that helpful dad presents · a summary infographic (share it!) steps to cutting the cord step 1:...

That Helpful Dad

Presents

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Website: https://thathelpfuldad.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/TheHelpfuldad

Cord Cutters, Unite!

● Are you considering cutting the cord, but not really sure how to start?

● Do you want to try watching live tv online, but don’t know which “tv streaming service” to go with?

● Are you looking for honest tips from an actual consumer just like you who can tell you how to make the

experience go smoothly?

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https://thathelpfuldad.com/

https://www.youtube.com/TheHelpfuldad


If you answered “Yes!” to any of those questions, then this Stey-by-Step Guide is for you!

What’s Inside This Guide:

● We’ll review all the major streaming service providers (Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Hulu Plus Live TV,

YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue, Philo, Fubo, and more). I’ll tell you the pro’s and con’s of each one.

● We’ll talk about important considerations you need to think about BEFORE you try to cut the cord - like

figuring out how much you might save by cutting the cord, how watch LOCAL news and sports

WITHOUT an antenna, and more.

● If you follow the simple step-by-step recommendations in this guide, you’ll make your cord cutting

experience super easy and much more fun.

● I’ll give you various “Action Items” throughout the guide to remind you of what to do so you’ll be better

prepared when you review your options.

● I’ll also chose a 14-point font so people with older eyes like me can actually read it! :)

Spend a little time with me now and that investment will pay off big time when you cut the cord and finally

ditch cable.

Are you ready to do this?

Let’s go!

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WHO AM I?

Hi, I’m Mike, That Helpful Dad and I’m a real consumer just like you, not a

paid endorser. On my website ThatHelpfulDad.com and YouTube Channel I

provide honest reviews people can trust. To learn more about me, check out

this vid: https://youtu.be/0bsJFPjI73s

After years of frustration dealing with cable companies, I recently took

the leap and cut the cord… and I couldn’t be happier! Looking back now I

wish I would have cut the cord sooner, but I was always a bit afraid of

taking the plunge because I thought cutting the cord would be a big hassle, that the picture quality would be

poor, and I was concerned that I couldn’t watch my local channels and sports - boy was I wrong! After helping

myself, I’ve helped lots of other people too - and now it’s time to help YOU!

In this Step-by-Step Guide I’ll detail what I learned along the way in the hopes that it will be useful to you as

you make YOUR cord-cutting decisions. There’s a lot to consider and it’s easy to overlook some of the ‘hidden’

details that can be the difference between a positive experience or a frustrating one. That’s where I can

help. Meanwhile, let’s get get to the guide...

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https://youtu.be/0bsJFPjI73s


Table of Contents

Target Audience

A Summary Infographic (Share it!)

Steps to Cutting the Cord

Step 1: Determine if Cord Cutting is really worth it for your family.

Step 2. Ensure you have adequate Internet Speeds AND Coverage Throughout

Your House.

Step 3. How will you access the Streaming Service?

Step 4. Decide on ‘Must-Have’ Channels vs ‘Nice-to-Have’ Channels

Step 5. Do you need a DVR?

Step 6. How important is the User Interface and TV Guide?

Step 7. Is there a Screen Limit?

Step 8. Review the Streaming TV Provider Options

STEP 9. Take a Test Drive

Step 10. Make the switch and Cut That Cord!

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Target Audience

While I am hopeful that there is something for everybody who is interested in this guide, I recognize that

not everybody will find it useful. Like many of the other articles on my website, this info will probably be

most helpful to people of my generation (the 35-55+ crowd).

Tell me if this sounds like you:

❏ You’ve watched cable tv all your life, but you’re frustrated with the increasing cost of cable, the

long-term contracts, the poor customer service, all the hidden fees and fake ‘taxes’ on the cable bill,

and having to pay ridiculous charges for all those cable boxes.

❏ You are looking for cord cutting options that will allow stream tv online, BUT you want an overall

experience that is as similar to cable tv as possible.

❏ You don’t want to have to buy an antenna to get local channels – you want all your tv one place.

❏ You hate commercials and want to be able to fast forward through them OR at least know IF you can.

❏ You like reading honest reviews from real consumers.

Sound like you? Then this guide is for YOU. BTW if you like my tips, sign up for my weekly email.

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A Summary Infographic (Share it!)

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Steps to Cutting the Cord

Step 1: Determine if Cord Cutting is really worth it for your family.

Before you go through the process of cord cutting, I recommend you first determine how much you might

potentially save and see if that amount is worth your while to pursue.

Here’s how to do a rough estimate:

● Examine your current cable bill and see how much you are paying for your internet, your tv package, and

your landline phone (if you still have one).

○ Note how much you are paying for EACH cable ‘box’ - particularly if you have a multi-room DVR.

■ Keep in mind that with cord cutting you don’t need any cable boxes so not only will you be

saving money each month on cable box rental fees but you’ll also save a few additional dollars

because you won’t have to pay for electricity to power them.

○ Be sure to examine what ‘other service charges and credits’ you may be receiving (if any).

■ Pay special attention to this section (and especially to when the discounts expire).

■ Frontier, Verizon, and others are notorious for locking you into multi-year contracts with

special discounts and then having them expire on you mid-term so that you end up paying

$20-100 more the 2nd year of the contract vs the first.

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○ Look at any other ‘taxes and other charges’ (basically extra fees that the cable company has

slapped on to rob you blind).

● Estimate how much it will cost you to have Internet only (or Internet + Phone if you really ‘have to’

have a landline).

○ You can either do this by calling the cable company and asking them for a quote (the preferred

method) or looking at your current bill and estimating the cost without the bundle discount.

○ As a frame of reference, my cost for internet went from about $45+tax (with bundle) to $55+tax

(internet only)

● Estimate how much you will spend on a Streaming TV Service Provider

○ We’ll examine this in detail below, but for now you can do a rough estimate.

○ If you have limited tv channel needs (AKA don’t need local channels, don’t care about sports, don’t

need premiums, etc), you can get your bill to around $16-25/month.

○ If you are in the mass market crowd and want an experience similar to cable tv (with local

news/sports, all your major networks, kids channels, etc), then you can easily do this for around

$40-60/month - and that will probably include a DVR too. This is probably the category where

most people sit so if you are not sure, use this figure.

○ If you want an “Ultra” package (to include premium networks, NFL Redzone, and similar options),

you’ll be in the $75-90/month range - still a giant savings vs. cable!

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● Determine your monthly savings.

○ Subtract the cost of your new streaming package (internet only cost + streaming tv provider cost)

from the total cost of your old cable (bundled) bill.

○ Ask yourself - this is enough to make it worth my while to cut the cord?

■ Only you can answer this question. How much is enough to make it worth your while?

○ An Example

■ If you’re like most people, your cable bill is probably currently $150-225/month for a bundle

of internet/tv/phone. Let’s call it $180 with taxes to keep it simple.

■ Let’s say it would cost you $50/month+tax to have just the internet, so we’ll say $60 with

taxes.

■ Let’s say that you are in the ‘mass market’ crowd and would be happy with a streaming

package that is similar to mainstream cable (that includes your local news/sports, kids shows,

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major networks, etc but not premiums like HBO, etc). You can easily get all that for

$50/month+tax (we’ll say $60 with taxes).

■ Do the math: 180 - (60+60) = $60.

■ In this example you’d be saving $60/month or over $700year.

■ Is that worthwhile to cut the cord?

■ What if it was only $50/month? $30? $20? What makes it worthwhile - answer that before

you proceed to save yourself time.

■ Keep in mind that I am giving you a conservative estimate. I can’t tell you how many friends

I’ve helped who had cable bills over $200/month and who ended up saving $100+/month when

they cut the cord!

■ If you’re currently paying $200/month for cable, you need to cut the cord ASAP!

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○ MY SETUP:

■ My cable bill was approx $195/month.

■ My new cost (with tax) is $55 (internet) + $55 (Direct TV Now) = $110.

■ That’s a saving of $85/month or over $1000/year. For me that’s definitely worth it!

■ That extra savings could allow me to get Netflix, HBO, NFL Redzone, and more (Bonus!).

■ Or I could pay for my Amazon Prime Membership (Oh yeah).

■ Or Buy a new TV (Now you’re talking).

■ Or I could just save it for other bills (not quite as fun).

■ What will YOUR savings allow YOU to do?

○ YOUR ACTION ITEM:

■ Your Total Current Cable Bill: $______________.

■ - Your Cost for Internet Only: $______________.

■ - Your Streaming Provide Cost: $______________.

■ =Your Monthly Savings: $______________.

■ Is this savings worth it? Yes or No

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Step 2. Ensure you have adequate Internet Speeds AND Coverage Throughout

Your House.

As noted above, you still need the internet in order to stream tv online. You’ll also need an adequate

internet speed.

● Your speeds could be as low as 50/50 Mbps if you only have a couple tvs, but if you have a large family,

have lots of tv/tablets, etc, then you’ll probably want 100-200 Mbps to be safe.

● CHECK YOUR CURRENT SPEED: http://www.speedtest.net/

● To learn more about this topic, check out this article:

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/how-much-speed-do-i-need-to-watch-netflix-and-hulu/

● MY SETUP: As a reference I have a family of 5, a 3k sf home, 5 tvs, 4 tablets, God knows how many cell

phones, we have multiple devices ‘always on.

● We currently have 100/100 Mbps from FIOS and we are fine.

● As a result, we did not need to upgrade our speed.

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http://www.speedtest.net/

https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/how-much-speed-do-i-need-to-watch-netflix-and-hulu/


● YOUR ACTION ITEM:

○ Your current Internet speed is: _______________.

○ The # of tvs/tablets you want to stream simultaneously: _______________.

○ Your current internet speeds are… Good or Needs Upgraded.

Do you need a Wifi Mesh?

● Although it’s not a requirement, if you have a large home, and/or run a lot of devices, you may want to

invest in a wifi-mesh.

● Small homes and apartments < 1500 sf can probably get by with just the cable company router, but if

you have more than that, you’ll probably want a wifi-mesh to help you avoid the dreaded ‘buffering’ that

occurs when having your tv shows interrupted by the spinning wheel of death as you wait for the

program to load over your slow internet.

● Do yourself a favor and get a wifi-mesh. It makes a world of difference.

● MY SETUP: I have the Google Wifi Mesh and it’s awesome.

● Here’s my review: https://thathelpfuldad.com/product/google-wifi/

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https://thathelpfuldad.com/product/google-wifi/



○ The Size of your House/Apartment is: <1500sf 1501-3000 3000+

○ You need a wifi mesh? No Maybe For sure

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Step 3. How will you access the Streaming Service?

With cable tv you use cable boxes, but with streaming tv service providers you’ll use their app. In order to access the streaming tv app, you’ll need to download it either to your Smart TV’s Smart Hub or more

likely to a Digital Media Player (DMP).

● Popular DMPs include Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Roku, etc.

● NOTE: I’d be cautious on relying on just your Smart TV interface as not every streaming tv service

provider’s app is compatible with all smart TVs.

● You’d be much better off just getting a DMP for each tv if you can since the streaming tv apps are

usually created/updated specifically for DMPs.

● MY SETUP: I have 1 Amazon Fire TV 4k and 4 Amazon Fire Sticks.

○ I’ve tried Apple TV but I hated it because it’s so hard to find

apps to download.

○ I used Roku’s for years but the home interface for Amazon is

just easier to use, it’s easier to navigate around it, and it’s easy

to find what I want to watch - at least in my opinion. That said,

Roku is a very popular DMP so you may want to at least consider

it.

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○ How do you plan to access streaming apps? Smart TV or DMP.

○ Do you have an access plan for each tv? Yes or No

○ How many DMPs do you need to buy? _______________.

○ What is the total cost for all DMPs? $______________

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Step 4. Decide on ‘Must-Have’ Channels vs ‘Nice-to-Have’ Channels

Figure out your channel needs BEFORE you spend a lot of time browsing all the streaming tv apps and you’ll

save time in the long run because you’ll know what you really need as well as some extras you may want too.

Besides listing the main networks you may want (for example ESPN, HGTV, Travel, TBS, etc, etc), here are

some other important channel considerations.

● Local News - are you OK with just watching the national news or do you want to be able to watch

your LOCAL broadcasters?

○ If so, do you need ALL the local affiliates (NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox) or can you get by

without one of these if the streaming tv provider doesn’t have some/all of your local

affiliates?

○ Unless you plan to use an antenna, you’ll want your streaming tv service provider to offer

local channels. The good news is that many of the providers offer local channels in most

areas, so unless you are in a remote area, you should NOT need an antenna to cut the cord.

The bad news is that you may not get ALL your locals (for example, in my area NBC local is

hard to get, but I can watch NBC On-Demand for their national shows).

○ Video Discussion: https://youtu.be/9natWVw6hPY

● Local Sports - are their local sports teams you want to be able to watch?

○ Make a note of which teams and which networks you watch them on because not every

streaming tv providers offers your local channels and regional sports networks.

○ Video Discussion: https://youtu.be/9natWVw6hPY

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https://youtu.be/9natWVw6hPY

https://youtu.be/9natWVw6hPY


● Kids Channels - do your kids watch Boomerang, Cartoon Network, the Disney networks, Nick Jr

and the other Nick networks, etc?

○ If so, make a note of the ‘must haves’ vs the ‘nice to haves’ because again not every streaming

tv providers offers all of these channels.

○ Video Discussion: https://youtu.be/Th-NEamnRWE

● Premium and Extras - do you want to be able to add HBO, Showtime, NFL Redzone, foreign

language channels, etc onto your plan?

○ Make a note of what you want so you’ll know what to look for when you examine the channel

packages and extras available from the different providers.

○ Here’s a helpful video discussion about the NFL Network and NFL Redzone:

https://youtu.be/UY-k_LTifQ0

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https://youtu.be/Th-NEamnRWE

https://youtu.be/UY-k_LTifQ0


MY SETUP:

We wanted local news for Tampa, FL and local sports (Bucs, Rays games) but we did NOT want to use an

antenna (I tried them out and they were just a hassle).

We also wanted lots of kids channels (including Nick Jr - which is kind of hard to find).

And we wanted an experience similar to cable with a tv guide style user interface.

This led us to choose the “Just Right” Plan from DirecTV Now.

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https://www.directvnow.com/tv-packages


YOUR ACTION ITEM:

● Take a look at the following chart to get an idea of the most popular channels….

● Make a list of your MUST-Have Channels

● Make a list of your Nice-to-Have Channels.

● Keep your lists handy for Step #8.

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Step 5. Do you need a DVR?

If you want to be able to record shows, then you’ll need a DVR.

Most streaming service providers offer a DVR now. Some are better than others in terms of how many hours

you can save (20 hours, 100 hours, unlimited, etc), how long you can save a show for (a month, a year,

unlimited, etc), whether you can fast forward through commercials on recorded shows (which I think is very

important!), etc. If you need a DVR, know what features are important and compare what is offered to you.

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● MY SETUP: personally a DVR is not that important to me - even when I had it with FIOS I rarely used

it, but it’s a nice to have and DirecTV Now offers a decent (although not great) free DVR.


Do you want a DVR? _________

How many hours do you want to record/save? _________

Do you want to FF through commercials? _________

How long do you want to save recordings for? _________

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Step 6. How important is the User Interface and TV Guide?

If you are 40+ like me, you’re probably looking for an experience as close to cable tv as possible. That means

you want an easy to find and easy to use ‘tv guide’ that shows you what’s on now and what’s coming on. Perhaps

something that looks like this (from PlayStation Vue)...

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It’s not rocket science, right?

The problem is that not every streaming tv service offers a Channel Guide like this!

● Instead some try to ‘learn’ your viewing habits and show you “What’s On” or make recommendations to

you.

● Others assume you already know what you want to watch and that you’ll use text or voice search to

navigate directly to it.

● Those features are all well and fine, but I’m used to doing my own browsing through a guide to find

what’s on. I’ve done that for 40+ years and this old dog is not looking to learn new tricks to find what I

want to watch.

● I don’t want to give up the control that a traditional guide offers and it’s not enough for me to just be

shown a bunch of suggestions based on my prior viewing habits. Give me the guide!

● My Setup: When we did our trials of all the various streaming tv options, my family found PlayStation

Vue and DirecTV Now had the Channel Guides we most preferred. To us, they were the most like a

traditional cable tv guide and we found it easy to find our shows.

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● YOUR ACTION ITEM: when you try out the various services during their free trials, be sure to see

how easy it is to navigate your way around and find your favorite shows/channels. Make a list of which

UI’s you like best.

○ Sling TV UI Good OK Bad Hulu Plus Live TV UI Good OK Bad

○ Direct TV Now UI Good OK Bad PlayStation Vue UI Good OK Bad

○ Philo TV Good OK Bad Fubo TV Good OK Bad

○ YouTube TV Good OK Bad Other:______________ Good OK Bad

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Step 7. Is there a Screen Limit?

One thing to keep in mind is that most of the streaming tv providers have a ‘screen limit’ that restricts how

many tvs/devices you can watch the service on at the same time.

● This is basically to prevent you from sharing your login info with all your friends and letting everybody

watch under your plan.

● The screen limits vary by provider - some offer 2 streams, some 3, 4, or 5.

● Some providers (such as DirecTV Now) will allow you to pay a small fee (for example $5) to buy an extra

stream.

● Before you buy an extra stream, keep in mind that this is only for watching the streaming app (such as

Sling) at the same time. If you have other apps (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc), the limits don’t affect

your stream limits with the streaming service.

● MY SETUP: We have a family of 5 but DirecTV Now only offers 2 streams.

● Despite that we rarely have a problem because we have Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime as

alternatives.

● As a result, we’ve rarely run into stream limit problems.

● I wouldn’t pay for an extra stream unless you know you really need it.

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○ How many tvs/tablets do you want to be able to stream on? _______

○ How many of these do you want to be able to play the SAME streaming app on at the SAME time?

_______

○ What other app alternatives (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc) could you use if you reach your screen

limit? _______

Cord Cutting Hidden Bonus for Travelers!

● Do you want to be able to watch while traveling away from home?

○ Did you know that one of the often overlooked benefits of cutting the cord is that most online

streaming tv providers allow you to watch at least one stream while you are traveling.

○ Don’t underestimate the nice-to-have benefit of this feature. Imagine yourself at Disney with the

kids during some ‘hotel time’ and your kids wanting to watch Nick Jr. Or how about yourself

traveling and you want to watch something from your DVR. When you cut the cord you can do that

now!

○ Can you say “Bonus Time!”?

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Step 8. Review the Streaming TV Provider Options

FINALLY - we can actually look at WHO the streaming tv service providers actually are!

I know, I know, it’s been a long wait to get to this point, but trust me, by doing the prep work upfront, you’re

going to save yourself a lot of time and confusion when you look at the provider options because now you know

what you want. This is where the rubber meets the road, my friends, and this is where your key decisions will

be made so let’s get to it.

There 5 main players that offer realistic options to cut the cord AND give you an experience as close to cable tv as possible. They are as follows (with links to my reviews, videos, and their direct websites):

● Sling TV:

○ Article: https://thathelpfuldad.com/sling-tv-faqs-review-cord-cutters/

○ Video: https://youtu.be/7hQsDvihkIs

○ Sling Site: https://www.sling.com/

● DirecTV Now:

○ Article: https://thathelpfuldad.com/direct-tv-now-review-cord-cutter/

○ Video: https://youtu.be/K1LSntUSn-U

○ DTVN Site: https://www.directvnow.com/

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https://thathelpfuldad.com/sling-tv-faqs-review-cord-cutters/

https://youtu.be/7hQsDvihkIs

https://www.sling.com/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/direct-tv-now-review-cord-cutter/

https://youtu.be/K1LSntUSn-U

https://www.directvnow.com/


● PlayStation Vue:

○ Article: https://thathelpfuldad.com/playstation-vue-faqs-reviews-cord-cutters/

○ Video: https://youtu.be/0wA56Q4Sib8

○ PSVue Site: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

● Hulu Plus Live TV:

○ Article: https://thathelpfuldad.com/hulu-live-tv-faqs-reviews-cord-cutters-hulu-plus/

○ Video: https://youtu.be/uxLyfV8Mhrg

○ Hulu Site: https://www.hulu.com/welcome

● YouTube TV:

○ Article: https://thathelpfuldad.com/youtube-tv-faqs-review-cord-cutters/

○ Video: https://youtu.be/ks-qYM-DWTE

○ YT-TV Site: https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/

● For a comprehensive review of ALL of these services in one video - check out the following 25+

minute video review… (Yes, it’s looooooong, but filled with good info!)

○ Video: https://youtu.be/t9k6ZkbyabM

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https://thathelpfuldad.com/playstation-vue-faqs-reviews-cord-cutters/

https://youtu.be/0wA56Q4Sib8

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/

https://thathelpfuldad.com/hulu-live-tv-faqs-reviews-cord-cutters-hulu-plus/

https://youtu.be/uxLyfV8Mhrg

https://www.hulu.com/welcome

https://thathelpfuldad.com/youtube-tv-faqs-review-cord-cutters/

https://youtu.be/ks-qYM-DWTE

https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/

https://youtu.be/t9k6ZkbyabM


There are also three additional cord cutting ‘alternative’ players who still offer access to LIVE TV but for

select needs. These are...

● Fubo TV:

○ Focus: SPORTS: Stream and record live sports FOX, NBC, beIN SPORTS, Univision, NBA

TV, A&E & more.

○ Site: https://www.fubo.tv/welcome

● Philo TV:

○ Focus: Cord Cutting Alternative as low as $16/mo with a focus on mainstream national

channels

○ Site: https://try.philo.com/

● Pluto TV:

○ Focus: A Totally FREE Cord Cutting Service with an eclectic mix of content - to include

VIDEO GAME, National News, Movies, Music, Reality TV< Sports, and more.

○ Site: https://pluto.tv/tv/

Let’s also not forget the other GIANTS in the room that offer cord cutting alternatives to PAST content

(i.e. not ‘live’ tv) - mainly Netflix and Amazon.

● Since our discussion is focused more on finding cord cutting services that replace cable tv that means

access to LIVE content, we won’t be discussing these options in detail in this guide.

● That said, if having access to past tv shows, non-new release movies, and ORIGINAL CONTENT found

only on these providers, then I strongly recommend you consider adding 1 or more of these providers

into your overall cord cutting plans.

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https://www.fubo.tv/welcome

https://try.philo.com/

https://pluto.tv/tv/


● Netflix:

○ Top Original Content: Stranger Things, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Narcos, Bloodline, The Crown, and LOTS more.

○ Site: https://www.netflix.com/

● Amazon Prime:

○ Top Original Content: Bosch, Man in the High Castle, Goliath, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Mozart in the

Jungle, Sneaky Pete, Transparent, and LOTS more.

○ Site: https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Video/

● Hulu Basic:

○ Top Original Content: The Handmaid’s Tale, East Los High, Marvel’s Runaways, Deadbeat, and more.

○ Site: https://www.hulu.com/tv

What about HBO, Showtime, and others?

● Additional original programming is also on other premium channels like HBO (Game of Thrones, Westworld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Ballers, Veep, and more), Showtime (Homeland, Shameless, Billions,

Ray Donovan, and more), and other premiums, but unlike Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, you should be

able to add these premium channels directly WITHIN your streaming tv provider app (or if you have

Amazon Prime you can add it as a ‘channel’ there too).

● As a result, these are considered simply additional channels within your streaming service app overall.

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https://www.netflix.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Video/

https://www.hulu.com/tv


MY SETUP:

● My current streaming tv provider is…

○ DirecTV Now (The Just Right Plan) Monthly Cost $50

● Amazon Prime TV (Free as part of our Prime Plan) $0

● Netflix $12

● Internet Only Cost-Fios $50

● TOTAL $112 + tax

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YOUR ACTION ITEMS:

1. Review each of the primary streaming tv service providers. Here is a review plan you might consider

following...

a. First review their Channel Packages and find 2-3 options that might work for you.

i. Your Initial Choices are:

1. 1. _______________ 2. _________________ 3. _______________

b. Next refer to Steps 3-7 of this guide for each provider you are interested in.

i. #3: Is their service compatible with how you will access it via your Smart TV or Digital

Media Player?

1. If yes, continue. If no, consider a different service.

ii. #4: Do they offer the local news/sports, kids channels, and premiums you want?

1. This is a BIG one so spend some time here. Be sure you go back and look at the

ARTICLE REVIEW LINKS I gave you at the beginning of Step 8 above because those

articles have the direct links to check for local content on each service. Use those links

and see if the provider you like has the local channels you want.

iii. #5: Do they offer a DVR that meets your needs?

iv. #6: Do they offer a UI/Guide that you like?

v. #7: Is their screen limit acceptable to you?

c. Based on what you discover, try to pick 2-3 services you want to try and list them here:

i. The Services You Plan to Try are:

1. 1. _________________

2. 2. _________________

3. 3. _________________

d. YOU ARE NOW READY TO TAKE A TEST DRIVE - This is the FUN PART!!!

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STEP 9. Take a Test Drive

Most of the streaming service providers offer a Free Trial. I recommend you take advantage of this with as

many services as interest you AND that you do this BEFORE you cancel your cable.

● Do the free trial on your main tv (at least) and try to ONLY use the streaming tv service to see how you

like it.

● That Helpful Dad’s Secret TIP: if you can, sign up for the free trial under an alternate email. That way

you can still take advantage of any promotions (see below).

● Once you find the service that works for you, take the plunge and sign up. But first…

● Check for promotions!

○ Some of the streaming tv providers offer some pretty good promotions.

○ For example, DirecTV Now was giving away a free Apple TV or Roku to new subscribers if they

prepaid for 1-3 months of service (this was only available to new subscribers who didn’t do a free

trial - which is why I recommended using an alternate email for the free trial).

○ Sling usually offers Rokus or other free gifts.

○ Same goes for others. Check Google for current promotions for the service you want.

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Step 10. Make the switch and Cut That Cord!

You’ve done the research, you’ve tested the products, you’ve found a service you like, and now it’s time to say

GOODBYE to cable tv once and for all.

Take the plunge, cut that cord, ditch cable tv, and get ready to save some money.

Trust me - you’ll never look back and you’ll wonder why you didn’t cut the cord years ago.

GOOD LUCK!

~That Helpful Dad

PS HELP OTHERS TOO - SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE

● Help myself and the rest of the Cord Cutting Community learn from YOUR experience.

● Share what you learned on our Cord Cutting Page so we can all learn together.

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