Texas — Year after year it seems as though more people are 'cutting the cord' and switching service providers.
While two East Texans said it was a waste of money to pay for stations they do not use, other reasons include not having the time to watch your shows live, wanting to skip commercials, and being able to watch shows on all their devices.
With so many different options out there, many people have more than one streaming service, which begs the question: Is cord cutting actually worth the cost?
When it premium video streaming began, there were not very many options: Netflix and Hulu were the big ones. While they continue to dominate the streaming platforms, there are many more options: Prime Video, CBS All Access, etc. Media powerhouse Disney will launch their own service next year.
The idea of cutting the cord is a double edge sword with each subscription service providing different content, exclusive content and having additional add-ons that come at a cost.
A few people in Tyler say they have both cable and a subscription service, but that's because the cable is included with their rent. Otherwise, they stick to their subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu.
Speaking with a father, he said, "We do Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and then if I want to, I would hook up an HD antenna and watch the local broadcasts that way."
So lets break this down the costs of cord cutting, if you want all the larger services:
- Netflix (Middle tier for HD videos) - $10.99/mo
- Hulu (Commercial free) - $11.99/mo
- Amazon Prime (Cheaper than Prime Video) - $9.92/mo
- TOTAL: $32,90/mo before taxes and fees.
If you add in a few additional subscriptions like:
- DirectTV Now (Live TV, ALL sports channels, & HBO) - $80/mo
- CBS All Access (Commercial free) - $9.99
- GRAND TOTAL: $122.89/mo before taxes and fees
There are dozens of subscription services out there, many of them ever-changing. That includes pricing and content.
With the streaming industry becoming more and more competitive expect exclusive content to increase and that could also include the price. While many say cord-cutting is the way to go give it a few years and that opinion could change.