I was familiar with the concept of "cutting the cord" before writing this post. I thought it was a great way to save money and have instant access to hundreds, if not thousands, of programs. After doing a bit of research, I realized people may not be saving as much money as they thought.
A cord-cutter is someone who switched from a pay-TV subscription like a cable or satellite service to an internet-based streaming service. Some variations include "cord shavers" (people who have reduced their pay-TV fees by eliminating certain channels), "cord stackers" (people who subscribe to both pay-TV and one or more streaming services), and "cord never" (someone who has never had pay-TV). A pay-TV subscription is a cable or satellite service like Spectrum and Xfinity. Streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu are fierce competition for traditional cable companies.
Cord-cutting is very popular with Millenials and older people in the Gen Z population who grew up with cable. The younger Gen Z and Generation Alpha (the newest generation) will probably follow in the Millenial's footsteps. Many of the kids who are growing up in the younger generations, especially those in Generation Alpha, may grow up in a household without cable.
Cutting the cord can be a cheaper and better alternative, but multiple streaming services can add up very quickly. I was curious to see how much people would save if they cut the cord, so I did a comparison. This comparison took a little research on my end. I started by looking at the rates from the cable company my family uses. The base-level plan for cable is $45 a month with a broadcast surcharge of $17 a month and taxes. The silver plan, which includes some premium channels, is $75 a month with the same surcharge of $17 and taxes. A plan that includes the base plan and internet is around $90, not including the monthly surcharge and taxes.
For the streaming services, I will refer to the chart above and using the prices listed there. Hulu Live (which raised its price by $10 a month since this chart was created) is almost as expensive as the base-level cable plan. Many people with Hulu also have Netflix, which can be anywhere from $9-$16 a month. Hulu Live does not include the premium networks, so that would also be an extra fee for those if a consumer wanted those. With only Hulu and Netflix, a cord cutter would be spending $64-$71 a month.
That's not a lot compared to cable. There aren't any hidden fees for streaming services, only taxes. In the plan I created above a consumer would still have access to live channels and multiple streaming services. Many people are already paying for Wi-Fi, which can range from $20-$90 a month. Many cable companies bundle this into a cable package, which could make it a better deal than streaming services.
One isn't necessarily better than the other, it really depends on the factors like how many streaming services one is subscribed to and if the person wants live channels or not. It's up to the consumers to decide what works best for them and their lifestyle.