Long holding on to the television industry with a stranglehold, cable is slowly becoming a thing of the past as millions of Americans are moving on to more affordable and easy-to-use options. Streaming services are able to offer comparable or sometimes even more alternatives, at a significant savings from what consumers are paying for cable. Last year, over 22 million Americans waved goodbye to cable in favor of alternative television viewing methods. With high quality programs available at affordable prices and even live streaming available from different providers, see why so many people have been cutting their ties to cable.
Streaming Devices and Services
The ease of streaming television services is now the norm thanks to a variety of devices that make it possible. Smart televisions and gaming consoles along with budget friendly devices like the Roku make it possible to watch streaming services on your TV screen. Smart phones and tablets also offer a variety of options at varying price points to offer a broad selection of options on the go.
An abundance of choices have become available in the last decade that offer different levels of streaming services. Several of these options produce their own programming, while others offer television shows and movies from different studios. The following list, which is by no means the entire list of all the options that are available, shows some well known, established services as well as some lesser known options that are newer to the game. The prices for each are also included to showcase the savings that can come from switching to a streaming service.
- Netflix- The leader in streaming services, Netflix offers a wide array of award winning original shows like Stranger Things as well as original Marvel programming. Netflix is also great for families, offering several options for children’s television as well as adult programming. With costs ranging from $8-$14 per month, the savings available to consumers is exceptional.
- Hulu- Another strong contender in streaming services, Hulu offers original programming as well as recently broadcasted television shows. Hulu goes for $8 a month with ads or $12 a month without ads. A somewhat recent development for Hulu, albeit currently only in select markets, is Hulu With Live TV that runs for $40 a month but includes live broadcasts from about 50 channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox.
- PlayStation Vue-Available to stream from the PlayStation gaming console, Vue offers a more familiar experience to cable with packages ranging from $45 to $80 a month.
- Amazon Prime Video- Amazon Prime Video offers an annual fee of $119. This annual fee is comparable to what many cable subscribers pay monthly for television services. Along with several solid original shows, exclusive broadcast series, and the ability to add on Showtime, HBO, and other premium channels for $9 to $15 a month, Prime membership also comes with the added perk of free shipping from Amazon.
- Showtime, Starz, HBO Now, CBS All Access, DirecTV Now- These and other broadcasting channels now offer severely discounted streaming to their broadcasts. With packages ranging from $6 a month to $50 a month, there is something for everyone.
Time to Stream
Though cable has been the most convenient and cost effective way to get your television programming, that is no longer true. Streaming now has a plethora of choices available to meet the demands of those accustomed to what has been provided by cable service. Live TV, shows from broadcasting networks, and high quality original programming are all now readily available at a significant savings to the consumer. It makes sense to cut ties to cable, and get onboard with whatever streaming services will provide the show lineup that is the best option for each individual subscriber.
