Streaming vs. Cable vs. Live TV

Oct 11, 2017 | 4 comments

by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy

I’ve been having a discussion, or rather, several mini-discussions, on Facebook this week.

I’m a huge fan of live TV, especially from October through September. I mean, you have your World Series, your holiday fare, the series season enders, the summer afternoon movies, and the series premieres. And then the whole thing just starts all over again.

But I’m not a huge fan of the big bill that comes with my TV viewing each month. Forget about the FCC and the never-ending fight to pay for cable a la carte. I’ve been researching things like Roku. Amazon Prime. Firestick. Hulu. Y’all know I already have Netflix. These are streaming apps–they’re not exactly channels, they’re more like a video library. You say, “Hey, I wanna watch my NCIS,” and they say, “Certainly. Which episode?”

Frankly, My Dear . . . : Streaming vs. Cable vs. Live TV

Frankly, My Dear . . . : Streaming vs. Cable vs. Live TV

Now, the thing is, these streaming venues cost. And not one has everything. So I have to figure what I want and sort of piece together the apps that work best for me.

I don’t want to give up Pandora through the TV. I have a pretty awesome sounding TV, so the smart phone just doesn’t do it when I’m at home.

I heard Hulu has current episodes of almost everything, except my fave CBS shows. So I can subscribe to CBS All Access. The Roku has most of these apps built into it, but so do smart TVs. Having the apps available doesn’t mean I have the accounts to watch. Did I mention I have to figure out which I want to subscribe to?

Here’s where you come in. As I said, I’ve been having these conversations on Facebook with my peeps, but I’d really like to know your opinion.

Do you stream your entertainment? How do you watch live sports? What’s your approximate cost per month? Should I get a Roku or a smart TV or both? Should I stick with cable? How many apps is too many, and in the end, are these mini-subscriptions just adding up to what I’m already paying on monthly one cable bill?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of streaming TV vs. Cable/DVR/on-demand vs. just live TV without any gizmos?

Help This Girl out and let me know what you think?

Thanks.

TWEET THIS: How do you do #TV? @RealMojo68 #streaming or #cable

With too many remotes and an overload of choices,
Happy viewing!
~Molly Jo

And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!

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4 Comments

  1. William Kendall
    William Kendall on October 11, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    These days I just watch a handful of television shows, period. And I generally watch them via computer, either a public library or campus lab. I haven’t had cable television in four years, and don’t miss it.
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    • Wendy S.
      Wendy S. on October 12, 2017 at 9:30 pm

      We have a Samsung Smart TV, but have used it very rarely for its smarts. When we first got it, it streamed our Pandora, then came the Blu-Ray player, and it for the bill for a bit. None of it compared to getting 2 Roku devices for our home as Christmas presents to the fam last year. Kids can be enjoying so many different sources in one room and we can enjoy our content as we like. The live streaming has only just recently become a thing, so checking out The Deal Guy on YouTube to research the options was a big help. Good luckA