Is It Still Worth It to Pay For Cable TV?
It was a melancholic memory of how the whole family would sit together after 7 pm to watch certain shows every day.
According to www.howtostream.co.nz, more and more viewers are switching to the cable-free mode of streaming every day. In recent research by broadbandsearch.net, 3.8 million people converted to the cord-free mode in 2021. It is anticipated less than half the viewers will go to pay TV mode.
Cable TV had only one advantage over several — the number of channels you get. On the flip side, cable TV is not accessible, you don’t get the new streaming services on cable, and the prices keep rocketing up!
Not to mention the equipment required for installation. It was a whole limiting jargon of equipment and service that roots a viewer in one place.
In this blog, we will discuss the various advantages of the cable-free mode of streaming to see if it is still worth it to pay for cable TV.
Key Benefits of Going Cord-free
- Cut the Stagnant Lifestyle
Having a cable connection bounds you to a stagnant lifestyle since you cannot watch the show later or download it to watch later. It results in a routine that roots you in one place, and you keep returning to your couch every day so you are not missing out on that show.
It affects your social life, you weigh the options, and if the show is intense and you cannot miss out on the upcoming episode, you are bound to stay home.
However, if you use services like HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime, you can come back an hour later and watch the show. You can even download the show and watch it on the go.
- Video Quality
It is a major difference in the watching experience. The video quality on a streaming service can be 1080p, 4K, HDR, and HD depending on preference and price plan. However, with the most basic price plan, too, you get amazing video quality.
But when you are using cable TV, it is mostly 720p at its best hours. If you have a better tier of video quality, you encounter a lot of buffering.
In streaming services, the quality is unparalleled and continuous; there is no nuisance of interruptions due to low connection or video quality.
- Cuts Back on Cost
When you have one or two Streaming services, for example, you pick Netflix and Hulu, it doesn’t add up to make $100, which you usually pay for Cable TV.
Let’s be real; you are not even watching those hundred-something channels on a routine day. In fact, you don’t even watch as many sports as you think you do.
Hence, you save roughly 800-1000 dollars a year even with two or more video-on-demand services. When you need to watch any tournament, you can always purchase a monthly subscription plan and drop it when you do not need it.
On top of it, there are installation charges and equipment involved when you subscribe to a Cable TV plan. The equipment and bringing the service to your home also have some charges.
On the contrary, streaming services only have one requirement, download the application on your device using an internet connection.
- Accessibility
It is another great feature of streaming services; going cord-free is liberating. You can be anywhere, in the subway, at work, or even with friends, and you can access the service you have subscribed to.
If the show you are watching is intense and you cannot wait to watch the upcoming episode, you need the internet connection and application installed on your device. The possibilities are endless when you go cord-free.
- Cut Back the Noise
With cable TV, you get hundreds of channels, but you never watch even 2% of those channels.
When you subscribe to a streaming service, you can browse through the catalog of channels and decide which streaming service has channels that resonate with your or your family’s preference.
In this way, you get only the selective channels you watch; and the chances of exploring channels idly and consuming unwarranted screen time reduces.
When needed, you can subscribe to channels for particular content. For instance, when The Handmaid’s Tale begins on Hulu, there is an increased spike in Hulu’s subscriptions. If needed, consumers opt out of the monthly subscription plan when the series is over.
The same scenario works around a sports event. As the Fifa season approaches, the number of sports channel subscriptions increases.
Since the event goes on for many months, the user opts for a yearly plan instead of a monthly plan, as services offer the cheaper plan for yearly subscriptions.
Final Thoughts
Cable TV resonated with the lifestyles we had a few decades ago. Nowadays, no one has routines or schedules that keep them rooted in one place. You also plan out various activities with friends and families pleasantly while disrupting the primetime routine, enabling you to go places.
In that case, you are not only utilizing the hefty fee you pay for the services but also not using it to its full potential.
Whereas, when you use streaming services, they travel with you on your gadgets; you can use them on multiple devices too, so you could be traveling for work to another city, while your partner at home can be using the same service because of multiple accounts feature.
Not to mention, the money you are saving on these subscriptions is an eye-opener. You also learn you do not need TV as much as you thought you would. The ease to drop the subscriptions and get new ones to catch a particular drama or sports season can also be managed due to low cost and no equipment required.
All in all, in this time, when everything is on the go, cable TV doesn’t resonate with the lifestyles of people today.
