How to Cancel Cable TV and Not Die of Total Boredom

Last year, for the 3rd time, my cable TV contract had expired. My zombie cable TV service then began to eat me alive. The cable provider steadily increased my bill over the course of a few months until the point where I was paying almost $240 a month for the same service I was previously paying $120. There were no offers to renew my existing contract or options to reduce my bill. They just did it.

That’s when I decided enough was enough

I called my cable TV provider and cut my service down to just basic cable which still cost me about $40 a month. I refused to take one of their 2-year contract deals and started researching options. I’d heard of people “cutting the cord” before, but didn’t have a clue where to start. After much experimenting…

This is how I cut cable TV out of my life

1. Determine your contract status. If you’re past the expiration, you’re good to go.
2. Cancel cable TV (or reduce to basic/local cable for the duration of your contract)
3. Get the fastest Internet connection you can, within your budget
4. Purchase a digital HDTV antenna from Amazon (local TV channels)
5. Place the antenna on a window or high point in the house for best reception
6. Do a digital channel scan on your TV to find the local channels
7. Purchase an Internet TV device such as Roku or Amazon Firestick
8. Start adding channels (Roku) or apps (Firestick)
9. Choose your choice of optional programming services such as Netflix, Sling, Amazon Prime, etc.

Reducing your costs requires purchasing so new gear, if you don’t already have some of it. It’s a necessary step if you like TV entertainment. Luckily these are one-time purchases.

I have a Netflix multi-device subscription ($14.95/mo), Amazon Prime ($99/year) and Sling ($20/mo). I only added Sling after canceling cable tv.

I’ve found that Amazon Prime has very well produced exclusive kids programming.

“NFL Sunday Ticket” has internet options for watching NFL games.

Roku 4

Roku Stick

Firestick