTV. Redbox gives me a four credits or four free movie rentals per month. I can watch movies and TV shows when I want, anywhere. I like that flexibility better than being stuck with a cable/satellite bill.
Whoever was talking about the $22 steak or $5 coffee, the difference is I chose to go to Starbucks and buy a $5 latte. However, I never chose to subsidize a channel like Lifetime or Fox News with my money. That's the main difference.