How to Cut Your TV Bill
In this economy, everyone’s taking a second look at their monthly expenses. With the average cable or satellite bill over $60 a month, it’s probably the first thing that comes to mind when looking at ways to cut back.
Reduce Monthly Cable / Satellite Bill
There is no reason why you should have to pay full price for a non-essential service. If you don’t want to get rid of it completely, call your cable and satellite provider and ask for a discount. Tell them you’re considering cancelling the service because it costs too much. If you’re signed up for premium channels, consider dropping them. Cable and service providers don’t want to lose your business entirely. There are enough people out there cancelling their service, so if there’s a way to keep you by charging you less, they will do that. Discounts of 20% to 30% are not unusual. The company will still make a profit, just not as much before.
Cancel Cable or Satellite Service
You can save even more money by cancelling your service altogether. These days there are plenty of alternatives.
Over-the-Air Digital Channels
Thanks to the digital television transition, there are now more digital channels available than ever before. All TVs manufactured after March 1, 2007 come with built-in digital tuners. All you need is an antenna. If you live in a major city, a simple indoor antenna will suffice. You will receive all the network channels and then some. It’s not unusual to get twenty or more such channels. The picture quality of digital TV broadcasts is crystal clear. If you have an HDTV, it’s even better. In fact, over the air (OTA) high-definition broadcasts tend to offer better picture quality than cable or satellite HD transmissions. That’s because satellite and cable providers tend to compress their digital signals significantly, which can lead to degraded picture quality.
Watch Free TV Online
In addition to watching OTA television, you have the option of watching television online. Since you’re reading this blog, I’m assuming you have internet service at home, too, and you’re unlikely to part with it.
Years ago, watching TV shows online had an aura of illegality to it. Not anymore. It’s now possible to watch most of your network shows online legally.
The most popular TV site is Hulu.com, which is a joint venture between NBC, Fox and other networks and studios. The video library is quite extensive. In addition to watching full episodes of current TV shows like 30 Rock or Family Guy, you can also watch many classic series such as Doogie Howser M.D. or the A-Team. Hulu also hosts TV shows from cable channels like Sci-Fi’s Battlestar Galactica and Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. In addition, channels that don’t participate in Hulu such as ABC or CBS offer full episodes on their own websites. Those shows are indexed as well so you can search for them on Hulu. They’re just a click away. If that is not enough, you also have the option of watching full-length feature films. The Hulu video library gets constantly updated. You’ll never run out of TV shows or movies to watch.
If you prefer to watch on a bigger screen, there are ways to stream online content to your TV. You could, of course, simply connect a video cable from your laptop to your TV, but that set-up might be too much of a hassle in the long run. Instead, consider investing in a special device such as the hugely popular Boxee that is compatible with Apple TV.
Subscribe to Netflix / Blockbuster Online
You can also get many of your favorite shows and movies through Netflix and Blockbuster Online. Basic plans start at under $10 a month. The DVDs will be sent you by mail and generally arrive within two to three days. A free return envelope is provided to you, so it won’t cost you anything to send them back.
You’re not limited to checking out DVDs by mail though. Netflix and Blockbuster plans come with free additional features. Blockbuster gives you a limited number of in-store movie rentals each month. Netflix, on the other hand, offer you the option to download videos directly to your computer. In fact, if you have the right equipment you can stream the videos to your TV. You can buy the $99 Roku Digital Video Player, which also allows you to rent or buy TV shows and movies from Amazon Video On Demand. Other options include certain Blu-ray players like the LG BD300 or the Samsung BD-P 2500/2550, a Tivo HD DVR, or an Xbox 360 (Xbox Gold LIVE membership required).
Check out Free DVDs from Public Library
If you are satisfied with a more limited selection, you can save even more by checking out DVDs from your public library. Most public libraries allow you to check out DVDs for free. If you live in a major city that has a public library system with many branch locations, you may be able to request DVDs from other locations.
Buy Season Episodes from iTunes Store
Finally, you also have the option of buying entire seasons of your favorite shows from the iTunes Store. Downloading the episodes to your computer is usually cheaper than buying the DVD collection. iTunes doesn’t just offer older shows. Episodes of many current cable shows are available for purchase the day after they’re broadcast, usually for as little as $1 or $2 per episode. If there are one or two cable shows that you really want to watch, getting them from iTunes will be cheaper than subscribing to an expensive cable package.
Photo Credit: apdk
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