Cut the cord?

My 2-year contract expired with DISH Network. My bill startlingly remind me every 2 years with a price hike and of course like I always do with all my contracts I give them a call to see if I can get a better price or even cancel my service(s). This year was going to be it for me. I was going to be a cord cutter and switch to one of their competitor. There was a appealing offer for YouTube TV. It was time for me to jump ship. But DISH Network offered me something I just cannot refuse!  I was so persistent on cancelling my services and being a cord cutter, but then I realize something.

Does cutting the cord really save you money? Of course we are trying to find ways to save as much as we can without disrupting our quality of life, but cord cutting doesn't necessarily mean you will save more money nor is it the best option. It may vary on the individual. People don't just look for affordability, they also look for reliability, content quality, the content itself and many other features, but which feature is the primary focus consumers look for out their TV service? If you guessed price, you are correct. Cost is the first thing they look at when it comes to TV services and many strongly believe that streaming service is the best way to go. Streaming services may claim that cutting the cord saves you more money, but that may be the case only if you just solely stick with whatever content that streaming platform content provide. If you bundled multiple streaming services like Max, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu there's a good chance you can be paying just as much (or more) as the cable TV/satellite consumers. The problem is that consumers want it all. They want everything from news to sports, movie to educational content, and entertainment to other specialized channels, a little bit of everything and cable/satellite tv providers checks those boxes and that's part of the reason why so many aren't cord cutters today. The only thing they are missing are the exclusive contents that streaming services are licensed to. You just can't have it all. I mean, you can have both cable/satellite TV services and streaming services, but you're likely going to be paying more out of pocket each and every month. This is a true dilemma for us consumers. On one hand you can have variety of channels including live TV channels and pay one single bill, but miss out on exclusive contents like Stranger Things, Severance, Squid Games, and so many great tv shows. And on the other hand you're paying a portion price of cable/satellite service and have wide selections of on demand content, however, you're unable to watch live television news, sports and other live shows. The streaming services may have just solve this dilemma and may lure you to become a cord cutter.

So is it time to be cord cutter? Now that some streaming services are offering live television. They now have everything you can possibly want for your television set. Exclusive content, on demand content library, competitive and affordable price, no equipment and no equipment fees, accessibility and compability on multiple devices, and typically no long term contracts or no commitment at all. This is everything you can ask for out of your TV services and a lot of consumers value those features. But not everyone value those and one thing many consumers has complained about streaming services is the quality of picture. Since cable and satellite TV providers does not rely on Internet connection, they may provide better video quality without any interuptions. Imagine that you are hosting a Super Bowl party at your house and there is a potential game-winning play, but right before that game deciding play your TV buffers for signal (-_-). Also, you do not have the functionality of a DVR, where you can record content, pause, and rewind live TV. That was something a lot of consumers took for granted when switching to streaming services. For me I thought it was time and it was worth the trial. It just made sense to me ideally and financially. All these years I been with Comcast cable and DISH Network, but I knew back in my mind that I will soon transitioned over to the streaming side, I just didn't know when that was going to be because they kept giving me better deals every time my contract expired. I never really intend to cancel my services, I was just trying to negotiate for a better price, but when I finally intended to cancel my services for once they gave me an offer I just cannot refuse! They gave me such a drastic offer that I just could not turn it down!

Then I just realize something when I genuinely intended to cancel my service, they were offering me the very best deals! Deals that they never offer me before! You have nothing to lose and all to gain if you are willing to leave. Think about it. When a company is on the verge of losing a customer what do you think they will do? They will throw all kinds of deals and promos at you to retain you as a customer. You can sense the desperation in their tone, throwing a last ditch effort deal. You want them in this position, having the last possesion with the lead and you want them to steal your possesion away to retake the lead. Let them steal you away from their competitiors on their last resort offer and if you don't like it you have every right to end your business relationship with them. This is what you should be doing for everything that involves with a contract, especially as a consumer! It's not just Shohei Ohtani getting the biggest contract in MLB history, it's you as a consumer as well! The vast majority does not even consider negotiating their consumers contract, nor do they even know they can negotiate. So many ignore this simple saving method and unknowingly settles with price hikes. You can negotiate everything from your mortgage, rent, auto loan, wireless service, Internet services, and even your TV services. Cut the cord? Sure! If it makes sense to your ideal standards. Nonetheless either if you want to cut the cord or not, cut the bill! I naturally negotiate everything and have negiotated my TV services for years, but I honestly did not think I could push the envelope even further when I was fully committed to leave. For the time being I am not a cord cutter, but maybe someday I will be.