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Cutting the Cord from Cable TV

By Tim
This past Christmas, I decided there was plenty of options for television and started looking into cutting our reliance on cable TV.  You know, that $150 -$200 dollar expense every month that is similar to your daily fix, also known as a large Mocha Latte for $4.95 / day.
Photo credit: Roku
Our family is locked into the Cox Communications family because of our location.  Unfortunately, there are no other competitors to provide even an ounce of savings to subscribers locally.  My guess is you are a family member to Time Warner, U-Verse, Cox, Dish or Direct TV or if outside of California, you have one service provider for your city.  All of these companies look forward to creating a bundle package including high speed Internet and Phone services in order to increase revenue.  These companies coax you in by offering you a deeply discounted monthly rate for bundling these services for 1 year however lock you in for a 2 year commitment.  On the 13th month of your contract however, the monthly service fee doubles. As a result of many years of paying ridiculous cable bills, I decided to start looking around for options.

In the past, options have been limited however shifts in programming are helping consumers more and more.  We invested in two Roku boxes for both of our TVs then purchased monthly subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu.  We went out to purchase an indoor amplified TV antenna however we are too far away from the towers to easily obtain local HD programming over the air waves.  Instead of installing an outdoor antenna, we continued paying our cable company for services.  Soon, we found ourselves reaching for the Roku remote more and more accessing last weeks TV episodes on Hulu by ABC, NBC, and CBS and getting extremely invested in Netflix Original Programming like Longmire, Bloodline and more.  Don't get me wrong, we still used our cable box for our favorites like Family Feud and reruns of Mike and Molly on channel 9.  And who could miss, Judge Judy and The Peoples Court!  Not us!!!  

Well...today is an exciting day for the tech geek I am.  Alma just looks at me with a "What is your problem!" kind of stare, but I have learn to move past it continuing with my excited "boy with a new toy" demeanor.  Sony PlayStation has release in the greater Los Angeles area, check your area for availability, PlayStation Vue.  Vue is Live TV and host to previously run episodes of all of your favorite cable TV channels / shows for a very affordable price, Pricing is as follows, 60 channels for $40, 75 channels for $45 and 100 channels for $55.  For sometime now, the only way your could access VUE was through your Sony PlayStation system.  However, the price is not the only exciting piece of this story....NOW everyone can access PlayStation VUE through their Roku and Android applications.  Additional devices include Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Chromecast, IPad, and IPhone.  A High Speed Internet connection is required and you should check with your service provider on download speeds to ensure you have enough bandwidth to be able to access TV on all of your devices.  Take into account your children may be on the internet doing homework or playing video games while your wife watches The Shahs of Sunset in the family room and you watch The Olympic Games in Rio.

I can tell you this, we just started our 7 day free trial of PlayStation Vue and it is great.  You can watch live TV or scroll through your favorite programs for an episode you missed last week.  Do you have a new show that you haven't seen but your co-workers are talking about?  Start at season one and catch up with your friends using Play Station Vue.  There are add on options including Showtime, Epix and other add ons available for an additional charge. 

Guess where I will be this weekend?  "HELLO COX! HERE ARE YOUR CABLE BOXES!  I WOULD LIKE TO...."  If you have some favorite shows, enjoy them at your convenience and when your busy schedule allows.  Cut the cable cord and save yourself money with the help of PlayStation Vue!  Start your free trial today at PlayStation Vue.   

Written by guest blogger and partner
Tim Bosek

Disclaimer: No cable boxes were hurt in the making of this post. Personal blog all opinions are all my own. 
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