LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS 11) — QUESTION
Does cutting the cable cord really save money?
SOURCES
Paul Verna, eMarketer Principal Analyst
Kaitlynn Fish, WHAS11 First Alert Storm Team
WHAT WE FOUND
According to Verna's research, 63 million people in the United States don't have cable TV in 2018. He estimates the number to jump to 81 million in three years, faster than experts predicted.
"There are many reasons. One is cost. The cost of a lot of these bundles is less, the starting cost is less," Verna said.
"Officially, I quit using cable when I lived in New York City probably about a year and a half ago," Kaitlynn Fish told us.
She's glad to put the days of the big bills behind her.
"It was really expensive. We were paying around $250 for cable and internet every month. We had so many channels we don't use. We thought, 'Why are we paying for all of this?'"
Fish looked into streaming services and other options that were more cost-effective, but she also wanted access to when she wanted to watch.
"One thing we found that worked for us was Sling TV where you can stream just a limited number of channels on, let's say, a Roku player, and that worked a lot better for us," Fish said.
On top of Sling, add in internet and a couple other streaming options, Kaitlynn still gets the shows she wants, but for only $80 a month. She is saving more than 60 percent of what she used to spend.
"You can spend that money on other things, you can put it towards savings so when you are saving a good chunk of change, over $100 dollars a month, that makes a lot of sense," she said.
The savings are there for most people but don't expect an apples to apples replacement of your cable box.
Cutting the cord may cut at least a few channels you cannot replace online.
"People say, 'Do you save money?' You probably do save money, but what are you getting? And I think frankly a lot of people make this decision not so much on the dollars but based on what they want to watch," Verna said.
CONCLUSION
Yes, it does save money. Just don't expect to get all your content in one place.
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