ST. LOUIS — At some point or another, most of us have subscribed to cable or satellite, and at some point, most of us have probably complained and even threatened to cancel our service when the price jumped a few dollars.
But for the more than half of Americans who have either trimmed or cut the cord completely, are they actually paying more?
Assuming you have a TV and internet service, you'll need a device to stream. On the low end is a Roku Express for $30. On the high end? A TiVo for $300, but that's probably overkill unless you plan to watch cable or satellite TV, too.
What about streaming services? There are many options. Let's look at the low-end cost of the five most popular:
- Hulu – $5.99
- Netflix – $8.99
- Starz – $8.99
- Amazon Prime – $9.92 (when prepaid for a year)
- HBO Now – $14.99
There are also several steaming services that cater to niche audiences — anything from MLB.tv to the soon-to-be-launched Disney+ to the WWE Network.
Now, let's crunch the numbers for internet service and the content providers.
Internet service runs just under $45 a month for Spectrum, the most popular provider in St. Louis. And subscribing to the top five streaming services? That's about $49 a month.
The streaming device is a one-time cost of between $30 to $300. So after the first month, that goes away and you'll pay about $94.
How does that compare to traditional TV service? Let's look at the two most popular companies in St. Louis: Spectrum and AT&T. Both companies bundle TV and internet service. The cost for Spectrum is anywhere from $80 to $100; AT&T bundles range from $75 to $150.
Here's what we can verify. It's cheaper — just slightly — to go with either Spectrum or AT&T.