Once again we are back with what is quickly becoming my favorite segment here: taking on more bad cable propaganda!
This week’s bad cable TV propaganda comes from Alan Wolk, a TV analyst and TV[R]EV editor. His post is called “The Cord Cutter’s Dilemma: Why So Few People Actually Take the Step“.
So let’s see what one of the top 20 thinkers in social TV has to say about cord cutting.
#1 He Thinks You Can’t Save Money as a Cord Cutter
According to Mr Wolk, “Too often, a potential cord cutter starts to add up what they’ll be paying and realizes they won’t really be saving much money.” And his argument almost immediately falls part.
He says that broadband is one of the main reasons you won’t save money but forgets that if you go back to cable TV most Americans would still pay for Internet. Today Comcast, for example, has more Internet subscribers than TV subscribers. So you cannot include Internet in the augment.
On average the typical American pays over $100 a month just for TV; however, Mr. Wolk says you can’t save money. In his list of services he includes Netflix, HBO NOW, and Hulu along with a live TV service such as Sling TV. Sling TV starts at $20, HBO NOW is $15, Hulu is $8, and Netflix is $10 for a grand total of $53.
So total monthly savings is $47, and you get a ton more content than you would with cable TV. Even if you add in the extra $10 a month cable providers charge for Internet when you don’t bundle you still save $37 a month. Over a year you would save $444, and over 30 years you would save $13,320.
Even Mr. Wolk’s own argument shows how you can save money.
#2 He Thinks Cord Cutting Is Too Confusing
His main argument is there is no traditional cable TV-like guide. Let me save you time, according to your post you talk about Apple TV. Just get DIRECTV NOW or PlayStation Vue and you have a traditional cable TV guide.
#3 He Thinks You Can’t Watch Live TV
According to his post Mr. Wolk says, “Say you want to watch the 6:00 news on your local NBC affiliate. Or maybe you’re a big fan of black-ish and want to be able to watch each new episode when it first airs.” He goes to talk about how if you don’t live in a big town you can’t watch local TV.
This one is easy because a growing list of streaming services offer locals. For example, over two-thirds of all CBS stations are on PlayStation Vue. Even better: over 90% of Americans can get most or all of their locals with an antenna.
If local news is your main issue, you can also get NewsON. In most areas you will find your local news is streamed for free. If not on NewsON you can typically find it on your local news station’s website.
#4 He Thinks Cord Cutters Can’t Use a DVR
In his post he says, “But that raises its own set of issues: there’s no DVR with over-the-air broadcasts, so there’s no way to pause the show you’re watching or record it if you can’t watch live. That too makes cord-cutting a real hassle.”
The truth is many great cord cutting DVR options are out there. I’m sure the folks over at TiVo, Tablo, and Channel Master would be happy to sit down with Mr. Wolk and show him how their DVRs work. If you want a streaming DVR option, look at Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV, which all offer DVR options for locals. Also Hulu’s new live TV service will have a DVR.
I could keep going but you get the idea. If Mr. Alan Wolk would like to get a detailed look at how all of his concerns can be addressed Cord Cutters News would be happy to help him become a cord cutter.
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