I cut the cord four years ago. When I moved into my new place I had nothing but trouble with cable (half the time half my channels wouldn't work.) Umpteen tech visits later, I even had three different techs say the cable from the street to my house was damaged (underground cabling in my neighbourhood.) I was actually injured and basically bedridden at the time and it was basically the only thing I could use other than my laptop occasionally (weight on my legs = killer pain.) Anyway, they didn't want to fix the damn wire and they were surprised I cancelled the service???
About six months later I read about the digital OTA service (I've always known about the analog service.) It was kind of in testing mode (not all stations moved over) but I figured I should give it a shot. Due to my distance from the tower I've had to raise my antenna to about thirty feet, but I got 6 or so full HD channels. The first thing I noticed that was in high-motion movement there was NO pixelation, unlike my cable connection.
So I started telling people at work they didn't have to spend $1200-$1500 to get TV and almost all were in disbelief. Some would say "but I can't get channel X". I guess they've decided that one channel is worth $150/month, but I think they're crazy.
A lady at work the other day didn't seem to know that one could still receive over-the-air broadcasts for television. I wonder how many people don't realize this and are paying for TV that they don't want or need.
I was over at a young coworker/friend and I was telling him about it. His wife's eyes grew really big and she stated "You're STEALING TV?"
Sigggghhhh............
The new generation grew up thinking they have to pay out the arse for TV and grew up thinking this was perfectly normal.