1. YOU HAVE THE POWER!
Every once in a while I like to remind everyone of the power they hold to destroy the national news media and Hollywood. Simply put, there is a one-legged stool propping up both of these malevolent institutions, and it is called bundled cable and satellite television. And nothing is more damaging to either than you making the choice to cancel your television bundle.
You see, ratings don’t really matter much anymore.
The television game has been so expertly rigged that eyeballs have almost nothing to do with revenue.
CNN is an excellent example. Did you know that, on average, CNN is not only in last place behind MSNBC, but that the left-wing outlet’s average viewers are below 1 million? With such poor ratings, there is no way CNN could survive on advertising revenue alone.
So how does CNN stay afloat?
By picking YOUR pocket.
Yes, Genius, YOU are subsidizing a Fake News outlet that is actively trying to destroy you and everything you stand for.
How?
Whether or not you watch CNN (and no one really does), if it is part of your cable package, you are putting money directly into CNN’s pocket with what is called a subscription fee. Somewhere around 50% of CNN’s total revenue comes from suckers like YOU, dupes who continue to pay for obscenely overpriced subscription television packages that enrich our world’s CNNs.
The same is true for the Social Justice Sports Network known as ESPN. One of the reasons ESPN is in real trouble and about to lay off some famous folks, is cord-cutting — people waking up and canceling their cable or satellite subscriptions. The left-wing sports network makes $7 a month per subscriber (CNN makes about $2). In other words, whether or not you watch ESPN, if it is part of your cable package, you are handing them 84 of your hard-earned dollars every year.
In 2011, 100 million Americans paid this fee to ESPN. Today, that has dropped to just 88 million. That’s a loss in the billions for ESPN, and…
That is what I mean when I say you have the power to destroy not just CNN and ESPN, but all of these left-wing networks artificially propped up by bundled TV, including MSNBC and MTV. With the movie industry crumbling, big studios like Disney, Sony, Paramount, etc., all count on these rigged cable fees to keep them afloat.
And YOU have the power to take all of that away from them.
2. YOU CAN SURVIVE WITHOUT CABLE OR SATELLITE TV
It was almost exactly one year ago today that my wife and I cut the cable cord, and we regret nothing. More importantly, thanks primarily to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube, we miss nothing.
The Magic Of Roku: Our cable box is now a Roku Player. For as low as $30 per, we have those wonderful little boxes hooked up to 4 televisions, and through Roku we have access to a seemingly unlimited supply of free television shows and movies.
If you are willing to sit through ads — though far fewer ads than you are bombard with on cable TV — by downloading various apps, like Crackle or Vudu (there are dozens to choose from), you will find all kinds of FREE movies and television shows out there.
The best deal, however, is YouTube.
Roku’s YouTube app gives you access to a ton of ad-free movies and so many television shows I can’t begin to bend my mind around it. My wife and I came up with a wishlist of shows we would like to see again — The Virginian, Wagon Train, The Prisoner, The Outer Limits (original and 90’s version), The Twilight Zone (original and 90’s version), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Untouchables, and The Fugitive. We found almost all of them free on YouTube.
There is so much more.
Watercooler Shows on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu: If you are not into classic television and want to see the latest watercooler shows (The Americans, Bates Motel, Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, etc.), for about $20 a month you can subscribe to both Amazon and Netflix. When it comes to shows imported from other networks, like HBO, FX and AMC, you might be a season behind when the show in question finally arrives, but both of these outlets are now producing their own watercooler shows. For example, my wife instantly gobbles up Netflix’s six-and-counting original Marvel series.
There is so much television available for $20 a month through these two streaming services (all of it commercial-free), you will never get through all of it.
Another option is Hulu, where for $7.99 a month you can see shows sooner but with commercials. If you’re willing to pay another $4, there are no ads. We don’t subscribe to Hulu because we just don’t need it.
Free Cable News: If you like to turn on the television and check out the headlines live on a cable news network, through your Roku there is CBSN, which is FREE and delivers the same service you get from CNN and MSNBC — breaking news and analysis from ignorant and provincial left-wing serial liars.
Moreover, all the news you could possibly want is free on the InterWebDotNets.
Buy an Antenna: You can also get all kind of free television for the simple price of a digital antenna. If you live close to a media market, you’ll be shocked by the number of stations you get. I live out in the middle of nowhere, and for this $35 investment, I now have access to a half-dozen free channels, including a weather channel, a 24/7 true crime network, MeTV, Decades, and three of the five major networks.
Sports: My only suggestion for sports fans is to 1) hope you get your favorite teams via your digital antennae, or 2) see if you can access to the NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL through a streaming package, or 3) go to your local sports bar. All of those options are still cheaper than your monthly cable bill.
3. YOU WILL SAVE A FORTUNE
If you don’t count my Internet subscription, and I do not because I would pay for Internet regardless, I went from $110 monthly cable television bill, to a $25 monthly television bill (Netflix, Amazon, Acorn.)
The $85 a month I’m saving paid for all of my Roku players in just a couple of months.
All this savings goes directly into my pocket instead of going into the corrupt pockets of CNN, ESPN, MSNBC and MTV.
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From my own experience, I can tell you that living without cable TV takes some getting used to. Your muscle memory will need time to get used to relaxing while channel-surfing in an entirely new way.
The benefits are not just financial, though. Cable news is all about increasing your blood pressure through faux-outrage, and with 20 minutes of commercials per hour, your soul is being eaten alive by trial lawyer/catheter/erectile dysfunction advertisers.
Save money. Decrease the white noise in your life. Bring down the corrupt Man.
And all it takes is one phone call.
Cut the cord… For yourself and for America.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.