Cut the cord ..... or stay with Comcast

Our solutions are focused on providing control over the content you see and the content you share. This begs the question, where is the content originating. Our solutions are targeted to the home consumer. Today, this means either folks that are cord-controlled or folks that are cord-cutters. We aim to serve both groups.

Toward this end of serving both groups, we have been exploring and testing the options available for both. In order to learn more about the issues cord-cutters face - we are looking at what cutting the cord would mean for us personally. Would it be workable for us to cut the cord at our home? 

Our Current State:

Our first step was to inventory our existing infra-structure and services. We have Comcast Xfinity as an internet and content provider at a cost of $130/month. In 2017 we were paying $185/month for our service. They then tried to raise it to roughly $200/month. When I complained, they lowered it to $170. This year, when I threatened to cut the cord, they managed to reduce it to just under $130. We did lose a few channels, e.g. Disney, Cooking Channel, etc., but it was nothing we really needed.

We also have access to a collection of services and hardware that can be used to explore cutting the cord. We've collected a few of these just for the purpose of testing. After all, you can't build content solutions without being able to develop and test them in the environment where they'll be deployed. This is a minimal set so far, since we're just ramping up. What we've got is:

• A Comcast X1 AnyRoom DVR - $0/month
• Two additional X1 TV boxes - $20/month
• Xfinity Starter Double Play service - $90/month
• Fees (local broadcast TV + local Sports – ($8.55+$6.50)/month
• Taxes ($5.50) 

•  Netflix premium - $14/month
•  Hulu Live TV - $40/month
• A Chromecast Ultra - $69 one-time fee
• A Fire TV Stick - $40 one-time fee
• A Roku Express 3900 stick - $30 one-time fee
• A 1byone TV antenna and stand - $23 one-time fee

Alternatives:

1. We still need internet service  - In our area (the Denver metro area) there aren't a lot of alternatives for high-speed internet. It's either Comcast or Century Link. Having worked for a former incarnation of Century Link, I'd pick Comcast. They have the superior speeds and service in our area. Without bundling TV service, that would be $60 per month. The only hope is that the city where I live is exploring municipal internet service. It may still be Comcast that is the provider but hopefully they will negotiate better faster service at a lower cost.
2. We need a content provider - In looking at all the alternatives (Hulu Live TV, Direct TV Now, YouTube TV, Sling TV, etc.) they all seem pretty much the same. Sure, they have slightly different channel line-ups but for my purposes any of them would probably work. They all come in at roughly $40 per month. Hulu Live TV seems for us to be a very acceptable package. It's plain-Jane and hits the sweet spot for a lot of people. Sling TV would be my second choice. It offers a lot of flexibility, especially if you're a sports fan. A good comparison of all the services, as of July 2018, is here. It’s summarized in this chart. The good news about any of the content providers is that there’s no contract with any of them. You can go month-to-month. When you think you’ve found a better match for your needs – go ahead and switch. There’s no lock-in.
3. We could use a skinny content provider - We really like Netflix. A workable bundle could be Netflix with an OTA (over-the-air) antenna for local and national broadcast content. To share and save OTA content, we'll need some extra hardware. A Tablo 4-tuner DVR with Wifi streaming ($250) plus the necessary disk storage ($100) runs a total of $350. It seems a little high but over a year it should pay for itself. This would also require two Roku Express sticks, or something similar.
4. We need streaming connectivity to the TV - There are things we like about the Chromecast and things we don't. It really is such a different animal than the other products (Fire TV, Roku, Sling AirTV, etc.) that it's hard to add it into the same comparison. That said, I'd always want to keep a Chromecast in the mix just for its shear versatility. I can cast content from odd sources (e.g. TwinSpires racing site) that isn't really available anyway else. For a real dedicated streaming stick, I like the Roku Express. It has all the expected apps e.g. Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc. plus some you may not expect i.e. Xfinity Streaming app and the Tablo app. Based on where we may or may not go, the Roku looks like the best fit for us. Apple TV may be a fit for many but since we have no presence in the Apple ecosystem, we didn't even consider it. Sling AirTV is another interesting choice given the depth of their service offerings and its OTA capabilities. 
5. We want the content we enjoy - Here's the rub. With just about any of the combinations above we get 90+% of what we need. Whether it's Sling TV plus Roku, Fire TV plus Hulu Live, Roku plus Direct TV Now, etc., almost any combination gets us close to what we want. What it really comes down to is local sports. We may occasionally watch the Colorado Rockies, but we very often watch the Colorado Avalanche. Remember those stupid fees that Comcast added: $8.55 for local TV and $6.50 for Regional Sports? That's the hook. You can get the local channels with Hulu Live TV, DirectTV Now, etc., or an OTA antenna solution, but you can't get the Regional Sports channels. Those are only available on Xfinity, Direct TV, or Dish. Even Direct TV Now doesn't offer them. They are also not broadcast OTA. So, if we want to watch the Colorado Avalanche there's only one game in town -- Comcast Xfinity. We can cut the cord, but it may be painful. 
6. We want to save a few bucks - One option would be to replace our Comcast X1 TV boxes with Roku Express sticks and the Xfinity Streaming app for Roku. That would save us $10/month per box. Rather than swap out both boxes, we’ll at least swap out one box and save $10/month. Currently the Xfinity Streaming app is in beta mode and there is no charge for it. Comcast has said that they may start to charge for the app in 2019 when they exit beta testing. If so, we’ll have to re-assess our solution at that time.

Let's look at how things stack up price wise.

Table 1 Alternatives

Solution	Service(s)	Internet	Hardware	One-time	Monthly
Cut the cord	Hulu Live TV	Comcast	Roku (2)	$60	$100
Skinny content provider	OTA, Netflix	Comcast	Roku (2), HD antenna, Tablo DVR	$433	$80
Comcast with hardware reduction – swap an X1 TV box for a Roku Express with the Xfinity Streaming app	Comcast	Comcast	Roku (1), AnyRoom DVR	$30	$120

Conclusions:

The motivation to cut-the-cord has been greatly reduced by Comcast's lower repricing of their services and the repricing of competitors (Hulu Live, YouTube TV, Direct TV Now, etc.) services higher. The exception is if you are able to go to OTA for your live TV and use less expensive content services (Netflix, Philo, Hulu (not Live), etc. 

But as pretty much all the cord-cutting experts will tell you, the solution and services that are best are the ones that are right for you. There is no perfect solution. There’s only the solution that fits your needs best. As much as I hate to say it, we're sticking with Comcast for the moment. In order to enjoy the Regional Sports Channels, we’ll opt to pay $20/month more for Comcast. That’s an additional $240/year. Or looked at another way, less than a $1/day. It’s the best solution for us. If Comcast does charge for the Xfinity Streaming app on Roku after the beta is over, that will be our signal to re-evaluate our choice. As a Comcast alternative, we'll most likely opt for the Skinny content provider solution and add additional services to that as needed. We may have to say goodbye to our Avalanche hockey but that's about all we'll miss. There's always the pub down the street to catch a few games.

The Future:

The above analysis is for the current state of things. What about the future? We are developing solutions that will allow people to control their content on a much more granular level than they can today. Would you be willing to switch service providers if they did a better job of not sending you content? We think so. Stay tuned (pun intended) to see how we plan to upset the status quo.