You're on thin ice Comcast

I'm considering canceling my Comcast cable service.

There are a few reasons for such a drastic move:

1) My roommate suggested it.

2)  It would shave a little bit off my so-called "non-negotiable" expenses.

3) Cable television is no longer necessary.

It's this latter point I'd like to touch on.

Most of us have already caught on to YouTube and its digital treasure trove of random hilarious media. (Rick Astley, anyone?)

But the future of television will take place on a computer monitor, and we're just in the very beginning of the transition.

Just last month NBC Universal and News Corp. debuted their video-on-demand website Hulu, which offers TV shows and movies, for free. Since my television broke during my latest move, I've been watching Hulu at night, and it's pretty good. Obviously their selection is still at this point quite limited, but the quality is top notch and the commercials (which you can choose to watch all at the beginning when viewing a film) are really quite minimal.

Hulu is only one of many video outlets sprouting up all over the Internet. Why should I continue to pay Comcast, who can't even manage to get my Video On Demand working?

Comments

[yay no tv]

Of course the future of tv is online. But dare I suggest that the future of entertainment might also be in... books? Or maybe I'm reeealy behind the times.

[budgetsaresexy]

you have some valid points my friend! i'll have to admit, however, that while it would be awesome to save some buckaroos on this, i enjoy plopping down in front of the big screen and watching shows/movies on demand :)

plus we have our phone and internet all tied up in the service, (pretty tricky those marketers are!) so would be hard to finagle out of it.

either way, i applaud you for considering it!

[Sam]

I might ditch my Comcast and just depend on streaming video and Netflix. Only thing is, I buy my teevee in a package with internet, and as soon as you cancel one, they really jack up the price of the other.

Also - VH1 doesn't stream their shows. How would I get my Rock of Love fix?? I need something to slowly atrophy my brain after a long work day.

[Trace]

I agree. I feel increasingly guilty about paying for cable, especially since I live alone and therefore heft the whole bill. And because I watch about 50% of my TV online. And about 15% of that is already Hulu. So... I think I'm also on my way to a cable-free existence. I'm just not sure I can do it! Thanks for setting the example.