Confessions of a cable and sports drop-out (split by request from What Commercials? [sports])

I was going to wait until I was unplugged for a year, but at Face's request here we go.......

I no longer have cable TV. I told the telemarketer I had no interest last month. Some friends are amazed. To be fair I have not directly paid for cable since leaving WNY for AZ some 8 years ago. However I always had it where I was renting or living. But when I bought my house I decided there was no need. That was in November of last year. I have missed little.

The first thing I found was Youtube and the various network sites have lots to watch, free. Watching on a laptop gets hard, so I bought a little box called "Roku." There are others but this one had the most features, only issue is at this time it doesn't do Youtube. I can live with that, and they say it will be fixed. It was about $90.00. With a HuluPlus or Netflix subscription at $8 per month you can have so much to watch it is amazing. There are perhaps 100+ other "channels" for free or a fee. Interestingly there is a channel for your dog to watch which at $9 is $1 more than Netflix.

Like TiVo, you will get recommendations. I most like the ones for documentaries I enjoy and indie movies I would not otherwise watch. Currently I have so many things in my "to watch" list that I can easily fill the 2-3 hours a night I actively or passively watch for a year. Little is "new" but if I have not seen "Mad Men" before it is new to me. And I like to have the TV on for background noise when I half-nap, so what is the difference between a re-run of "The A-Team" at my $8 per month or what the cable company puts on for $80? And like lots of the MAWGs on here, I would rather watch the re-run I like than some new crap I do not.

Once a month or so I visit my parents and spend the night. They have regular cable, and when I go back I realize how little there is "on" that I really want to watch. The only time I really liked watching was an "American Restoration" marathon. Every other visit I "settled" for something. I would rather "settle" for $8 than $80. The only other thing I miss out on is live news and sports. I When remodeling on the house is complete next month, I will buy an antenna for over-the-air TV. Which brings me to sports.

I've never been a major fan, but the NFL I did used to near live for. In 1995 I did not miss one play in any Steelers game. Now I might watch a game if it is on, and listen on radio when I am working on the house. But the "live for" days are no more. The reasons are many. Five commercial breaks per quarter. Even at four commercials per break that is 10 minute of commercials per 15 minutes of play! Then there is how the league simply does not share my values anymore. Rush Limbaugh considered investing in a team but was told "he was too divisive." At the same time, convicted felon and dog-killer Vick was allowed back with just a 4 game suspension. At the same time, Ben Roethlisberger was given an initial six-game suspension of six games with not even a formal legal charge. Clearly the NFL does not want the business of my demographic. Fine, I will no longer give it. Beyond all of this the rule-changes and direction of the game seem intended for people with shorter attention spans who like shoot-outs vs a great defensive chess match and building something in the backyard is just plain more interesting to me.

And that leaves radio. Guess what--there are great substitutes there, too. I have become a fan of podcasts. Find a subject you like and there is probably a show for you. Commercial time is 1/10 of what you get over the air. The talent-level ranges from starting out to broadcast-level. There is no waiting, subscribe and listen at your own pace.

I cannot be alone. The media companies should look around, their model will soon be no more. I keep saying I would buy a package of 10 or so cable channels for $10, but that is fading. Netflix and the like will only get bigger over time. More and more people will get tired of paying $80 to watch 10 channels but support 70 others. The ones who do not watch ESPN will not keep letting it take 10% of their cable bill. More will discover that finding a hobby is more fun than sitting in front of the idiot box.

Yay Netflix. I have been cable free for 2+ years. There is also a service called unblockus which will allow you to access other countries' netflix offerings, which should pretty much last you a lifetime.

Quote: dwheatley

Yay Netflix. I have been cable free for 2+ years. There is also a service called unblockus which will allow you to access other countries' netflix offerings, which should pretty much last you a lifetime.

Is that a legit service or underground?

You know, I've spoken here and there about all the sort of obvious benefits to cutting the cord - the extra money, extra time, learning new skills, picking up new hobbies, blah blah blah, but one thing I'm starting to notice more and more is a personality change.

Everything is just more fun now. Things one would normally find a chore is now entertaining. Stuff like mowing the lawn... I really enjoy it. I take more care when doing it. I'll cut up different patterns just for kicks and revel in the random stuff I see; giant black crickets scurrying from the noise, toads hopping for cover, birds swooping in to take advantage of the exposed food sources. It's like my brain is always "on" now. Gardening, yard work, general maintenance, it's all something I look forward to.

Another huge kick for me is my attentiveness. Obviously, "we are what we repeatedly do", and I think TV exacerbated my lack of focus. It sort of trains you to only pay attention for bite sized bits of time at once. But now, I can get into a project and remain engrossed for hours at a time. The last two times I've worked on my race car consisted of 4-6 hours of non-stop action, both times on one specific, relatively small area. My brain never once drifted, never thought how menial and backbreaking the work was, never noticed how I'd only shed mere grams of weight, was never aware that my hands were literally dripping blood from the wear and tear... it was clamped on the idea that I "had a job to do", and it just did it.

Not only that, but tearing down and rebuilding a car is a first for me. Not one time, not for one single part have I had to go back and redo it because I did it wrong or put something on in the wrong order. It's like it just intuits everything one step ahead of conscious thought. While I'm sanding and stripping the bumper, the "menial work", it drifts to what order I have to re-bolt it and where I need to grind it for welding, and what part of the frame I'll weld it to, all while I'm autopilot sanding. What would normally take 3 hours of frustrating trial and error broken up by texts and Facebook check ins took 35 minutes, and it was done perfectly. Perfectly sanded and smooth, and welded rock solid and clean.

Getting off TV has been as important a move for me as getting clean. It's changed my life that much.