When I was growing up, I never had cable TV. Not only was cable TV just getting introduced back then, but I always saw it as a luxury item since I didn't come from the best of backgrounds. Therefore, I remember spending numerous frustrating hours adjusting the position of the antenna on the top of the TV. Every time I changed the channel, I had to readjust the antenna. And worse yet, even if I found a position that worked well for a particular station, there was no guarantee that that same position would work again the next day.
When I moved into my own place after college, it was in Manhattan. And given that many television stations send their broadcast signals from Manhattan, there was realistically no need for cable. I was able to receive broadcast TV pretty clearly without much effort. Plus, even though I had a good job by then, I still saw cable TV as a luxury item. So despite being tempted with all the new cable stations that were popping up during that time, I still didn't get cable.
It wasn't until I moved to Secaucus that I actually purchased cable TV for the first time from Comcast. (This was before they switched the name of that branch of their business to Xfinity.) There were two reasons for this. First, I needed to get internet access from Comcast anyway, and Comcast had a special where getting both internet and TV would only cost a few dollars extra. Second, even though I only opted for the most basic TV package, it contained channels which I couldn't get over the air such as TBS and Nickelodeon. Having grown up in the 80's/90's, I loved my old sitcoms. So having access to channels like those (which airs a lot of old comedies) was great.
Then one day, I suddenly noticed that I didn't get TBS any more. I immediately called Comcast to ask what happened, and the answer was that they simply changed their offering. The TV package I purchased had been reduced to purely broadcast channels only, and there was nothing I could do about it. Well, I was upset to say the least. But since I was still getting a good deal on the combination of TV and internet access, I decided to grin and bear it.
Over the next few years, Comcast did what many cable TV companies are infamously known for. They kept raising their prices. It wasn't much, maybe a dollar here and a dollar there. So it didn't bothered me too much. But then, to the dismay of many of their customers, Comcast introduced the "Broadcast TV fee". Basically, instead of raising prices like they normally do, they instituted a significant price increase as a separate "fee". Even worse, this fee was subject to change at any time, even if you had a set contract with Comcast.
At this point, I was pretty fed up. However, the memories of the hours I spent adjusting the TV antenna kept haunting me. So I continued to grin and bear it. After all, I was making a decent living, and the additional cost wouldn't make much of a dent. I did decide to start looking into alternatives, though. It was then when I learned that there was a whole movement to drop cable TV known as "cutting the cord". Essentially, with more and more television streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, it seems that many families prefer to utilize internet steaming to watch their favorite shows. Although the idea was intriguing, I wasn't ready to join the movement yet at that point.
For the next couple of years, Comcast continued to raise their prices occasionally. The latest increase was discovered when I opened my first cable bill of 2019. This time, the increase was to both my TV package AND the Broadcast TV fee. Well happy new year! This was the straw that broke the camel's back. It wasn't just about the money. It was also the fact that I was paying more and more for broadcast TV, something that I can get for free! (Hence the word broadcast.) To be fair, I don't 100% blame Comcast for raising their prices. I know the cost to carry television networks have gone up dramatically for cable companies, and Comcast is just passing along those costs to their customers (although I am sure Comcast is still making plenty of money). But no matter where the fault lies, I felt continuing to pay Comcast for broadcast TV was just plain silly, especially given Secaucus' proximity to Manhattan's broadcast towers. Therefore, I finally decided to take advantage of the strong television signals that our town receives and "cut the cord".
Within the week, I purchased a Mohu Leaf antenna at the local Sam's Club to test the viability of dropping my cable TV service. I plugged the antenna into my TV, and IT WORKED! IT WORKED WELL! Not only that, but I actually received more channels than I did via my cable TV package. There were no cable stations like TBS of course, but I did discover new broadcast stations like LAFF, which also airs old sitcoms. After testing the antenna for a couple of days, I came to the conclusion that my experiment was a success. I didn't really need cable TV any more. So before my next billing cycle, I called Comcast to cancel my TV service. It was surprisingly easy, and all I needed to do after getting off the phone was to return my cable TV equipment to an Xfinity store.
On the way home after returning my equipment, I felt like a great weight had been lifted. I was walking on air for the next few hours. But then, things took a turn for a worse. Although the antenna I bought worked well, I started noticing that it didn't always work well. Depending on the time of day, I was sometimes unable to receive some of the channels I expected. So I found myself frustratingly playing with the position of the antenna like I did when I was a kid. At times, I even considered going back to a TV package from Comcast. That's because according to the Comcast agent I spoke with when I was cancelling my TV service, I was evidently eligible for special discounts if I ever decide to purchase a TV package again. But thankfully, I held strong. And after a few days, I found a semi-permanent position for my antenna which gets me all the television stations I want pretty well.
It has been a couple of weeks now since I cut the cord. And in general, I am pretty happy. Sure, there may be times when the picture glitches every few minutes, but I have gotten used to that. Plus, I am now saving almost fifteen dollars a month. I know that relatively speaking, this is not a big amount. However, I would much rather spend that money on a streaming service like Netflix, which will give me a lot more content to watch than my previous TV package ever did.
So is cutting the cord right for you too? That's up to you to figure out. All I can say is that I don't see myself going back to cable TV any time soon.
