Who is cutting cable for Hulu, Netflix and OTA?

I started the week by asking "Would you cut cable for Netflix?" I end it with your responses to the question.

This all started with a report from Convergence Consulting Group stating that, since 2008, 1 million U.S. household cut cable's cord and switched to over-the-air broadcasts and online streaming. The consultancy expects the number to reach 2 million by year's end. I've been thinking about doing the same -- and summer, when reruns replace many first-run programs -- is looking like the right time. Perhaps even sooner. And what do you say?

Betanews commenter Kevin108 "cut the cord last year once Netflix Watch Instantly was available on the Wii. We never play games on it but with Netflix and WiiMC, it's a nice little media center." I totally understand. My household has PlayStation 3 for Blu-ray and Hulu Plus -- never played a game on it.

But Kevin108 sees a way back to the cord: "If cable went a la carte, eliminated commercials, and included on-demand access for the same price as iPredator (about $8 a month), I would sign back up." Yeah, like that's going to happen -- OK, in some "Fringe" alternate universe.

"I cut the cord back in 2009," writes Betanews reader bolomkxxviii (Geez, how about a real name). "Between Hulu, Clicker, Miro, Netflix (via Roku) and OTA recorded by a HTPC I have more content than I have time to watch. Hulu is getting to the point where I can barely watch it because they have doubled or tripled the number of ads since 2009." I've got the same complaint and am near canceling Hulu Plus because of the creeping number of advertisements.

Sports programming is a continuing theme among would-be cable cutters. Kyle Sumner says the "main thing keeping me from cutting the cord. Fox sports Detroit, ESPN, and VS account for quite a bit of my viewing. How do you people watch your local sports without Fox Sports? I never miss a Red Wings or Tigers game, and can't see myself cutting the cord based on that channel alone."

Commenter Thugbot answers: "Xbox Live for sports." He (that's the gender I'm guessing) "cut the cord, and it's been Netflix, Hulu+, Amazon, and Xbox 360. Best part is by cutting the cord I upgraded to the 50MB Internet package." Oh yeah.

"Sean" hollovoid7 would switch if "all sports were available, live, in HD on the Net." Steven Watson answers: "Depending on the Sport, many of them are online if you know where to find them. My PS3 has an MLB channel that you can subscribe to, I think NASCAR has something, NBAtv has something, I watch college Basketball on ESPN3.com. ESPN3 also Soccer, Tennis, Hockey and other sports. NHL.com has Hockey also."

He continues: "Many of these have mobile offerings also, and you can see some or most of them through roku boxes, subs through xBox Live or on your PS3 or even Google TV. Most of these do require subscriptions and in the long run, I'm not sure it's worth it. Some of them seem to be through your cable providor, which defeats the purpose, though maybe that is by design."

"The NFL is the only thing keeping me connected to cable TV," writes Betanews reader David Kratter. Commenter dkreichen1968 answers: "All of the NFL games, other than Monday Night and Thursday Night games, are available free over the air in HD if you have a HDTV and an antenna. Also, the Monday Night games are often available locally when the hometown team plays."

Betanews reader jbeitler "would love to [cut cable] expect that I have Comcast and it seems like if I go on a movie bender, after about the third or fourth one I get heavy pauses during the movie and I end up shutting it off." You need that 50MB package Thugbot has, perhaps?

"Unless something changes I am keeping cable,"writes commenter rjparker1. "Game shows, poker tournaments, sporting events, news broadcasts, I watch any or all of these weekly -- I can't get any of these on Netflix. So to replace TV with something that is not current makes no sense."

Jack Brown is succinct: "I will not cancel cable." Mr. Swiffer is more explicit: "I see no reason to cut cable until every movie and every single episode of every single TV series ever released is legally made available for streaming over the Internet." They probably are at one of the torrent sites.

"What do you lose: Live TV. With Hulu, you get like 1-day delay for most stuff," writes commenter Nanban Jim. "What do you gain: Hulu Plus, NetFlix, and -- I can't think of the third service, but together they all cost about the same as a standard cable package. For your one-day delay you gain depth and breadth of availability. What you can't stream, you can typically request a DVD for. It's a no-brainer. If you absolutely must have sports, get an antenna. Or, you know, try actually getting involved in shows with plots, so much better than people dorking around with a ball. But maybe that's just me."

Corey Howard "left my $70 a month DishNetwork plan for OTA HDTV and Netflix. Net cost a month $10." Yes, but how much do pay for broadband and from what provider? Jacob Bourgeois hasn't "had cable TV since I moved out of my parent's house four years ago. Most of what I watch is on the Internet anyway; Netflix only made it that much easier to not have cable TV."