Our cable provider is Sky Cable. We had the connection when we moved here in 2001. My husband's favorite program is the UFC fights, a mixed martial arts fighting like boxing. Starting January of 2016, the Balls channel where the fights are shown had an expired contract and the cable provider did not renew. In short, there were no more UFC fights. I suggested to get a second cable connection but my husband declined. About 3 months ago, the Sky Cable went down for more than a day and that got us thinking. We called the Cignal Cable for a connection as a second cable provider for our bedroom tv while the living room tv is still connected to Sky Cable. Now we have 2 cable connections and it's fine with me because the monthly fee is not that much.
Well, the good news is that the NBC channel still seems to be on. either they reached an agreement or the contract was extended temporarily or something. Believe me though...if this NBC affiliate goes off they are going to hear from me. We went through this with Direct TV a number of years ago, and they were kind enough to provide free Cinemax because we lost all our viacom stations...I mean Dish could offer that...but noooooo! Fortunately, before all this happened I did negotiate a rate decrease...maybe too many people did that, I don't know.
I think this article relates to what you're talking about. If so, it sounds as if this could just be the beginning. I had considered switching to Dish at one point, but then I learned about the lost channel issue, and decided not to do it. I know you've got limited options out in the boonies. I'm in a similar situation, which is why I've stuck with AT&T despite not being able to afford it. Antennas don't work well here, either. I'm not sure what type of cellular package you have, but I know some companies such as T-Mobile are allowing free Netflix streaming (and a few other options, I believe) that doesn't count against your data usage, so maybe that would be an alternative.
That is exactly it @Diane Lane ! I mean Dish is even pulling this crap in major markets. Anyway, I would love to have that T mobile option but they don't provide services in this area, at least they didn't the last time I checked. It might be worth looking into though. They are available in Richmond, and probably the county just a few miles from here...but not in this area..I will check. T mobile would be something I would keep even if I get to move.
Well neither of them are that great, but I was looking into the Tmobile streaming that @Diane Lane mentioned, and as I thought, their services are basically available all over Virginia, with dead zone in this particular area. It is so annoying. Basically there just isn't the population density to support it. It is even available in the little town 5 miles up the road, but not here! Such is life in the boonies..
I have DISH and I'm disgusted with it but those I know who have DIRECT say it's just as bad, Does DISH have a website where we can complain> Phone calls seem to be worthless. Besides CBS they took off one of the history channels too.
They probably have a forum where these things are discussed. I would think they would be in violation of their contract with their consumers, however, I am sure in the fine print somewhere it has a clause pending contract negotiations with various station providers or something to that effect. That is why I complained to the FCC, I thought they might have some influence. Maybe the BBB could get involved too. Well Sheldon, we are not alone! At least I am grateful NBC is still on. However, I will never forgive Dish for this service interruption, especially since it caused me to miss the Tony's something I look forward to watching every year.
@K E Gordon Have you tried contacting T-Mobile to see if there's anything that can be done to beef up their presence in your area? Are there any towers nearby? I know everyone here has trouble regardless of which company they use, and in order for the cell phones to work inside of the houses, each person has to have a mini tower to extend the signal. I don't even have cell service anymore. When the budget got tight, that was one of the first things to go, since I'm home almost all of the time and I had to pretty much hang off of one corner of the balcony in order to get a signal. The funny thing was, I could go down to the beach and have 5 bars, yet only 1/2 a bar at most here at the house. I don't understand why the signal would be better there, since the beach is farther away from the towers, but that's just how it is. Maybe if they knew there was interest in your area, they would consider doing something to make the service available.
They may have plans for this area, but my guess is I will be out of here before it comes to fruition. We are supposed to be getting regular broad band internet too...but I went to a meeting about it a few months ago and they said two years!! This is even though the proposal went through council and passed. They have the money all they need to do is find a provider put up the towers and get it done! Sigh!
When we moved to Missouri, in the middle of Mark Twain National Forest, no cell service, poor phone service, no internet service offered, we took on DirecTV. After some time, they raised their rate, then again, so my wife got disgusted and cancelled, going for Dish. I left such determinations up to her, as I didn't watch any TV anyway. I was too busy reloading ammunition, target shooting, and designing and building this:
I have had a Roku since the Roku 1, and have upgraded to each new Roku, and I have loved my Rokus, but I just bought a Smart TV, and now I have one less remote to worry about. Ella, my cat, knocked my television onto the floor and scratched the screen. Looking for another, I learned that the Smart TVs are about the same price as the others so I went that route. As an added advantage, while I wouldn't use my DVD player often, I couldn't even get my last television to recognize it but it set up easy on the new television. As a part of reorganizing my office, I got a much larger TV so that I can put it against the wall on the other side of the room, so it won't be in the way of careless cats. Now she'll have to go out of her way to knock it down.
Pets and grandbabies, you just never know what goes through those little minds, lol. Our youngest son gifted us with a smart TV and I decided to keep the old box set. I gave up trying to get the newer devices to it for the same reason you mentioned @Ken Anderson. I scoured the flea market and thrift stores for VCR and DVD players because it still worked fine with a big screen that has a good picture and sound.
We dropped cable 5 years ago.Bought an outside antennea ...for all local channels. A friend gave us a brand new Amazon Firestick..love it ! Another friend downloaded a program also that...well we can even get movies that are in theaters right now. Then we share Hulu with daughter...Netflix we were already paying for...so we are set for tv movies and music. I love it because I delpore ads..commericals and etc. I am huge fan of British and Canadian tv , so I be in heaven here watching the 'the idiot box'
New on Roku, or at least this is the first time I've seen it, is Pluto, which offers free (and it says it will always be free) access to several live news channels, including some that I've heard of, some sports channels, and some other entertainment channels, as well as movies and television shows.