Vector 38: Cord cutting

By last updated

Vector is Mobile Nations' cross-site, cross-platform analysis show where we talk about the hottest topics in the tech industry. On this week's episode Anthony Casella of Mobile Nations joins Rene to talk about cutting the cable and satellite cord, setting up an antenna, getting free over-the-air digital channels, using a home media center, and the pros and cons of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Aereo.

Subscribe, listen along, and then tell us — are you cutting the cord? Why or why not?

Show notes

Guests

Hosts

Feedback

Yell at us on Twitter or leave a comment below.

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.
4 Comments
  • Several reasons I won't ever cut the cord:
    1) There's really no incentive to do so when my ISP charges nearly as much for internet alone as it does for a triple play package;
    2) Sports, sports, sports. For instance, I'm a rabid Mets fan that watches close to every single game they play. I'd have no option to do so living in the NYC/NJ area, because Mets games are blacked out from MLB.TV;
    3) Convenience. I don't really care to search 20 different places for the regular programming I enjoy when I can get it all in one place;
    4) This one might sound pompous and I apologize, but we can afford it. We work hard, make good money and enjoy our television as is.
  • Definitely. It all depends upon what weight you give to the value of Television in your life and how you want to consume it.
  • I cut the cord about two years ago and for the most part have never looked back. I have a grandfathered price of $9.99 on my Tivo account (program guide and DVR) and we record beautiful 1080i programming from over-the-air (better quality than cable or satellite because there is no compression). Between that, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Youtube, we have more TV than we actually need to be watching. Since I live in Denver, we are Broncos fans and all of their games are televised. We also watched several of the NCAA tournament games this year (also broadcast). I realize that not all sports are broadcast and that is a deal breaker for a lot of people; I'm not one of those people. We have lots of money leftover if we want to rent movies and still come out miles ahead. And for the argument about the cable companies throwing in TV for free, those offers are only temporary. We take advantage of the deals from Century Link and get our 20MB/5MB for about $35 a month.
  • I cut the cord... Love sports but I've limited myself to only watching a few and spend that time elsewhere... For games I really want to see not televised over air I use as an excuse to go hang out at a bar or friends house to watch... Good times!