ACC Network and where to watch Duke games

[gep]

Current info.. I was on Spectrum's legacy (TWC) billing system, so had basic TV with broadcast TV and sports programming ($113)... also, internet was 60 Mbps ($75). Total plus fees $198. I cancelled the TV, and upgraded billing to the new system. So internet speed is now 300 Mbps ($85). They are promoting their own streaming service, I think I read somewhere that they are doing this because of their negotiations with Disney. That would be $20 more, but with the bundle promotion of 300 Mbps internet and their streaming service, essentially $0.01 cheaper for the bundle... but for only 12 months, after which it increases by $20. I had already decided on Youtube TV, so that internet/streaming bundle was not for me. We'll see how this goes.

[AtlBluRew]

Discovering another nice feature on YouTubeTV, there are sometimes opportunities to skip ads, replacing them with a screensaver until the live program resumes.

[arnie]

I know, I know. But gotta watch ESPN somehow.

Might keep both services and cut back on alcohol.

I signed in with FUBO and like it; $75/mo total and have now cancelled Spectrum TV (Ms. Arnie approved) but keep Spectrum internet at $85 total with no additional fees/taxes (supposedly). This represents a $62 savings and we can maneuver around the system easily.

Of course, I now read that Disney/Charter/Spectrum close to agreement. I’m pleased to be rid of Spectrum and can’t imagine how many $$ and tv customers Spectrum lost in this debacle.

[Matches]

Discovering another nice feature on YouTubeTV, there are sometimes opportunities to skip ads, replacing them with a screensaver until the live program resumes.

One of my favorite features - enjoy the zen.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

One of my favorite features - enjoy the zen.

Yes! Agreed?

Especially when your team is getting railroaded.

[Kdogg]

I signed in with FUBO and like it; $75/mo total and have now cancelled Spectrum TV (Ms. Arnie approved) but keep Spectrum internet at $85 total with no additional fees/taxes (supposedly). This represents a $62 savings and we can maneuver around the system easily.

Of course, I now read that Disney/Charter/Spectrum close to agreement. I’m pleased to be rid of Spectrum and can’t imagine how many $$ and tv customers Spectrum lost in this debacle.

I imagine that they probably lost a lot of TV customers but kept them as their ISP. That might work out better for Charter in the future. Yes, they lose both top and bottom line revenue but they are also dumping relatively lower margin TV viewers while maintaining the higher margin internet user. The margin for internet is something like 80-90% while for cable it's around 30-35%. By accelerating the cord cutting trend they get to move quicker to the inevitable endgame. They also save on hardware costs because people don't need their cable boxes/DVRs/remotes. That's something they have been pushing for awhile. Anytime I call about pricing the first thing they ask is if I need the boxes because I can use an Apple TV/Xbox/Roku/Chromecast. (at my cost). The cynic in me thinks they might have planned this.

[sagegrouse]

Am I the only DirecTV user here who is blocked from the Fox local station due to a contract dispute? In my case, Fox-31 in Denver. Are there other areas affected?

[roywhite]

Am I the only DirecTV user here who is blocked from the Fox local station due to a contract dispute? In my case, Fox-31 in Denver. Are there other areas affected?

Also happening in Piedmont Triad of NC with WGHP Fox 8. Involves Nextstar and their group of 150+ individual stations that have various network affiliations. And I'm not clear on details, but DirecTV is now involved too. The overall dispute is more than 2 months old.

[DU82]

Am I the only DirecTV user here who is blocked from the Fox local station due to a contract dispute? In my case, Fox-31 in Denver. Are there other areas affected?

I think the dispute is with Nexstar. They also own the local NBC station in the Triangle (WNCN) and WNCN has a message about it on their webpage.

[PDDuke85]

Am I the only DirecTV user here who is blocked from the Fox local station due to a contract dispute? In my case, Fox-31 in Denver. Are there other areas affected?

We have DIRECTV in the greater Charleston SC area. We’re getting Fox, but no NBC

[DU82]

Thanks to the Spectrum/Disney dispute, I finally started looking for alternatives to Spectrum. (Was actually checking options before ESPN disappeared.)

I bought a Tablo 4th generation, which gives me a DVR for over-the-air channels, plus a bunch of free channels (similar to Pluto TV; not sure the exact source but many are the same as Pluto, or Samsung that I get through my TV.) The local stations are the main reason I've stayed with Spectrum; I like the secondary channels and I don't think YouTube/Fubo/DirectTV provide all of them. (Yes, I can probably find all those shows on streaming apps, but it's hard to break 60+ year old habits.) With this device, my streaming options are more open since I won't need to receive the local stations.

I've tested the recording, and it's pretty simple, and the picture looks good on my iPad. (Waiting for Samsung to provide the app; FireTV has it and at worst I'll set it up eventually so I can watch on the bigger screen without needing the iPad.)

My challenge, living on the Durham side of RDU, it that I can't get WTVD (11) or WNCN (17) through my little inside antenna. If I understand correctly, those are on VHF and the antennas I've found/bought are better with UHF. I'm actually surprised that the best location for me so far is the bedroom at the front of the house, since the main antenna farm in Garner is SW (just under 23 miles away), which is directly out the back of the house. I can pull in the Greensboro CBS station, but I'm still missing ABC and NBC. (I'm missing ION as well, since that's in Rocky Mount, but a lesser concern.) The Tablo can go anywhere since it connects wirelessly to my network, just need a plug.

Any suggestions for larger inside antennas that I can set up in my attic? Don't really want to put something outside, since that'd involve drilling holes to connect.

[JetpackJesus]

ESPN is back on Spectrum in time for MNF. Looks like the mouse caved to Charter on this one.

Spectrum TV Select subscribers will now get access to Disney+ (w/ads) at no additional charge. Spectrum TV Select Plus--the sports-focused tier--will include free access to ESPN+ and the ESPN OTT service whenever that launches.* Some Disney channels aren't returning to Spectrum, but I don't care about them. I'm probably not alone in that, which is probably why Charter wanted to drop them.

Overall, this seems like a win for consumers at first glance. As much as consumers can ever win when it comes to TV services, anyway. Time will tell.

*You can subscribe to Hulu Live + and get access to Hulu Live TV, ESPN+ (w/ads), Disney+ (w/ads), and Hulu for like $76, but I have no idea how that prices out against Spectrum TV Select Plus.

[cbarry]

ESPN is back on Spectrum in time for MNF. Looks like the mouse caved to Charter on this one.

Spectrum TV Select subscribers will now get access to Disney+ (w/ads) at no additional charge. Spectrum TV Select Plus--the sports-focused tier--will include free access to ESPN+ and the ESPN OTT service whenever that launches.* Some Disney channels aren't returning to Spectrum, but I don't care about them. I'm probably not alone in that, which is probably why Charter wanted to drop them.

Overall, this seems like a win for consumers at first glance. As much as consumers can ever win when it comes to TV services, anyway. Time will tell.

*You can subscribe to Hulu Live + and get access to Hulu Live TV, ESPN+ (w/ads), Disney+ (w/ads), and Hulu for like $76, but I have no idea how that prices out against Spectrum TV Select Plus.

Too late, Spectrum. You lost me as a customer. Now, I haven't yet been able to get through to cancel my cable, but I got Hulu Plus Live in place last week, and now that it's working, we are cutting the cord (long overdue)!!! So long Spectrum! (well, we still need your internet for now... lol. The only other internet provider in my area is AT&T, and it could take some time to get them to install)

[gep]

Too late, Spectrum. You lost me as a customer. Now, I haven't yet been able to get through to cancel my cable, but I got Hulu Plus Live in place last week, and now that it's working, we are cutting the cord (long overdue)!!! So long Spectrum! (well, we still need your internet for now... lol. The only other internet provider in my area is AT&T, and it could take some time to get them to install)

Same here. Last week, cancelled TV service, upgraded internet service (I was on the legacy 60Mbps plan) to 300 Mbps. Got Youtube TV. Saving money too. Not looking back...

[devil84]

My challenge, living on the Durham side of RDU, it that I can't get WTVD (11) or WNCN (17) through my little inside antenna. If I understand correctly, those are on VHF and the antennas I've found/bought are better with UHF. I'm actually surprised that the best location for me so far is the bedroom at the front of the house, since the main antenna farm in Garner is SW (just under 23 miles away), which is directly out the back of the house. I can pull in the Greensboro CBS station, but I'm still missing ABC and NBC. (I'm missing ION as well, since that's in Rocky Mount, but a lesser concern.) The Tablo can go anywhere since it connects wirelessly to my network, just need a plug.

Any suggestions for larger inside antennas that I can set up in my attic? Don't really want to put something outside, since that'd involve drilling holes to connect.

I live in southwest Wake County in the Raleigh/Cary area. We (my extended family) have Mohu Leaf antennas (60 mile antenna with an amplifer, the thin rectangle that looks like a sheet of paper with a cable on it) that work really well (when placed correctly). We can get all of the local stations in the Triangle plus a number of them in the Triad. Mohu was a startup in Raleigh before it was acquired in 2020. We figured that they were probably tested in the area, so that's what the deciding factor was when cutting the cord searching for an antenna many years ago (gotta make a decision somehow!). We liked the first Mohu, added a second one, put one in our son's house in Greensboro, and our daughter and son-in-law have one in Apex. I have no idea if they are better or worse than any other brand, but it works for us.

When placing the antenna, it seems like just an inch or two can make a huge difference (though many feet may work well and make little difference *shrug*). It also seems like we need to reposition one of them by a few inches every spring and fall. The one on our third floor on the back of the house (facing north-north-east) needs to be adjusted seasonally while the one on the second floor on an interior wall with a vaulted ceiling and is perpendicular to the one on the third floor is rock-solid year round. There's about 5' of elevation difference and maybe 10' horizontal difference between the two. We also have a heavily wooded lot with quite a bit of ground elevation change in the neighborhood. The Apex and Greensboro antennas (antennae?) haven't needed adjusting -- both on cleared lots on much less hilly terrain.

We used this site to figure out what kind of antenna we needed. https://www.antennaweb.org/ We found another site that helped with placing them, which I thought was antennaweb. This one, https://www.antennasdirect.com/transmitter-locator.html looks like it has some additional tips.

[UrinalCake]

I've received a recommendation for Winegard antennas from a former coworker/electrical engineer. The site that devil84 linked is great for learning where to point the antenna from your house, but unfortunately you'll probably find that you need to move based on channel, which requires some sort of remote controlled rotating stand. I've played around with OTA antennas in my living room and in the attic and never had much success.

[budwom]

I think the dispute is with Nexstar. They also own the local NBC station in the Triangle (WNCN) and WNCN has a message about it on their webpage.

I too am a DirecTV customer affected by the Nexstar dispute...around here they own both the Fox and ABC affiliates, been going on for many months, very tiresome.