Cutting the Cable Cord: a Practical Guide For many years, if you wanted tv you had this: Now however, you can have this: Which leads to this: ...a Practical Guide

2012: 112 million television subscribers 2022 (11 million more households): predicted 102 million television subscribers Television penetration: 87.4% to 75.2% of households

An individual choice Not for everyone!

This class:

● How cutting the cord works ● How to make the choice: a walkthrough and a case study of two geeks ● Review of common streaming channel choices What is it?

1. Stopping TV service through a cable company 2. BUT continuing Internet service 3. All TV will be delivered to your house via the internet or an antenna

Does not mean that you...:

● ...will pay nothing ● ...will ditch your tv What do you need?

● FAST Internet ○ If you can’t stream youtube videos, forget it ○ The more people using it, the faster you will need ● A local home Wi-fi network (a Router that is wi-fi enabled) ● TV ○ Either a streaming device ○ Or an Internet enabled TV ● Lots and lots of lots of Digital Channels-which you pay for ● Optional: a Digital Antenna ● Optional: A streaming device to make it easier How do you start?

The three questions: Who? What? How?

● How many people do you have watching? (Who) ● What do they watch? (What) ● Do they have to watch immediately after it broadcasts? (What) ● Are their shows available in streaming channels? (How) A Tale of Two Geeks Who?

Kay:

● Watches sci fi & fantasy shows ● Addicted to BBC Detective Shows ( & Acorn) ● Watches less than five shows live

Bryan:

● Watches sci fi & fantasy shows, but different ones than Kay ● Addicted to Anime (Japanese animation for adults- Crunchyroll, , Anime Network) ● Rarely watches live tv except for football, which he turns off halfway through in disgust Nellie

● Likes carrots and anything that isn’t her kibble ● Would be happiest if the tv was turned off permanently Notes on Who

● It’s harder to cut the tv cord when ○ More people watching tv ○ People watching different things ○ You watch a lot of tv live ○ You watch things that are expensive to replace (sports) ● Tale of two geeks ○ Only two people who watch tv=Good ○ They don’t watch a lot of live tv=Good ○ Their shows can be sourced from the internet=Good ○ They watch completely different things=Bad What?

You need to do a usage survey

Exactly what shows do you watch?

How much do you care about them? A Tale of Two Geeks Notes on What

● Get down everything you watch and would miss-even if it’s “I turn on the Baseball Channel for background every evening” ● The goal of this is to replace what you actually watch, not suffer ● More than one page? Too many shows... How (and how much?) How (and How Much?) Notes

● Can you replace everything that’s a 5 easily? ● Can you eventually find the shows that are lower “rated”? ● Research ○ Is it on one of the common streaming channels? ○ https://www.justwatch.com/ ○ Canistreamit does not work ● Alternatively… ○ If the channel is not common: sign up for a trial ○ Ask around with your friends ○ Or call me at work The final tally Equipment to make it Easier

● ● Chromecast: Can also mirror a Chrome browser ● Apple TV: Getting Amazon Prime is tricky Streaming Sources Roundup

Streaming Channels:

● Netflix ● Amazon Prime ● Hulu

Reproducing the Cable Experience

● Sling TV ● DirectTV Now ● Playstation Vue ● Hulu TV (Brand new)

Antenna Things to consider-streaming channels

● Not programming-just shows ● How often do they change their content? ● Do they have original programming? ● How many people can stream at one time (or sign up at one time)? ● Is it a monthly or yearly fee? ● Does my device support their channel? Netflix

● $7.99 a month: 1 stream at a time ● $9.99 a month: 2 stream at a time ● Coverage: Mostly “backlist” items. ● Adding new original programming to drive sign-ups Amazon Prime

● $99 a month or $8.25 a month ● 2 devices at a time ● Backlist items ● Adding new original programming ● Counts by Show, not by episode Hulu

● 7.99 a month or add Showtime for $8.99/month more ● $11.99 for an “ad- experience” ● New shows a day after they air ● Works with most major channels ● 1 stream at a time ● CBS shows Replacing Cable with OnlineTV (sort of)

● Replay is hit or miss ○ some channels allow and some don’t ● Don’t get too far behind ○ many channels only replay up to 3 days ● On demand not universally available ● Some channels don’t give you all rights to programs ● Commercials included Sports

● Cable replacement services probably won’t cover local games ● Most sports have their own channel ○ There may be a delay on showing the game ● Antenna Sling TV

● $20-40 a month ● Fox, ABC, NBC available: No CBS ● https://www.sling.com/service DirectTV Now

● Had a rough start ● $35.00 a month for the “Live a Little” Package ● ABC, NBC, Fox: No CBS ● http://cdn.directv.com/content/dam/dtv/gmott/html/compare-packages-account .html Playstation VUE

● $39.99 a month ● CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox Channels available ● https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/channels/ Hulu TV

● $40 a month ● Has ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC (we are one of the few markets this is in) ● https://www.hulu.com/live-tv Antenna

● Digital Antennas are much more powerful ● More channels available too ● Channels broadcast at different strengths ● ABC-Philadelphia only ● http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/philadelphia ● May have to set-up your tv to “see” Digital channels Putting it All Together

● Complete your Usage Survey ● Try out a few services and see if they work for you before cutting the cord ● Do a “stress test”: Have everyone bring up something and try to stream at once ● Compare the services: https://www.cnet.com/news/playstation-vue-vs-sling-tv-streaming-live-tv-comp ared ● You don’t have to do it immediately... Thank you!

Kay Klocko Head of Reference & Digital Literacy Upper Dublin Public Library [email protected] 215-628-8744 x3344