I'm sure many of you have heard the term "Cutting the Cord." But what does it actually mean and how is it different from paying a cable company for a TV package? We will cover all of that and how watching TV is changing in this article.

I've had cable for years, what has changed?

If you are like the majority of people in the world you pay a monthly fee to a cable provider for a TV package and an internet package. You may even pay them for a phone line. Most likely there is only one provider in your area. Chances are very good (99.9%) that the price they charge you each year goes up and up. Over the past few years many new options for TV viewing have emerged. A growing amount of people are switching to these alternatives. These are what people call "Cord Cutters."

What is Streaming?

Streaming is the number one new technology that is empowering people to cut the cord. Services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, SlingTV, Etc allow their customers to pay a monthly fee to view TV Shows, Movies, Documentaries and Live Sports using their internet connection. So in essence the same internet connection that the cable companies viewed as a gold mine of an upsell is now a key factor in allowing people to cut the cord and save money each month. We will dive deeper into streaming a little later on.

What do you mean I can watch ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, PBS, The CW in HD and lots of other channels for free?

You would be surprised that the majority of people in the United States have no idea that most of these channels are floating through your living room 24/7 and are completely free to watch. In fact it is actually a law that these channels have to broadcast to a certain amount of people in each area.

If you are reading this thinking that this is too good to be true and that there has to be a catch, you would be correct. The catch is you have to make a one time purchase of a Local HD Antenna. Make sure you click on the link on the antenna page and enter your zip code so you can get an idea of what channels you should expect to receive. All areas are different and have different levels of broadcast channels available.

For more in depth information about Local HD Antennas please read our Why a Local HD Antenna is the best value for TV Watching article.

I can stream tons of content from Android Apps?

Android is the world's most popular mobile operating system. One of the reasons for its popularity is the amount of awesome apps it offers its users. There are apps for just about everything on Android including streaming.

Why are we talking about a mobile operating system that streams tons of content? Here at Skystream we have taken the world's most popular operating system and put it directly on your TV! The Skystream TWO Android TV Box combines the world's most popular operating system and your big screen TV seamlessly.

We have combined many of the greatests streaming apps so that they play on your TV screen in beautiful HD!

If you are interested in some of the apps that you can use on your Skystream TWO Streaming Media Player please read our article on The Best Free Legal Streaming Android Apps for 2018.

Cutting the cord sounds pretty cool, now show me the money!

Before we start on how much money you can save, please note that these are just estimates. Every situation is different and different factors may change how much money you save.

Let's say that your current monthly cable and internet bill is $160 dollars which is an average cost when you include all of the federal, state and local taxes that are tacked on. Most likely your internet accounts for about $50 of the $160 bill. This means that about $110 each month is the cost for your cable portion of the bill. Please remember that this is a rough estimate based on typical prices. Your bill and savings may vary.

Now $110 times 12 months is $1,320 per year in savings which is a great amount to save each year. I'm sure you could definitely find something to spend $1,320. But not so fast, you still need to get some streaming services to get even more great content. You may already be paying for one already.

So in this example let's say that your family likes watching Movies, TV Shows, Local News and Live Sports. This is a very common lists of content that the average family watches, but your situation may differ.

For the cord cutting example we will be including the cost of the Skystream Cord Cutting Package, a subscription to Netflix, a subscription to Amazon Prime / Instant Video and a subscription to the base package of Sling TV and add the sports package.

We will use the following subscription costs for this example.

• Netflix - $10 a month
• Amazon Instant Video - $8.33 (Annual Payment to Amazon Prime)
• Sling TV - Base subscription $20, Sports Package $10 - Total $30

We will do a 1, 2 and 3 year comparison in cost

Cable & Internet

• Year 1 - $160 x 12 = $1,920
• Year 2 - $165 x 12 = $1,980 (This assumes a very small increase in the cost per month)
• Year 3 - $170 x 12 = $2,040 (This assumes a very small increase in the cost per month)
• Total - $5,940

Skystream TWO Cord Cutting Package with Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Sling TV base package with addition sports package

Hardware Costs - $259.99 (Skystream TWO, Airmouse, Mohu HD Antenna)

Subscription Costs - $48.33 (Also Includes an Amazon Prime account that gives you free 2 day shipping on millions of items. You probably already have it.)

Internet Costs - $50

• Year 1 - $259.99 + $579.96 + $600 = $1,439.95
• Year 2 - $579.96 + $600 = $1,179.96
• Year 3 - $579.96 + $600 = $1,179.96
• Total - $3,799.87

Total savings over a three year period - $2,140.13

Average savings each month - $59.44 ($69.44 if you removed the extra sports package)

 So as you can see, cutting the cord can save you a nice chunk of money each month! This is why so many people have started streaming and using HD antennas!

While saving money each month is awesome, it's not even the best part of cutting the cord. Our next article will be on the evolution of how we watch TV and why it is so great!