Getting rid of pay television. Am I nuts?

Rot 911 · 05-22-2008, 07:01 AM

We pay $63 a month for sattellite tv. Does not include any premium channels. We hardly watch it at all. We do get NBC and ABC with just an antenna. I have two reasons for thinking about getting rid of the satellite:

1. We hardly watch tv. Mostly rent movies.

2. My 7 year old daughter is picking up negative habits from things she sees on tv. She only watches Disney and Nickelodeon, but I still don't like these habits.

Am I punishing her unfairly if I get rid of satellite? We have plenty of kid movies for her to watch and I would rather see her using her imagination more than letting her brain rot watching tv.

What says the collective?

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

The fact that you can buy most of the old TV shows on DVD, most much better than the crap out there now, I don't see anything wrong with dropping it.

id10t · 05-22-2008, 07:11 AM

I grew up with no TV, but I had a library card and an account at the locally owned bookstore that Mom & Dad paid off every month...

Do it. Maybe keep it a few more months to record a bunch of cartoons, etc. that the kid wants to watch, then you can let her have 'em on occasion. Get a netflix account, get movies, rip 'em, send 'em back....

Jim Richards · 05-22-2008, 07:13 AM

I think that's a good idea, Kurt. We use Netflix's service for movies, and I'm now wondering how much value we're getting out of our basic cable service.

widebody911 · widebody911's Garage

I've never had pay-TV.

onewhippedpuppy · 05-22-2008, 07:27 AM

If it weren't for History, Discovery, ESPN, Speed (sometimes), and TLC, I would have no use for cable. I get the networks for free in HD, but I really only care about them for sports. Everything else is a ****** reality show.

Kurt, just curious, what bad habits from Nick and Disney? My 4 year old watches cartoons sometimes, especially Spongebob, but probably learns more bad habits from me.

onewhippedpuppy · 05-22-2008, 07:27 AM

If it weren't for History, Discovery, ESPN, Speed (sometimes), and TLC, I would have no use for cable. I get the networks for free in HD, but I really only care about them for sports. Everything else is a ****** reality show.

Kurt, just curious, what bad habits from Nick and Disney? My 4 year old watches cartoons sometimes, especially Spongebob, but probably learns more bad habits from me.

notfarnow · 05-22-2008, 07:30 AM

I am an addict, I could easily spend every night of the week in front of the tube.

We stopped paying for TV about 6 years ago and it had a dramatic effect on our lifestyle. We do a lot more stuff together instead of having the TV use all our time. Now the only TV is in our bedroom so we can watch the news before going to bed.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

No, I've actually considered it myself.

I think the service is in no way worth the price. Mostly I keep it to watch BSG (which is ending) and occasional sports programming (which I can go to one of four bars within walking distance to watch), etc.

The wife happens to like Disney Channel (she considers it part of her homework to know what's going on with the company and what their programming trends are). So mostly I pay the $$$ to keep her out of my hair.

Don't tell her I said that.

If hard times come though, that's the first thing on my "pull back" list to get cut though, followed by the cell phones, Internet (yes, I'd actually ditch it) and insurance on the 944 (I'd put it on a PNO and park it). There are about 20 others on the list ranked from most unnecessary to least unnecessary. I recommend everyone else have a list like this - hard times are coming.

Hawktel · 05-22-2008, 07:31 AM

I say Ditch the TV, and teach her to read. She will thank you for it eventually.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

That's a great idea. We live in a society that considers cable TV (along with Starbucks, Ford Expeditions, and Coach handbags) a necessity. If you don't watch it much, why waste money on it?

Rot 911 · 05-22-2008, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Kurt, just curious, what bad habits from Nick and Disney? My 4 year old watches cartoons sometimes, especially Spongebob, but probably learns more bad habits from me.

Really never had a problem with the cartoons. But now she watches shows that all seem to have the premise of the smart, conniving kids with stupid parents. The kids play dumb when the parents accuse them of doing something wrong (which in fact they did). She has tried pulling the same act on me more than one time.

71T Targa · 05-22-2008, 07:36 AM

No 'pay' tv for me, but I really wish I had Discovery, TLC, and the like.

Can you get Discovery shows from NetFlix or online somewhere?

onewhippedpuppy · 05-22-2008, 07:42 AM

Gotcha. From the little I've seen, the preteen programming they have is incredibly obnoxious and brain-numbingly stupid.

Mr_Wizard · 05-22-2008, 07:42 AM

I have been seriously considering this also. I have an LCD in my bedroom w/ a built in HD tuner that receives ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX HD. Other than that I really dont care. All i need to do is get an HD converter box and antenna for the HD Monitor (Big Screen) for the front room and Im good. I am paying $63 a month for cable & internet. The straw that broke the camels back for me is this morning I think. I surf the different morning shows (GMA, FOX News, TMS) and the lead of each of them was not the upcoming election, the economy or Iraq/Afghanistan, it was ****ing America Idol.

I am on a kick of reducing all my monthly payments. Just paid off my vehicle, lowered my HO insurance and my cell bill. I have been able to take this money and throw it all into my 401 and IRA account.

id10t · 05-22-2008, 07:48 AM

Check the various torrent sites...

Quote:

Originally Posted by phred68

No 'pay' tv for me, but I really wish I had Discovery, TLC, and the like.

Can you get Discovery shows from NetFlix or online somewhere?

scottmandue · 05-22-2008, 07:54 AM

No...

My name is Scott and I am a TVaholic...

I collect books, I have piles of books that I have not read... and yet I also pay sixty something a month for satellite and sit in front of the TV almost every night.

I have thought of ditching the satellite... but then I think of stopping drinking too... and I'm meeting my friend at Hooters after work today.

Oh well...

Sponge Bob? They guys girlfriend is a squirrel in a diving suit for gosh sakes!

Uh... I'm a little embarrassed that I even know that.

onewhippedpuppy · 05-22-2008, 07:55 AM

C'mon now, Sandy isn't his girlfriend. You must not watch much Spongebob.

Rick Lee · Rick Lee's Garage

Before the days of cable tv I watched a lot of documentaries with my dad when I was pretty young. In fact, watching the entire World at War series several times before I was even in junior high sparked my interest in German, whereby we later hosted a German exchange student and I later became one myself, both in high school and college. It was a life-changing experience. I watched all of Carl Sagan's Cosmos episodes long before I could have understood the book. That was all on channel 13 in those days. Now I have History, Discovery, Military, etc. I'm not a tv addict, but I do need to have the news on in the background a few hours a day. I haven't watched a minute of network tv in many years, aside from Seinfeld and Frasier reruns. I could not survive on network tv. It's just insulting to see how they ruin classic movies with their edits and commercials.

MRM · 05-22-2008, 08:01 AM

I only have pay TV because it came with high speed internet access and I have to have that for work. My boys only watch supposedly family friendly chanels and they still see and repeat stuff I am not happy with. Ditch it if you can.