Post by Columnist Anthony Rivieccio
Yes you can!
And it is eas y, accessible and cheap to do.
In full disclosure, I have not had cable in my home for at least 5 years. Why: 2 reasons.
Firstly, with my active professional and personal schedules, I am up and about pretty early and arrive home pretty late which leads me to my second: Its costs too much!
My solution:
My own bookmark internet channel!
Legally, you can quench your thirst for Television, even LIVE TV for FREE.
But no, it is Not that easy. Like with personal finance decisions, the solution requires a lot of research and defining your habits
Using myself for example: one day, I identified my TV programming habits:
The Day & Night:
6-8AM Financial News
8AM-10PM- out of home
10PM-1AM Drama & Comedy TV, Live Sports, Movies
So, at 5AM, I turn on my computer and internet and go to www.bloomberg.com. They have a wonderful monitor that I can watch financial news, LIVE, in the US, JAPAN or LONDON. By 8AM, I walk into my office every morning having a very clear sense of how the markets did overseas. The night before and how they will do that day in the US.
In the evening, I have many different tastes. If I am in the mood for TV Drama or Comedy shows, I just go to www.hulu.com to see MANY shows, from : Arrested Development to Star Trek to The Brady Bunch.
If I am in the mood for movies, I just go to www.livestream.com. I just finished watching the new Godzilla & Dracula movies
But wait, its Sunday night as I write this, both the time for the baseball playoffs and the sunday night football game. I just quickly jump to www.ustream.com and in 5 minutes, I am watching both, baseball playoffs and football, LIVE.
Ustream,like livestream, are broadcaster channels that people upload (streaming live TV video) to the site and ANYONE can go to click on the LIVE streaming video feed.
Yes, there are some limitations. Make sure you have a solid internet or wifi connection. Get ready to live with the famed “5 second” lag. And as you read above, in the TV and Movies department, they are not the most up to date. But hey, they are FREE, right?
And I must say the LIVE Financial news & Sports are wonderfully fansinating.
Even more fansinating, is that Cable TV prices are now appx. $100-200 per month, based on your TV consumption. If you are not aware, it is because of our appetite for LIVE Sports, that makes prices so high.
We have a fundamental belief that Cable TV is a “utility”. Thus. Monthly billing, in our opinion, should never be higher than your current : GAS & Electric or Phone Bill. If Cable TV is higher, in our opinion, look for alternatives, because we believe your getting ripped off.
Remember the company, Aereo? The flat rate local broadcast company at $8 a month? It was not a failed attempt because of consumer demand. It was a failed attempt because the Cable companies stopped it on Constitutional grounds.
But the future is coming! Ala carte Cable TV will soon come. There are already reports that show if “Ala carte” pricing took place today, my appetite/pricing would be the following:
*ESPN- $12 a month
*Bloomberg TV. $2 a month
*Nick TV- $3 a month
*HBO- $10 a month
Total: $27 a month
Now that’s a good utility bill! Don’t worry folks, its coming- but probably not for another 5-10 years at least
So for now, I guess my “internet TV bookmark channel works fine, fast, efficient, convenient and FREE!
ATTACHED: Are pictures of Bloomberg TV & Sunday night football- running LIVE on my laptop WITHOUT Cable TV!
Anthony Rivieccio is the founder & The CEO of The Financial Advisors Group, celebrating their 18th year as a fee only financial planning firm specializing in solving one’s financial problems. Anthony has been a recognized financial expert since 1986. He has been seen, heard or read by many national and local media outlets including: Klipingers Personal Finance Magazine, The New York Post, News12 The Bronx, Bloomberg News Radio, Bronxnet Channel 67 TV, The Norwood News, The West Side Manhattan Gazette, Labor Press Magazine, Financial Planning Magazine, WINS1010 Radio, The Bronx News newspaper and this publication.
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