Financial Focus: Paying over $70 for Cable TV with 100 or more channels? It's time to change!

By Professor Anthony Rivieccio MBA PFA

I have always been an advocate of ” cutting the cable cord”. But today it is a lot harder than before

Today, you can buy cable channels like Disney, SHO , WWE, Peacock, Showtime,alacarte for $5 to $10 a month. Or a limited bundle from a company called Sling, for $25 to a high defined bundle from a company called You Tube TV for $65 a month.

And yes, they have middle ground companies , like Hulu TV where you can receive a medium sized bundle of cable TV options for $50 monthly.

If we look a little deeper at this, the reason why the decision to cut the cord is so hard is because it is a 3 part question:

1- Content- The streaming internet companies have ” limited bundles” of channels vs cable where you can get 300-600 channels

2-Content consumption Comfort – the comfortability of watching ” streaming” vs TV

3- Price- what really is the right price?

Let’s take the last question first!

Well, any of you remember 1983? 38 years ago, Cablevision came out with their 100 program package for $25.99. Counting for inflation, this would today be $55.62.

In regards to the second question, streaming is basically recorded or LIVE broadcasting. And you are not watching it on a broadcast channel- but a broadband internet channel. Just like TV can have ” interruption” problems so can streaming , via the infamous ” lagging” .

The first question, about ” limited bundles” in my opinion , does not matter.

What we believe matters most ( and what should guide you the most in the cable TV vs internet price fight) should be your level of ” content consumption”.

After all, do you want the 300 channels you have on cable TV every month? How about on streaming ? Let’s call them what they really are- a waste of channel space. So what should be there in a perfect world? Your own personal TV Guide of Consumption.

So what we suggest to everyone is to ” define ” your TV Guide of Consumption”. In some way it’s no different than the third tanant of financial planning : Define your Goals. In this case, define your TV consumption.

Using myself for example;

Being a business professional, I have been watching morning financial news for over 30 years, including TV channels Bloomberg and CNBC

In the evening, I’m still working a bit but want to start to change the pace of business a bit- basically to sports; from football , to baseball to wrestling, from CBS to NBC to ABC .

Late night, I totally want to wind down and watch movies. Funny though it normally takes me 3 nights to watch a movie as I normally fall right out to sleep. Knowing this it is not important that I watch the TOP 10.

6am- 6pm– CNBC .com Bloomberg.com cost: $0

7pm-10pm- Yahoo sports

Cost: $0

1130pm- – YouTube free movies

Cost : $0

And since it is all ” internet laced” I decided to use my ” Chromebook” specifically for this purpose. But what’s important here believe it or not is not the cost, but again the consumption.

First i defined what I wanted to watch. Then found the tools I wanted . Even today, I consider certain channels, but then I ask? Do I watch the content on the channel all the time? Will I consume all that content?

So let’s go finally back to the 1983 cable serlection which would now be $55.62 based on inflation.

Yes, I’m sure the companies have programming and labor costs but in our opinion, any amount over $70 monthly is just corporate greed and you should start looking for a path to guide you to a cheaper streaming place- unless you consume 300- 600 channels monthly?

So the ” cut the cord” argument based on price? We no longer think that’s good enough. Today, it’s more about consumption- or the lack of over the price.

Professor Anthony Rivieccio, MBA PFA, is the founder of The Financial Advisors Group, celebrating its 25th year as a full service financial planning & investment firm . Anthony is also owner of Rivieccio Financial Advisors, a virtual only financial advisory firm, opened in 2021. Mr. Rivieccio, a recognized financial expert since 1986, has been featured by many national and local media including: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, The New York Post, News 12 The Bronx, Bloomberg News Radio, BronxNet Television, the Norwood News, The West Side Manhattan Gazette, Labor Press Magazine, Financial Planning Magazine, WINS 1010 Radio, The Co-Op City News, The Bronx News, thisisthebronX.info and The Bronx Chronicle. Mr. Rivieccio also pens a financial article called “Money Talk”. Anthony is also currently an Adjunct Professor of Business, Finance & Accounting for both, City University of New York & Monroe College, a Private University. For financial assistance, Anthony can be reached at (347) 575-5045. Have Facebook? My personal page is www.facebook.com/anthonyfromthebronx