We did it. After a lot of discussion and, on Tim’s part, a lot of soul-searching, we pulled the plug. We took our entertainment options off life support and canceled our cable TV. This has been under discussion around our dinner table for quite a while now. I, personally, didn’t care one bit. I don’t even watch TV. The shows I DO watch, I watch on Hulu. (Or, in the case of the latest season of Call the Midwife currently airing in the UK, I watch it via livesteam.). Tim, though, is a TV junkie. He’s not one to watch sports but he loves terrible reality shows and all those awful shows on ID about murder and mayhem. And he loves shows where the look for Bigfoot. And those stupid repo shows. So letting go of cable, for him, is a huge deal. But once he realized we were paying $180 a month for cable and internet and more than half of that cost was just for the cable, we made alternate plans. We already pay for Netflix and Hulu Plus. We have Amazon Instant Video as part of our Prime membership. Most of the basic channels have apps that allow you to watch their shows online. It’s not like we were going to sink into an entertainment void if we turned off the cable so yesterday, we decided it was time. Comcast put up a fight, of course, but in the end, we became one of those families without cable TV.
Thanks to the digital antennas we purchased, we have local channels in HD and two fantastic channels called Cozi and MeTV that show old shows and movies. We have three PBS channels, which makes me very happy. We also bought a new Roku 3 to replace our ancient Roku XD so that we can watch all of the above-mentioned services on our 46″ TV. The first 24 hours have been a-ok!
Tim and I were laughing tonight about how different things are from when we were kids. He grew up in hills and hollers of central Kentucky and was a child during the 70s and early 80s. Cable TV was an impossibility. I grew up in the country near the Ohio River in southern Indiana, and we didn’t have cable either. My summers were spent watching movies on VHS tape and riding my bicycle. I remember seeing those massive satellite dishes in a few yards and being mystified. TV signals came from space? What? What would they see? It was a mythical, foreign world to me but I never gave it much thought because I had no idea what I was missing. It wasn’t until I’d moved out on my own and, after the first few years, could finally afford cable that I even realized what it all meant.
Now that our decision is made and it’s irreversible because our cable was disconnected within 20 minutes of my call, I believe a few moments of withdrawal are ahead for Tim. He’s remaining positive and good natured so far (“We’re saving $1200 a year!”) but I know him and a few cracks will start to appear in his façade by tomorrow afternoon. I hope we can preserve, though, because every moment that my house isn’t being filled with the sound of inanity coming from Lizard Lick Towing is a beautiful moment!
Life on Wild Hare Farm 
I lived without cable for going on two years now. We got an antenna too for our newest apartment so we have basic channels. The first few months were hard for me (the TV junkie in my family), but it does save a lot and I learned that I got so much more done with the cable gone. Plus there’s nothing on TV that can’t be found on an internet stream or Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime.
And you, dear Aims, are one of the most resourceful people I know when it comes to finding the things you want to watch!
We had cable for years and then switched to DirecTV. Problem with DirecTV is the contract. We watched our bill steadily go up and as soon as our contract was up, we cancelled. One of the best decision we made.
We used to have DirecTV, too, and our bill just kept climbing. And then it would rain and we’d have no signal. A tornado could be right outside and we’d never know because we sure as heck couldn’t watch the weather!!!
We’ve been without cable or dish or antenna or any channels for 14 years. Big decision for you, how exciting! Was hard on my husband at first too, but he’d be the first to tell you now how glad he is that we’re without. Blockbuster and the library serve us well when we’re hankering a little screen time. Along with the occasional fight over the remote when we stay at a hotel with Dish 😉
It was a rough first weekend with no cable, let me tell you. Tim wandered around, lost, and just kept searching the same channels over and over again. And then, magically, he started watching a documentary on PBS and got sucked in. Here’s hoping that our loss of cable makes us both smarter in the end!
A big decision indeed. We only have freeview and refuse to pay money to Murdoch and the Sky channels. like you say, I think I can live without it as I don’t watch much TV.