Robbing Peter, paying Paul: Streaming costs can add up [telecom]

By Dwight Silverman, Houston Chronicle, March 6, 2015

Begin by looking at your monthly cable bill and multiplying it by 12. That's how much you pay for cable for a full year.

One of the obvious benefits of dropping cable TV and getting your television/movie fix via streaming is that you spend a less money for at-home entertainment. As I wrote earlier this year, the annual savings can be substantial. Buying just the shows you want, or watching them via online services such as Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime, costs a lot less than paying for a big bundle of hundreds of channels you'll never watch.

Cord cutters and cord nevers - those who have never had a cable subscription, and likely never will - are a small but growing number, and this week's news of HBO's $15-a-month streaming service and the addition of AMC to Sling TV may increase those numbers.

But what is also becoming apparent is that, if you attempt to recreate the choices you have with cable TV, the amount you pay for streaming services can begin to approach a cable bill.

But what is also becoming apparent is that, if you attempt to recreate the choices you have with cable TV, the amount you pay for streaming services can begin to approach a cable bill. In response to my blog post on Thursday about HBO Now, a colleague at the Mighty Houston Chronicle emailed this to me...

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And that price comparison doesn't include the cost of the internet connection.

In response to Mr. Silverman's previous post I emailed him suggesting that he should include the cost of the internet connection for an apples-apples comparison. His response: he already had an internet connection before he dropped his cable TV subscription, so the cost of the internet connection was not part of the equation.

I've gotten similar responses when I've tried to make this same point here on T-D: "I already have an internet connection so ... etc."

Fair enough. But the fact remains that there are millions of citizens -- many of whom are cable TV subscribers -- who don't have fast internet connections. Some may have dialup, others may not even have that. For these folks, the cost of an internet connection would indeed be part of price of "cutting the [cable TV] cord."

Using Mr. Silverman's figures:

$64.25 = Total monthly cost of internet-delivered programming cited by Mr. Silverman's "colleague at the Mighty Houston Chronicle" (and not including the "delivery cost of the internet connection).

$64.41 = "the average U.S. cable TV bill" cited by Mr. Silverman (including delivery all the way to the TV set or DVR).

Add the cost of an internet connection capable of delivering video and the price comparison clearly favors cable TV.

Neal McLain

***** Moderator's Note *****

Neal has been contributing to the Telecom Digest for twenty years now.

Neal, thank you.

Bill Horne Moderator

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Neal McLain
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