I remember when I was a kid, once a year the local library would put on a challenge to not watch TV for one whole week. This was always a huge challenge for pre-teen me. I lived for cartoons (especially after school) even if it was mostly PBS because we didn’t have cable.
Jump 15 years into the future and I don’t have cable or satellite at my house. I don’t even really have a proper TV (I use a gorgeous and power efficient Samsung 27-inch monitor). Do I miss TV? Not even a little bit. The solutions available nowadays, often for far less money per month than a cable bill, are numerous and far more flexible than traditional TV ever was.
At this point, I really do think it’s possible to drop something like a cable subscription entirely. I’ve tried to convince my parents to do this, but I think it’s usually my dad that says he needs the sports channels. As long as you have high-speed internet, you can pretty much replace TV with streaming solutions. Oh, and of course, the best part about most streaming solutions is the lack of commercials.
While you can stream with pretty much anything, an Apple TV makes a great base for building up a solution that will work for you. First, the Apple TV can easily connect to popular streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Second, it also allows you to use AirPlay to stream to your TV from your iPad or Mac. I know in my case, I have seasons 3-11 of The Simpsons on DVD that I’ve since ripped so I can watch them on my MacBook Air. Now via AirPlay I can easily watch them on my TV.
What many people don’t realize is that these days, there are also a lot of live streams for certain things. YouTube has live streams and will often host streams of political events or debates. If you’re into a particular show that’s currently being produced on a major network, chances are it’ll be available online within a week of airing, if not immediately in some cases. I think once you get used to a staggered delivery schedule for your favorite show, it’s really not a big deal. When I went off to college, I kept up with the entirety of House on Hulu and I never even noticed the 7-day episode lag.
The one catch to all this is that streaming does require a high speed internet solution…which is probably going to come from the same company who previously supplied your cable TV. So does that mean this whole thing is a wash? Not necessarily. Typically, internet-only subscriptions cost less than internet + TV, or even just TV. While it isn’t the case in most of Vermont yet, many people will generally have a better range of options when it comes to internet. You can use cable, DSL (usually fast enough for SD streaming), or fiber if you have that in your area. Plus, don’t discount the extra value of being able to decide what to watch and when without any commercials or restrictions.
So I’d suggest really analyzing your TV viewing habits to see if switching over to an internet-only solution might work better for you. I did, and I’ve never looked back.