are you ready to ditch the cable?
10
PORTLAND METRO/VANCOUVER EDITION
By DAN CHRISTOPHER BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS
Those of us who affectionately recall the early days of television, when there were just a few channels offering endearing shows like “Howdy Doody,” “Lassie,” “Gunsmoke” and “The Ed Sullivan Show,” now find ourselves immersed in a blizzard of programming options. This electronic landscape has brought us what is rather smugly called “smart TV,” leaving many of us who are a tad technically challenged feeling, well, dumb. And taken for granted. But take heart, you may find relief by what is known in today’s jargon as “cutting the cord,” otherwise known as dumping subscription TV. According to a report by Brian Shim on disablemycable.com, the average cable customer spends $75 a month on cable, amounting to $900 a year and $45,000 over a lifetime. This can be a heavy bur-
den, especially on fixed incomes. Shim says viewers are dropping cable in record numbers, not only because of cost but also because of inferior programming. Those most likely to cancel their cable service, he says, are technically savvy and under the age of 40. They choose viewing alternatives that cost them little or nothing, and without breaking any laws. As our “golden years” crept closer, most of us veteran viewers did, in fact, courageously break away from the comfort of TV tradition and welcome expanded programming well beyond Archie Bunker, Red Skelton, Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. New programs came into our homes via cable and satellite transmission. Our horizons were broadened, our options multiplied — and our budgets were squeezed. We were suddenly paying everincreasing monthly costs for service companies to deliv-
NW BOOMER & SENIOR NEWS • MARCH 2016
er shows of questionable quality. No longer was TV entertainment complementary for those of us watching our favorite shows, ones that previously had been paid for by commercial sponsors like Ipana Toothpaste and Wildroot Hair Cream. And who could forget Dinah Shore singing “See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet” and then throwing her audience a big kiss? Today, we are inundated with commercials, yet no big kisses being thrown to us by cable and satellite companies. Rather, we get increasing rates with the promise of “many more choices.” Yet, frequently, those choices are nothing more than infomercials for weight loss or hair products; or, with painful frequency, we get “reality shows” that have little or nothing to do with reality, but all to do with cramming in ads for wrinkle creams and erectile dysfunction. Better
The Place to Live Your Best Life! Enjoy our
“Fullness of Life” opportunities for your mind, body and spirit
quality programming is sometimes available, but only for those willing to dig even deeper and potentially pay hundreds a month for “upgrades.” For a time, it seemed we were trapped, forever beholden to ever-greedy corporate programming providers for the TV we watched. Of course, we could always turn off the set and actually read a book or go for a jog or play with the kids. But for those who realized that access to the right kind of TV can be a valuable asset, it got a little discouraging. Now, thanks especially to the millennial generation — which arguably spans from the early 1980s to the early 2000s — there are new options on the horizon for those willing to take another technological leap into gadgetry with names like Roku, Netflix, HuluPlus, tuner cards, digital antennas, Prime Instant, Amazon Fire, Apple TV box, and Google Chromecast. Millennials, it seems, were disgruntled with the corporate handcuffs on satellite and cable, and became the driving force behind a techie revolution. They now are leaders in “cutting the cord.” Since I’m still languishing in the old school, I looked for expertise in my daughter Chelsea — a professional writer and researcher — and her husband Chris, an electrical engineer. They decided to swap cable and satellite for select television options without the burden of costly contracts. “Cable would be an inefficient use of money,” Chelsea says, “because there are cheaper options. We didn’t want to pay for programming that we don’t watch and with cable you have to buy a huge package. Now, we just pay to download a movie or pay for Netflix when we want to binge watch shows.” While admitting there is some self-denial in not having cable, my daughter is a new mom who has plans to restrict her child’s TV viewing. “I want her to use her imagination and be physically active,” Chelsea says. “And I want her to be excited about
those things rather than pining for TV.” Chris, who enjoys a high technical aptitude, admits that it takes a little detective work to uncover the ever-expanding array of options to cable. “There’s no one-stop shopping,” he says. For a onetime cost of about $100, Chris installed an Apple TV device (much like a Roku) which makes your TV “smart,” and gives you access to various Internet channels. Another way to bypass cable is to buy a digital antenna, which costs less than $100 and often allows free access to local TV stations, and shows on the major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and more.) These nifty gizmos are available at electronics stores and retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. Many of the cable sites offer free programming on their websites. CNN and CSPAN stream their live broadcasts, for example. However, sports programming still offers limited viewing, and a lot of Internet searching to find what you want. Even still, viewing quality may be poor. To help you search for popular TV shows and movies, visit yidio.com, a website that aggregates what’s popular. It can direct you to sites where viewing is free, or let you know how much it will cost to watch a specific movie or show. My son-in-law told me that this is just the beginning. “Things are changing quickly and with more and more competition, subscription providers will have to respond,” he says. So ask yourself: Are the cable shows that are available for me to watch really worth what I am paying? What programming do I actually want? And what are my options? If you are cost-conscious, and if you remember the days of free TV like “The Honeymooners,” “The Jack Benny Show,” “The Little Rascals” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” you may very well be a candidate for cutting the cord. In fact, it just may be the “smart” thing to do. ■
Enjoy Simple Pleasures: Poetry, Music and Art
Educational Opportunities: Creative Writing, Astronomy, Travelogues, French and Spanish Classes ●
Improve Your Health: Fitness and balance classes, walking club and onsite dental clinic ●
Recipient of the Pacific University 2013 Community Partner Award
Visit us at www.cornell-estates.com 503-640-2884 ● 1005 NE 17th Avenue, Hillsboro
17819 NE Riverside Pkwy, #E, Portland, OR 97230
503-491-1214 / 1-800-NEPTUNE www.NeptuneCremationService.com