r/cordcutters
What is a cord-cutter? Someone who has cancelled their cable subscription.
I, as a cord cutter myself, am in full control of what content I pay for. I know exactly which networks my money is going to and it is not so much a somewhat arbitrary grouping of networks, many of which I won't bother to watch anyway (why should I be paying for, say, HGTV when I know that is something I'll never tune into?). So, instead, I have crafted a list of individual streaming services, all of which produce or carry the content that I know I want.
Just to give you a taste of what I mean, I have compiled a personalized list of services: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO. These are the only services that I pay for monthly. With this particular combination of streaming sites, I can be pretty much guaranteed to be able to view almost all the content that I want to see, without paying extra for networks that I don't care about. And I'm able to manage this for under $40 a month â much lower than even the most basic cable packages.
Obviously, cutting the cord comes with its own set of challenges. For example, what do I do when a show airs on NBC? Well, for many of the NBC shows that I like, they are added to Hulu the next day. So, thatâs one solution? But if I absolutely cannot wait, there are additional tools and services out there that I can utilize to problem solve.
For example, I might torrent the show when it airs or make use of one of the many free TV streaming sites that can be found on the web. Maybe I'll plug a digital antenna into my smart TV to catch local broadcasts or go the old fashioned route and ask a friend who has cable to watch the show with me.
The main point of this paragraph is that there are many ways to watch television without using traditional cable service providers. For some people, this may be a preferable option over paying high monthly bills.
There is a lot of information available online for someone looking to cut the cord and live without cable. If I were you, I would save myself the trouble of trying to dig through pages and pages of Google search results and just head straight to Reddit - the front page of the internet. Anyone familiar with Reddit knows that there is a subreddit for just about anything, and the subreddit r/CordCutters has been an infinitely useful resource for dodging traditional cable providers for years.
There are only a few occasions a year that I need to consult r/CordCutters - for instance, when there is an award show, a political debate, or any other big live event that is particularly difficult to find a stream of. But when I do find that I need it, it always comes in handy.
History
Since streaming services became popular, many people have chosen to disconnect from cable and satellite TV. This movement started in the early days of YouTube and Netflix, when people found ways to watch movies and TV shows without cable. Nowadays, you can find anything online if you know where to look.
The subreddit r/CordCutters was founded on January 19th of 2011, and it has been helping people navigate the online landscape since then.
Cutting the cord has been going on for a long time before 2011. People were cutting the cord before there was even a subreddit devoted to it, and free TV and movie streaming sites predated Netflix. P2P file sharing and torrenting were a way to get free media years ago.
Critics could argue that there were cord-cutters long before the internet became what it is today. I'm thinking of black box cable in the 80s and 90s, when technicians who were not affiliated with the cable provider offered people additional channels and access to pay-per-view events outside of the knowledge of the cable provider itself. Although these sorts of arrangements were not technically considered cord-cutting, they were still a means of subverting the traditional model of cable TV providers.
Today, there are many legal ways to cut the cord. In a very general sense, even subscribing to Hulu TV would be considered, in a way, cutting the cord. That being said, though, if you are strapped for cash (as many of us are), r/CordCutters has been a very active community of Redditors that have consistently provided solutions for alternative ways to watch TV since 2011.
Content
I turn to r/CordCutters whenever I am struggling to find a way to watch cable television (or, for that matter, any media related - movies, sports broadcasts, PPV events, etc.). Once I became a member of r/CordCutters, I found it easily post ahead of asking what the best way to view it might be; within minutes, I found that most posts became inundated with comments offering solutions or solidarity. Since subscribing to r/CordCutters, I have not missed a single TV broadcast.
Some, of course, have been harder to pin down than others - yes, unfortunately, TV networks are becoming increasingly privy to us and our cord-cutting ways, and as a result, cracking down on content. However, ultimately I have always been able to find a resource on r/CordCutters. In addition to posts wherein resources are offered for specific TV broadcasts and more generally great services to help us cut the cord once and for all, r/CordCutters is a hotbed of discussion, news, and discussion surrounding the switch to digital media.
If you ever run into trouble with your TV, streaming service, or other digital device, the r/CordCutters community is always willing to help. They offer advice on various live streaming and on-demand services, antennas, and OTA DVRs. They are also a great place to discuss Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Sling TV, Disney+, FuboTV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Philo.
Pricing and Plans
Reddit, of course, is completely free to use. However, there are many cord-cutting services that will cost you. Cutting the cord, in other words, does not mean free content. In many cases, the amount of money you spend will probably be just under or equal to the amount you would spend for basic cable. The point of cutting the cord is not only about saving money (although that is integral); it's also about redistributing wealth so that there are not only a few cable networks and service providers who are raking in the dough when it comes to entertainment.
Suggestions that I have for r/CordCutters
I would like to see more pinned posts on r/CordCutters that focus on helping newcomers to the community get started, such as a comprehensive beginner's guide. I think that r/CordCutters could do a better job of providing links to resources on the front page, as some subreddits do, but an r/CordCutters Wiki would be even more helpful. Other than that, I think r/CordCutters is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in cord-cutting.
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