Netflix has been a big fad for a while now and there has been talk that eventually cable TV will no longer exist.  There would be no more flipping to your favorite channel (HGTV of course) and watching your favorite show as a new episode premiers, live TV would no longer be live, and there would be no more Super Bowl commercials.  Nothing about getting rid of cable sounds appealing.

Cable stations like ESPN do not allow streaming, which is the big decision maker for most people who are considering going cordless.  A lot of stations as well as ESPN won’t allow streaming from anything other than cable TV because they would lose money. Cable networks make money from people watching them on their television provider.  If cable was demolished, the channels would lose money and possibly cause a lot of lost jobs.

When you think about cutting the cord you’d probably assume that you would be saving money, but that is incorrect.  Realistically, your cable bill would become significantly more expensive. Netflix has recently raised their prices and that’s even with cable still being in existence.  People won’t have a choice, it will either be Netflix or nothing. Streaming live events such as sports games costs you even more. And certain channels vary in price depending on how popular it is.   

Also, with streaming services, you can’t do your favorite activity of channel surfing.  You have to actually find a show and stick to it and who knows how long that will take. With cable, you can expand your horizons and maybe find a show that you wouldn’t normally watch and actually enjoy it.  Also, when it comes to streaming, if you have poor internet connection, that means no TV.

When making the decision to cut the cord to cable, you also have to think of the commitment.  Just having a network like Netflix can cause issues within the household. Not everyone wants to sit down and all watch the same show.  Sometimes we just want to sit down and have the Travel station on in the background while having a conversation. When watching Netflix, you are most likely binge watching you favorite show that you mom hates and you sister isn’t allowed to watch.  Everyone wants to watch something else, and with Netflix you can’t flip back and forth between stations during commercials so everyone is happy.

Getting rid of cable may seem like a good idea, but in the long run it is much more expensive and just more difficult all around.  Cutting the cord will not save your wallet like you think it will. I know cable TV commercials are annoying, but just give it another chance.