Storytime: My fiancee and I are movie-buffs, and we like some shows on TV, but you know, they're never on when we're actually there, because well, we like to go see friends at night, right? So we have Netflix, and run through movies like Kenyan marathoners. I've noticed that as we've grown efficient as Netflixers, our hours watching TV have declined. Do I need cable? I used to, if I wanted to catch a show like The Wire, but now, we just netflix the darn thing.

I'm curious as to what you all think. Oh, and if you have Netflix, we'll show you ours if you show us yours.

Kris and I are big Netflixers, too. After posting about this at the beginning of March, I did reduce our cable to just the basics. You know what? I haven't watched actual TV since, and Kris has only watched a couple of hours (mostly Antiques Roadshow). Between Netflix and the iTunes Music Store, we don't have a need for regular television. I hear from my friends with Tivo that they get the same sort of experience -- they're able to just pick what they want to watch and they get to watch it when they want! The difference is, they're paying a lot more for the experience!

The real drawback of Netflix, of course, is the interminable wait. The Wire season four? Who knows when it will be available. But I want it now!

(Use my e-mail address to send the freind request. When we connect, it'll show up under my wife's name...)

My family no longer has television - just Netflix. The only show we watch as it airs is LOST, which ABC streams from their website, so we haven't missed our satellite service at all!

We just switched from Netflix to Blockbuster to take advantage of their Total Access -- the store is totally convenient, it helps us turn movies around more quickly (turn the movie in at the store, get a free rental, and they'll ship the next one right away), and with four kids in the house the 3-at-a-time plan doesn't stretch as far as it otherwise might for someone with a smaller family.

That being said, we just use our DVR to time-shift TV shows (and skip commercials). Even if we're around when something we want to see is on, we start watching late so we can skip the commercials and reduce the time involved.

Ok, so I'm the only guy still watching TV.
My TV watching has only increased since I got a DVR, but I justify that by claiming it's more efficient since I cut out the commercials. One hour of TV in only 44 minutes. I just watch everything a day after everyone, so I still haven't seen what happened on Lost last night!

Not sure about other areas, but here in Tampa Bay, BrightHouse offers what they call "Limited Basic Cable" for $15.50 a month. This gets you the first 23 or so channels on the cable dial. All the usual suspects (ABC, NBC, CBS) plus to my surprise AMC, TBS, and WGN. Not a bad deal at all, considering that some folks are paying double or even triple that for basic cable with tons of stations they never use.
If I had regular cable or above, I would never get any writing done, because it's just too easy to suck on that particular glass teat. With all those choices, I mean, something good has to be on, right?

That, combined with my Less Than Twenty Dollars Netflix Subcription, I'm good to go for about $35 a month.

- Bill

I have a feeling I'm one of the few (or only) who's dropping $50+/mo for cable. And no, I don't even have a DVR
But I am splitting that cost with a roommate... and um, we both work in the TV industry! So we're just supporting our jobs... yeah... that's it!

But I do have a free 1-at-a-time (unlimited) Netflix account, so there.
The company I work for is pretty generous with their "perks," free health insurance AND a Netflix account! But um... no 401K, heh. Not YET at least, there's still hope.

I was paying $60+ for cable until this month. Now I've cut it to roughly $12/month. (Don't know exact total because the last bill was a mess with adjustments.) In the month since we reduced to basic cable, I haven't watched a thing!

Then why not cut it to zero?

Because I am not the only one in the house.

Actually, I suspect that in a few months, when the new season of Antiques Roadshow starts, I'll be able to show to Kris that we can get that through iTunes, too, and all of a sudden we won't need cable at all. (Well, there's always her precious Lehrer News Hour, so maybe we're a ways away yet...)

Ahhh, good point.

Can't you get PBS over an aerial antenna? We actually can't get *anything* over an antenna where we live, but you're in a bigger city, right?

I hooked up my computer to my TV and use it to watch the most recent shows. abc.com, fox.com etc are all offering their shows online. The quality is great and there is very little advertising.

Also, TVUPlayer works great if you want to watch live TV. It uses the torrent technology to stream media to an application.

You can also install a slingbox at your friends house and use their cable connection to watch TV on your PC.

There are, of course, other means for downloading shows... *ahem*

Fox is offering their shows on their website? I looked last night and couldn't find it - the one thing I've been missing since we canceled satellite is House M.D.

I'm really envious of people who can cheerfully watch TV on their computers.

I've DONE it, but after 40 minutes of watching a 3x5 inch screen, my eyes hate me.

iTunes/Myspace are never going to be adequate substitutes for cable in my house, I'm afraid.