Yep, as you can see from the title and the picture above, we made the decision this week to "cord cut", i.e., abandon cable television which we have been getting through Verizon FIOS for over 15 years, and go to a streaming service. We had been contemplating this move for awhile. No beef with the quality of the product that Verizon provided, it was a cost cutting measure, pure and simple.
Our monthly bill for our Verizon Bundle - phone, internet, TV - was coming in at $198 and change per month. A few weeks back, I called Verizon and asked what it would cost if I just kept the phone service and the internet. The answer, about $65/month, plus taxes and "fees." So I then went looking for a streaming service TV provider.
My first choice was YouTube TV. Cost: $64.99/month. It provided local channels and all the other services that I had been using - CNN, TNT, ESPN, ACC Network, HGTV, you get the idea. However, it DIDN'T provide one important one: AT&T Sports Net Pittsburgh. That meant no ability to watch the Pirates or the Penguins games. That was a deal breaker for me.
I then explored FuboTV.
With some exceptions, Fubo offered everything that YouTube did for the same price, $64.99, and, for an additional $5.00, AT&T Sports Net. So I signed on for a seven day free trial, liked it, and yesterday, I called Verizon, cut off the TV service, and today I returned my two cable boxes and one digital converter to them. So now, instead of paying $199/ month to Verizon, I am now paying $67/month to Verizon and $70/month to FuboTV, a savings of $62 per month, close to $750 ($744 to be exact) a year.
So far, I've been happy with the service. The quality of the picture on my TV's has not suffered. I am still learning the navigation of the system with the TV remote, but that is certainly no big deal. And yes, you can now use your TV remote for this; no separate remote control gadget.
Any down side? Well, those exceptions I mentioned above....FuboTV does not carry any of the Turner Network stations. No CNN, TNT, TBS, or TCM. Losing TCM could have been a dealbreaker, but if you have HBO Max, which we do, you have access to the full TCM library. Also, FuboTV provides all the broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. This gives us access to our local affiliates as well with one exception: there is no local broadcasting from WTAE-TV Channel 4, which now means I can only see the local newscasts from Channels 2,11, and 53. Also, no PBS on FuboTV either.
(UPDATE, July 31: Soon after I wrote this post, I discovered that I do indeed receive the local programming from WTAE-TV, Channel 4.)
Those are the negatives, and the loss of TBS and TNT will come into play when the NCAA basketball tournament is telecast in March and April, but here's something that I could do. Sign up for YouTube TV for a month and then cancel it. There are no contracts, not yet, anyway, with these services, so you can play the system with a bit of effort. Will it be worth sixty-five bucks for me next spring to be able to watch three weekends of college hoops? I don't know, but at least I know that I have options.
Another option, if things don't work out, would be to call Verizon and ask to be taken back into the FIOS TV fold. I am sure that they will welcome me with open arms, and probably with an "introductory offer" that will be less than the $199 that I was currently paying.
So with that, I leave you with this.....
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