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$11/ month after the free trial — seems kind of steep for one channel.
Any recommendations on what programs we might enjoy?
Some of the fine print:
Offer valid for new SHOWTIME subscribers only. Credit card required. You will not be charged for the SHOWTIME streaming service during the free trial period (the first 30 days of your monthly subscription). TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Upon free trial completion, you will be charged $10.99/month until you cancel your subscription.
northern california coast
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I like Californication - think that's a SHO gig. But be warned - not for family viewing. Also usually available on Netflix instant. Given a choice between SHO for $11/month and NF for what, $8 or 9 bucks a month, I'd definitely go Netflix. Much more programming, and some SHO content right there as well (see above).
Getting my Roku this week. Kinda' fired up about it. Unplugged my cable TV back in '02.
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Steve,
And this is the double-edge sword of "pay per channel". Individual channels can be costly. HBO Now ($14.99 per month), CBS All Access ($6 per month). Some channels like ABC provide access free of charge if you have a cable TV subscription, i.e. Optimum TV, FIOS TV. Some of the content is free without a subscription.
Trust me when I say that getting rid of cable TV isn't necessarily going to be cost effective or provide a good bang for the buck for some people. They'll get rid of cable but then sign up for NetFlix, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, CBS All Access, etc. Each service adds to the price tag and, sign up with enough of them, and the overall cost becomes surprisingly high!
Robert
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Actually, Showtime is now available on a lot more than just Roku:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/showtime-lau...scription/
"It's available on Apple TV, iOS devices, Roku, PlayStation Vue and Hulu Plus."
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Article,
Yups. Saw it on my AppleTV. Still need to see if it's available via the Smart features of my Samsung TV.
Robert
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Robert M wrote:
And this is the double-edge sword of "pay per channel". Individual channels can be costly. HBO Now ($14.99 per month), CBS All Access ($6 per month). Some channels like ABC provide access free of charge if you have a cable TV subscription, i.e. Optimum TV, FIOS TV. Some of the content is free without a subscription.
Rob,
Showtime, HBO, and the like are premium channels, which command $20/mo a la carte.
The sister channel packages like HBO/MAX and SHO/TMC can effectively cut that cost in half, but you can't compare a commercial broadcast channel like ABC to the premiums.
Trust me when I say that getting rid of cable TV isn't necessarily going to be cost effective or provide a good bang for the buck for some people. They'll get rid of cable but then sign up for NetFlix, Amazon Prime, HBO Now, CBS All Access, etc. Each service adds to the price tag and, sign up with enough of them, and the overall cost becomes surprisingly high!
Right, you're making the same argument that the MSOs make, but it can still be beneficial some some viewers. There is also the issue of choice, and control, which are limited, if not nonexistant right now. And the hope is if a truly competitive market opened up, there would be pricing adjustments as well.
For some, it's worth it just to be free of the cable hegemony, even if there are no cost savings involved.
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Bimwad,
I am making that argument because there is truth to it. Cutting the cord and going with Internet access, streaming media boxes combined with over the air content and subscriptions to services like NetFlix, Amazon Prime, Hulu (Plus), CBS All Access, and others is still going to cost bucks. How much is dependent on the services to which he/she/they subscribe, if any.
That said, cutting the cord and going with over the air content only and/or cutting the cord and using streaming services isn't necessarily going to give people control over the content. Some, yes, but not nearly as much control as I think they'll get in reality.
Control only comes when you rent content from a streaming service or record a show from an over the air station (by whatever means he/she has at his/her disposal). Otherwise, the individual pays the monthly fee and enjoys whatever content is offered by the provider. Or, he/she watches what he/she can for free from an over the air station and hopes for the best.
Robert
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Seems like "cord cutters" are paying a certain amount to be rid of what they don't want; like the innumerable shopping channels; channels in foreign languages they don't speak etc..
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Deusx,
True. But, then again, when cord cutters subscribe to services like NetFlix, Hulu, etc, they're paying for tons of stuff they don't want, too. For example, streamed sports content, foreign language content, children's content, etc.
Robert
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I think everybody forgets it's a heck of a lot easier to share Amazon Prime/Netflix/HBO Go/Hulu+/etc. vs. a traditional cable connection.
Plus with residential download speeds now approaching 100MBps you'll see more neighbors splitting the monthly cost of broadband.
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