Both streaming and traditional cable TV deliver live and on-demand television to your eyeballs, but there are subtle, and some sharp, differences between the two.
As we all have noticed over the years, most of the cable companies have been acquired and slowly merged into two giants, Comcast Cable or AT&T. When shopping for the best deals for television today, you might want to consider pricing it out.
Whether working remotely from home or finding entertaining to keep you engaged from boredom, you end up actively using your home internet service.
So don’t forget to add that costs into your monthly package when considering streaming. Depending on your activities and streaming activities you might be paying a lot more in internet costs for higher download and upload speeds so that you don’t incur interference when watching television or movies, such as pixelating, stop and starting, freezing, and bad quality video.
Furthermore, except for live TV big cable loves to lock you into an annual contract with a big discount first year and then a much higher price the second year, along with penalties if you cancel early.
They do offer options if you don’t want a contract. However, be prepared to pay a higher monthly charge.
From my brief shopping around, I have noticed that most streaming TV is still month-by-month service pricing and ranges from as low as free for Pluto TV, $30 for basic Sling TV, and on an average $65 for comparable cable TV programming.
However, please note, none of these services have local channels. So again, you are going to need to purchase an HD antenna or at least sign up to Locast, which is a not-for-profit service offering users access to broadcast television stations over the internet.
Movie choices
One big observation you will notice is that a couple of live TV streaming services have crossed the 100-channels threshold, while cable and satellite TV providers offer multiple plans featuring up to 200 or even 300 channels.
In addition, you might be limited with movie selections unless you have additional add-on apps, such as Netflix.
Again, these additional add-on services will continue to increase your monthly costs. Netflix is a streaming service that offers a wide variety of award-winning TV shows, movies, anime, and documentaries.
So when looking at the big picture which is cheaper streaming or cable TV, you need to look at the bill, from the package you selected, the additional taxes and fees, as well as the content you are receiving for the price.
Now add on the internet and see if you get a better package combo your package with AT&T or Xfinity.
At the end of the day, if you are trying to save money, I have found that cutting the cable TV cord is easiest for those who want to save money and make that a priority.
One big secret is that with streaming services you can have multiple users, such as family members, at different households sharing the services.
Lastly, with today’s smart TVs and add-on equipment such as TiVo, you can simulate cable-like services just through today’s technology while streaming.
