Might cut the cord

[MSOrange]

Shockingly, Spectrum is actually giving subscribers Disney TV, Hulu and ESPN+ for free. Not sure how or why, but it will keep me in the loop for the time being.

That was part of the agreement from a few months ago.

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications Announce Transformative Agreement for Distribution of Disney’s Linear Networks and Direct-to-Consumer Services | Charter Communications

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications, Inc. have announced a transformative, multi-year distribution agreement that maximizes value for consumers and supports the linear TV experience as the industry continues to evolve.

corporate.charter.com

 

[cliftonparksufan]

That was part of the agreement from a few months ago.

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications Announce Transformative Agreement for Distribution of Disney’s Linear Networks and Direct-to-Consumer Services | Charter Communications

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications, Inc. have announced a transformative, multi-year distribution agreement that maximizes value for consumers and supports the linear TV experience as the industry continues to evolve.

corporate.charter.com

Now that you posted it, I do remember reading that but it's now effective as of today. Hard to believe I logged into Disney+ before ESPN+ but I had heard Hamilton the movie version was on and wanted to check if it was. Something to watch this weekend. Sounds geeky but I never saw the play.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

That was part of the agreement from a few months ago.

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications Announce Transformative Agreement for Distribution of Disney’s Linear Networks and Direct-to-Consumer Services | Charter Communications

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications, Inc. have announced a transformative, multi-year distribution agreement that maximizes value for consumers and supports the linear TV experience as the industry continues to evolve.

corporate.charter.com

Actually now I have looked into this more, the only thing free is Disney+ Basic, which is normally $7.99 a month. If you want Hulu or ESPN+ you have to pay for it. So basically, not really a great deal.

 

[CuseTroop]

 

[upperdeck]

cord cutting is hitting its next phase now.

Hulu ESPN+ Disney+ joining Netflix and others in stopping sharing and viewing outside the home on non mobile device.

Even the likes of kids at college streaming is not allowed without jumping thru some serious hoops.

Netflix took awhile to enforce it, I wonder how long these will take even though they say march.

 

[upperdeck]

So my question on streaming is who do you complain to when Streaming has rules that limit watching even within your own home? I have 2 isps I cant even watch Netflix in my house if one of my ISPs goes down on the same tv by changing the WIFI to my other ISP?

When you sign up it says household. Is it my fault they designed a tech policy that cant even define a household..

What would really break these things is if your ISPs decided to not dedicate a single IP to your home.. None of these streaming places would be able to enforce these rules.

For the most part we dont care if our IP changes, very few of us are using an IP that needs to be reserved at our home.

Chaos for our JMA seats, Chaos for our cord cutting.

I thought maybe complain to the FCC or NY Consumer Protection Agency?

They even break the policy because they don't enforce it when viewing on mobile devices which in theory could be cast back to the same TV you can't view it on over the ISP.

 

[Nicknack]

Couple of things on this...

It was only a matter of time before big money took back control. I was an early cord cutter, and I have to say it felt good sort of putting my middle finger up to the cable company. I was paying about $150 for a basic tier service, then I cut the cord, went streaming for $60 which supported two different residences that I owned, and felt like I (the little man) was finally in control.

Fast forward a few years later, and big money is back on top. The thing to me that REALLY sucks (isn't really the money), it's having to exit out of one service to watch something, then log into another service for something else. It also makes managing recordings much more difficult. In a really strange way, I'm longing for the days of cable where everything was all in one place (I'm actually kidding, but it is ironic that what I'm missing is what I once had).

 

[upperdeck]

thats pretty much the deal. the lack of ease of moving around with one interface is bad. just finding shows and remembering where they were. no single DVR to get to shows. Now you miss a show for 2-3 yrs sometimes in the clutter.

 

[85SUAlum]

It was so much better before when there were only a handful of streaming services - at first, most everything that was on network TV was on Hulu, but many left to form their own streaming service (NBC/Peacock. CBS/Paramount). Hulu is now pretty much just the Disney/ABC/Fox properties.
I watch most network stuff on YouTubeTV - it's unlimited DVR is great - I rarely ever watch anything live except for sports and I don't have to worry about missing my favorite shows or figuring out which streaming platform they are on.
I use an app called TV Time to keep track of what shows are airing new episodes on which day. Unfortunately, it doesn't help much in determining what streaming service it's available to watch on. Justwatch.com or the JustWatch app helps with that.
It would be nice of the streaming devices (Roku, Chromecast, AppleTV, etc) would like you create a list/catalog of the shows you watch you could browse through and when you select a show, it would take you automatically to the streaming service where you can watch the show.

 

[Ryand877]

 

[justgold315]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread but I'm not happy that Amazon Prime unilaterally added commercials and are asking for more money to avoid commercials. I just paid for the year and there was nothing said about that 2 months ago.

 

[BillSU]

My son just cut the cable. He got tired of paying $320/mo to Xfinity.

We live in Ohio about 45 minutes from Pittsburgh in a small town where there there is only room for one provider unlike Pittsburgh where there is competition for your viewing and thius you pay less for the service.

Things are run by WIFI and You Tube.

Went to Best Buy after doing some research and got a 40" ROKU set. Has just about everything I want 1080 FHD, great picture, Netflix, Disney, Apple, Prime, ROKU, Discovery, +++. Dolby Audio and 300 + free live channels.

Smart TV, I learned this: Designed for simplicity with Roku streaming built in, Roku TV is smart TV made easy. The customizable home screen puts your inputs, streaming favorites, and free live TV all in one place—like they should be. Search across thousands of streaming channels at once or discover something new to watch in just a click. Bring out the best in your TV with simple settings that anyone can understand. Best of all, you’ll always get the newest features without having to think about it.

I'm happy. I can watch The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson like I did years ago at 11:30. Wish he had cut the cord years ago.

 

[85SUAlum]

Yeah, I agree it stinks the Amazon just added commercials for everyone, even if you already had an active subscription where you thought you were getting commercial free streaming.
However, so far, the commercials I've seen have been brief and only at the start of the show. Hopefully it stays that way and they don't start putting commercials in at random points in the show ( like some of the other streamers do with their commercials)

 

[donniesyracuse]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate thread but I'm not happy that Amazon Prime unilaterally added commercials and are asking for more money to avoid commercials. I just paid for the year and there was nothing said about that 2 months ago.

I got an email notification on December 27. I immediately agreed to pay the extra $2.99 because it’s only $2.99 and I have no tolerance for commercial interruptions.

 

[CuseTroop]

If you purchased Sunday Ticket on YTTV last year, buckle up- they're auto renewing you whether you want it or not. Trying to get it cancelled/refunded now

 

[CuseTroop]

If you purchased Sunday Ticket on YTTV last year, buckle up- they're auto renewing you whether you want it or not. Trying to get it cancelled/refunded now

They were pretty cool about a refund.

 

[IthacaMatt]

If you purchased Sunday Ticket on YTTV last year, buckle up- they're auto renewing you whether you want it or not. Trying to get it cancelled/refunded now

I'll warn you now; they are going to make cancelling cable seem like a breeze. I have been triple billed for Amazon Prime, and never am able to permanently cancel the multiple bills. I had to go so far as have cards block them from continuing to charge me.

After an enormous amount of effort I was able to connect to a customer service person somewhere in Asia. No offense, because overseas customer service can be good.

But when I tried to explain that they were charging me 3 times for the same account, it turned out that this overseas call center is not given access to Amazon customer account records. He couldn't see my account log-in, and what cards of mine they were auto-billing.

It was the ILLUSION of customer service. Penn & Teller would be impressed at the sleight of hand.

 

[GreekFreak]

That sucks to have to go through that to stop getting ripped off.

 

[upperdeck]

the deal from verizon is pretty good.. its $350 if you dont use the redzone part or $390 if you do.

 

[UnknownOrange]

Yeah it just charged my card for $350. Surprise!

 

[upperdeck]

I cancelled the auto youtube renewal pretty easy on the site and I got the verizon $100 off deal.

good to go.

 

[capeorange]

I will be signing up for a streaming service tomorrow. I've had Hulu, sling and YouTube in the past. Not going back to sling.
Any recommendations or deals that look good?

 

[oldpinepoint]

I will be signing up for a streaming service tomorrow. I've had Hulu, sling and YouTube in the past. Not going back to sling.
Any recommendations or deals that look good?

I think YouTube tv is the best, I haven’t seen any deals out there I would be interested in this as well

 

[85SUAlum]

I will be signing up for a streaming service tomorrow. I've had Hulu, sling and YouTube in the past. Not going back to sling.
Any recommendations or deals that look good?

I'd also recommend Youtube TV, especially if you like to DVR stuff. Unlimited DVR is included. Except for some sporting events, I rarely watch anything live anymore. I just add the shows I like to my library and let YoutubeTV record them for me. Their fast forward goes in 15 second chunks so it's easy to skip commercials when watching recorded shows.
They also seem to have all the channels I'm interested in watching as well.
Haven't seen any deals for it recently, but in my opinion, they are the best bang for the buck of the available live TV options.

 

[capeorange]

I'd also recommend Youtube TV, especially if you like to DVR stuff. Unlimited DVR is included. Except for some sporting events, I rarely watch anything live anymore. I just add the shows I like to my library and let YoutubeTV record them for me. Their fast forward goes in 15 second chunks so it's easy to skip commercials when watching recorded shows.
They also seem to have all the channels I'm interested in watching as well.
Haven't seen any deals for it recently, but in my opinion, they are the best bang for the buck of the available live TV options.

Thanks!