Making the call to cut the cable

In 2009 and 2010, I spent time running the numbers to determine if I could save money by streaming TV rather than staying with cable. Spoiler: yes.

I went through all the numbers, and bought the equipment to set it all up, and started streaming. But the last piece of the puzzle took a little while.

Until I saw an article last week on the Tablo Blog about it, I had pretty much put it out of my mind. But after seeing the article, I began to remember that it was, at the time, a pretty big step.

One thing that can be a problem is when they then start to pressure you, sometimes being subtle, sometimes not. Tablo covered it pretty well:

Don't let your provider convince you to boost your internet package or speeds either. Unless you've got online gamers in the home or other high-bandwidth needs, 25 MBPS download/3 MPBS upload speeds and a 1TB data cap are usually enough.

I've spoken to people after they cut the cord and they then brag about how they got a good deal on faster Internet. I let them enjoy their win. The cable company really won that, but they're happy, so I let them have it.

Cutting the cord is a big step. The call, or office visit, to cut the cable TV package can be intimidating, but it shouldn't be. It should be looked at as one of the steps to ensure you have a happy Streaming Life.

Wait until they find out ESPN is available

A survey by Beta Research show that, once again, ESPN is a must have network for many cable users.

ESPN seems to always top the list of cable channels that users want. This year's survey is no different.

The Streaming Advisor suggests this is the top reason that people keep cable, and he may be right. And his suggestion that if more knew they could get the channel without cable, they might cut the cord as well.

Let's look at the details of the survey. The top channels for men and women were different, as you might expect.

Among men, the favorite basic cable channels included ESPN, History and ESPN2, Fox News, CNN, Discovery Channel, Fox Sports 1, Comedy Central and National Geographic.

Among women, the top networks were Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Hallmark Channel, ID, TLC, Lifetime and History.

All of these channels can be had via Sling TV Orange+Blue with Lifestyle Extra for $56/month. Or Sling TV Orange+Blue and Frndly.TV for $57/month, which may be a better deal overall, with the extra family friendly content.

According to July report from US News & World Report, the average household pays well over $200/month for cable.

Using data from a variety of public sources, the site found the average monthly cable package is now $217.42 per month. That’s more than the average household’s monthly cost of $205.50 for all other major utilities combined.

That's a lot of money. And a heckuva lot more than $57/month, the cost of a streaming package that includes the most wanted channels (plus a lot more channels).

When people realize how much they can save by cutting cable and streaming TV, they may make a change. If this is you, then welcome to the Streaming Life!

Should you drop cable?

Do you have cable? Or know someone who does? And do they watch it? I mean, really, do they watch cable?

There have been articles about users "quiet quitting" cable, meaning they keep cable, but rarely ever use it. And that's more common than you might realize.

With the number of streaming services that offer great content, some TV users stop watching cable, but still pay for cable.

It's difficult for me to understand that, partly because I started streaming heavily with the intention of cutting cable. I was not one that started watching more and more streaming, then realized I was still paying for cable but not watching it.

Some family members were like that, though. When I asked why the cutting of cable wasn't happening, the response was that there might be something that's just on cable, such as sports programming.

The logic there is that paying $100/month (or more, in the example I'm using) every month keeps one from having to subscribe to a $35/month service when ESPN carries a game.

Yeah, I know, that would be considered flawed logic. However, it would have meant going into unfamiliar territory, and that can be scary.

If you, or someone you know, is in that situation, it may be difficult to take that last step. But the fact remains that there's not much that you would keep cable for that you can't also get on a streaming service.

Right now, I'm subscribing to a live streaming service to get ESPN. I'm dropping it at the 30-day mark, then re-upping when a game I want to watch airs. I'll end up subscribing three times to cover the college football season. (Draw it out on a calendar and you'll see why that's the case.)

But to the topic at hand. Should you try to convince a family member to drop cable if they are not comfortable doing that? I say no. Don't pressure them.

Rather, let them see what you are comfortable with, and how you are able to watch the stuff without the high cable bill. Don't try to talk them into something. Show them what you're doing.

My Streaming Life hasn't had cable in quite some time, because I haven't needed cable in quite some time. If others see how that works, and that it works well, they'll decide to save money, but in their own time.

Pi Hole is a keeper

I've mentioned my testing of Pi Hole on my local network. Generally, people use Pi Hole to block ads on their network. That's not really what I'm after. There are URL lists that are designed to block other things. Some block NSFW content. Some block malicious Websites. Some block tracking services. And of course, some block ad services.

When I set up my Pi Hole, I started using the standard ad blocking, just to test it out. It worked well. Be aware that it won't block all ads. For example, if you're watching YouTube, and the ads are served from YouTube, then you'll still see the ads. If they are from a different service, then yeah, it will block them.

That's because of how Pi Hole works. It blocks content from certain servers. If the server is not an ad server, you'll get the content you expect. Of course, if the ad is from the main server as well, Pi Hole can't tell the difference. So no, it won't block everything. It can't.

After that initial testing, I added other lists, particularly blocking tracking services and malicious Websites. I turned off the standard ad blocker, since I'm okay with ads. But if the ad also tracks you, it will get blocked.

So, I get some ads, and some ads get blocked. The ads that are blocked are tracking ads, and that's what I want blocked. Other tracking activity is blocked as well.

After a month of testing and trying different things, I've decided that I'm keeping Pi Hole. It does what I want it to do.

There have been no issues with it interfering with my Streaming Life, so it will stay on the network, and keep doing its job.

Watching college football games this weekend: Week 3

For the first time this season, all of the networks that carry games will all have at least one game this weekend. In the first three weeks -- Week 0, Week 1, Week 2 -- at least one of the networks, often two or three, didn't have any games on their schedule.

That is no longer the case. Every network has a game. That's because Longhorn Network, which carries Texas home games, has a game. NBC and Peacock, which carry Notre Dame home games has a game. NFL Network has a game. This will happen again many times this season. I think it will. Sure it will. Probably. Yeah.

Anyway, if you want to watch all of the games this season, you need access to all the networks. And, as you will see, that can get expensive. Of course, you might not want to be able to watch al the games. You may have only a single team, or a few teams, you care about. We'll show you how you can watch the games, whatever the games might be.

Well, most of the games. Four Saturday games will not be on these networks. A couple surprise me, but that's how it goes. Here are the networks carrying games:

• ABC
• ACC Network
• Big Ten
• Big 12 Network
• CBS
• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• ESPN 2
• ESPN 3
• ESPN U
• SEC Network
• ESPN+
• Fox
• Fox Sports 1
• Longhorn Network
• NBC
• NFL Network
• Pac 12 Network
• Peacock

Here is how to watch these networks:

ABC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

ACC Network

• Sling Orange, with Sports Extra, $46/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, with Sports Extra, $65/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Choice, $90/month.

Big Ten Network

• Sling Blue, with Sports Extra, $46/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, with Sports Extra, $65/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Choice, $90/month.

Big 12 Network

Big 12 Network games are available through ESPN+.

CBS

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Paramount+ Premium, $10/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

CBS Sports Network

• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Ultimate, $105/month.

ESPN

• Sling Orange, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

ESPN2

• Sling Orange, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

ESPN U

• Sling Orange, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.
• Fubo TV Elite, $80/month.

ESPN3

ESPN3 is usually included with a service that carries standard ESPN/ESPN2.

• Sling Orange, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

ESPN+

ESPN+ is a standalone sports programming service. It is not the same thing as regular ESPN that you get with cable or one of the live streaming services. Some content from ESPN, ESPN2, or other ESPN networks may be available on ESPN+, but often, it's content that is only available on ESPN+.

• ESPN+, $7/month.
• Disney Bundle, $14/month.

Fox

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

Fox Sports 1

• Sling Blue, with Sports Extra, $46/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, with Sports Extra, $65/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

Longhorn Network

• Sling Blue, with Sports Extra, $46/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, with Sports Extra, $65/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.

NBC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.

NFL Network

• Sling Blue, with Sports Extra, $46/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, with Sports Extra, $65/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.

Pac 12 Network

• Sling Blue, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• Fubo TV Pro, with Fubo Extra, $78/month.
• Fubo TV Elite, $80/month.

Peacock TV

Peacock is a standalone streaming service that carries NBCUniversal programming, including much sports from NBC as well as exclusive sports programming. Peacock Premium is $5/month, but is included with Xfinity Internet plans.

SEC Network

• Sling Orange, $35/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $50/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Choice, $90/month.
• Fubo TV Ultimate, $100/month.

This list of networks covers all the games airing today. It also covers games next week through Friday, as the early games next week are all on one of these networks.

To watch all the games, having an antenna won't really matter, as in order to get all the networks, you'll need services that cover the OTA stations. So, how much to watch them all?

The services necessary will cost $118 That's $65 for YouTube TV with has most of the networks, $46 for Sling TV Blue plus Sports Extra to get Longhorn and Pac 12, $7 for ESPN+.

If you want college football in your Streaming Life, you have options, though it can get expensive depending just how many games you want to watch.