Yesterday CNET released a story called “Cord cutter curios? 10 considerations before you cancel cable TV.” As you would expect there were several things that need correcting. I will give the author credit, CNET did disclose that they are owned by CBS, a company with an interest in you continuing to pay for TV.
Here is our rebuttal to CNET’s David Katzmaier cord cutting story:
Sports
In the story Katzmaier said, “Many channels devoted to pro baseball and basketball teams are only available to cable subscribers…” That is just not true. Most sports are available to cord cutters. Sadly, the only major ones that is not is AT&T Sportsnet and LA Sports Net. All others—like MSG, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and Yes Network—are available through multiple live TV streaming services with no contracts. The good news is AT&T Sportsnet is only in four markets around the United States.
ESPN, FS1, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports are also available to cord cutters with no contracts and no hidden fees. So, I think the accurate statement would be most sports channels are available to cord cutters. When looking at the big picture, AT&T Sportsnet is a relatively small network but still painful if you happen to live in one of their five markets. (Hopefully, AT&T decided they are interested in offering their sports network to the estimated 30 million cord cutters in the United States someday soon.)
Note: It is possible that Katzmaier just failed to update this section because CNET added the following to the bottom of the post: “This article was originally published December 7, 2016, and has been fully updated.”
DVRs
In the story Katzmaier said, “The live TV streamers all offer a ‘cloud DVR,’ but it’s not as capable as a TiVo or the DVR from your cable company.” Now I bet many cord cutters would argue with that. For example, YouTube TV offers unlimited storage of any show or movie for nine months, which is something many have told us they like better than cable TV’s limited DVR storage because they don’t care to watch shows from nine months ago.
As with all things this is subjective. There may be some that enjoy paying the monthly device rental fees to have a DVR with your cable company vs having it included with services like PlayStation Vue or YouTube TV.
Hassle
Lastly, Katzmaier said, “If all of that sounds like a lot more of a pain than what you’re used to with cable, that’s because it is.” Again, that is his opinion. Many cord cutters find cord cutting just as easy as cable. Recent studies show over half of cable TV subscribers have one or more streaming services. So, if you are already used to Netflix, you are likely comfortable with a Roku, Fire TV, or Apple TV.
Final Thoughts
Don’t take my word for anything and don’t take CNET’s word either. Katzmaier is right about one thing. You should do your research before you cancel cable TV.
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.