Analyzing Costs for Going Cable Free - Step 3

The buzz word is Internet TV at the moment.  But this means many things to anyone you ask.  That’s because there are many options on how to achieve your needed level of programming content.  How you get to the content is more interesting because the devil is in the details.  Ultimately, there are many avenues that all lead to television programming content.  Our cable-free options could become one of the following:

·         TV programming via high-speed internet. This may end up becoming one component of the entire solution. 

·         We go completely smoke signals with an antennae. An antennae to catch the traditional and HD channels becomes the primary form of television access.   

·         Internet tv ready devices.  An investment in one or several Internet tv ready devices may be optional for us after considering usage for each device. 

·         We stick with our cable option. Considering that this is an experiment with three HD ready televisions and an effort to reign in cost per program watched, going back to cable could still become a solution if the Internet services can’t provide the level of viewer satisfaction we require.

Yearly Content Acquisition Costs

I'm of the opinion that how you get to the content is most interesting because the devil is in the details.

  

Programming costs per service/device	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3+	Total cost for first 3 years*
Satellite tv	$ 300	300	300	$900
Cable tv (ATT Uverse 260 channels)	$948	948	948	$2844
Cable tv (Digital Preferred 160 channels)	$479.88	1019.88	1019.88	$2519.64
Roku box –XD version	$79	0	0	$79
Apple TV	$99	0	0	$99
Netflix subscription	$95.88	95.88	95.88	$287.64
Hulu Plus subscription	$95.88	95.88	95.88	$287.64
Antennae	$75	0	0	$75

*estimates do not include the monthly fee for internet connectivity; Cable packages assume a lower tiered viewing options; Satellite tv assumes only 40 channels; Subscriptions assume internet only options; Internet TV device boxes assume a mid-level product if available.

If users select an Internet TV device, say Apple TV, and Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions, the total 3-year cost is estimated to be: $674.28 versus $2500 with a cable provider.  Even with adding in a mid-grade antennae, users spend only $750, or less than 1/3 of the total expense from an cable provider.

Viewing Experience

The cost examples should certainly appeal to most users on the face of it.  The viewing experience is another factor to consider in the equation.  Can we watch the same content, or nearly the same content, for the same or less pain, aka commercial time to program time?   

What Exactly Are We Cutting If We Cut the Cable Umbilical Cord

Subscribing to the ATT 200 channel level of service doesn’t make us mac-daddy channel watchers- yes, there are 300 and 400 channels to consider- but it’s certainly a lot of channels considering only one is watched at a time.  Many of the channels are available in both regular and high definition, or HD, programming.  The four major broadcasters (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX) all offer both HD and non-HD programming  as do other broadcasters.  All in calculation for cable is about $5.50 per day, so as much as a venti-latte.  

Our issue:  we are tending to watch too much of the channel guide and not enough of the actual programming. 

Our challenge: to optimize what we’re watching and improve the viewing experience, while maintaining, or lowering, the cost per program watched.

Analyzing Television Channels We Actually Watch

I realize that this has been mentioned before, and I’m sure it also resonates with you: we end up surfing a ton of tv waves.  And, it just gets old.  Instead of surfing channels for hours where we end up watching nothing, we’re going to maximize the viewing.  This means the right amount of time for entertainment, information, pleasure, whatever.  A little analysis can go a long way in finding the right solution to this tv watching dilemma.  No more surfing tv waves, let’s ride a few waves of programming we want to watch.

Generally speaking, we’re into numerous sporting events, lifestyle programming, health and wellness programming, children’s programming (for the kiddies, of course), reality programming, documentaries and movies.

·         Television series

·         Lifestyle programming and reality programming- History Channel, Travel Channel, Bravo, Food Network, and then

·         Financial programming - including Bloomberg and CNBC

·         Documentaries – Current tv, History Channel, the 4 majors, Public Broadcasting

·         Movies from dramas, suspense and documentaries, comedy, you name it

·         Sports programming - including college football, golf, some basketball, baseball, and other major professional sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Cup, Stanley Cup (go Flyers!) and Tour de France, among others

Cable Channel Audit/Review

Over several weeks, we did an audit and wrote down all of the channels where a program was watched.  The 20 total channels of television programming for us came down to:

ABC	NBC	CBS	FOX	ESPN
CNBC	Bloomberg	Bravo	Public Broadcasting	Nick Jr
Travel Channel	History Channel	Food Network	Discover	CSS
Golf Channel	Nick Jr/Nickelodeon	CNBC	Current TV	TBS
A&E	TNT	Versus	CNN	BBC

Have to admit that it’s a little hard for me to believe at this point that MTV and VH1 are no longer on my list.  I guess it’s a rite of passage into real adulthood or should I say parenthood to see that Nickelodeon now makes the list, while MTV and VH1 have been relegated to the recycle bin.

Remote Control Surfing

It’s amazing that among 200 channels with hours of programming, we probably watch, on a regular basis, less than 15 channels fifteen in earnest, or less than 10% of the total channels we have in the cable plan.  In surfer’s lingo:  the rest of the channels operate as remote control wave riding until we find the ‘perfect wave’.

Researching Ways to Watch Individual TV Programming Channels

A quick online search on several websites shows that there is ample availability of each channel for our reviewing needs.  hulu.com currently has a deal to offer plenty of options for viewing both major broadcaster content and smaller, niche content creators.  In fact, search for some of the more obscure programming or content creators that you can think of through either Google or hulu and you’ll be surprised at what is available.  The basic viewing can be done on a computer, while premium services let consumers watch programs on your HDTV.  

Watching Movies Through Internet TV

One of the fastest growing markets is movie viewing through a broadband connection without the need for a cable connection.  Netflix, the clear leader in the US market for movie and premium channel viewing, lets users watch content through stand-alone boxes which does not require cable subscriptions.  If users want to keep their cable, Netflix acts as a supplement to what’s available there.

Viewer Options for Live Sports Programming

The one area that seems to be a hold out is live sporting events, which are dedicated to the four major broadcasting networks.  This could be because the bandwidth required to pipe in an HD game to millions of homes in real-time is intense.  There are two solutions though – one is ESPN3, which broadcasts games live.  Users would have to connect their computer directly to their television to watch the programming.  The other solution to the sporting dilemma is using an antennae because major broadcasters broadcast over the air in both traditional and HD.    

First Internet Only Device Review

We are going to dip our toe into the cable-free world and analyze the Roku box.  This is our first foray into the internet tv ready devices and we will keep our cable subscription live and going for comparative purposes.  Stay tuned.