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[Jenni Israelsen]

When streaming first took off a decade ago, it was led by people like me, Millennial cord-cutters who saw the high monthly price of cable TV and opted to save what little money we had (this was the unending aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis, after all) and just watch the best Netflix shows.

Now, streaming services have done away with that, which is fair enough, but they're also raising their prices and running ads on their basic plans. Which, again, is fair enough. With the end of the strike by the Writer's Guild of America, streaming services are going to have to pay the writers of the shows on their platforms more for their work, so that cost is going to get passed onto the customer (full disclosure: I am a member of the Writer's Guild of America, East, though digital media members were not on strike and are not covered by the contract negotiated by the studios and the guild).

And it's not just Netflix. Disney Plus is raising its prices, Discovery Plus is raising its prices, Max is raising its prices, and all three services have ad-supported tiers. That doesn't include Hulu, Peacock, and all the other services that are doing the same or soon will. Add it all together and we're talking about serious money, which makes me wonder what the hell was it all for?

The things that drove me away from cable TV in the 2010s still exist. Cable TV plans are still expensive, customer service is generally awful, and the we-can't-call-it-a-cartel carve-ups of US states, cities, and even neighborhoods by cable providers who get exclusivity agreements from landlords means that what cable company you get in the US is entirely dictated by your street address. Your cable company sucks? Too bad, you get what you get.

This way of doing things is a huge part of why I left cable TV behind a decade ago and switched to streaming services to begin with. You know, back when Netflix cost you $9.99 and you could form your own cartel with your friends and pool your streaming services together like we were all still in Zuccotti Park.

But with the end of password sharing and the inability of most streaming services to land on a reasonable price point for their products, I can't help but feel like we are right back to where we were when this all started, and it's frankly exhausting. I just want to watch TV when I come home from a long day, maybe catch a Yankee game or a NYCFC match (it's been a tough year on both counts, sadly), and the last thing I really want at this point is any more choice.

I shouldn't have to think this hard about what I'm going to watch, which service I'm going to browse through, and what my password was for this service or that because I keep getting logged out when I sign in on another device.

I have a life now, full of long hours, family commitments, relationships, and friendships, and in the end, I couldn't even tell you how much I'm paying for all the different streaming services I'm signed up for and only use maybe once or twice a week.

Unfortunately, the answer is right there in front of me. I'm going to go crawling back to whatever cable provider services my pre-war apartment building in Brooklyn supports and sign up for a TV package that has a mix of sports, movies, and premium-ish TV (nothing prestige, but whatever).

Following the Great Recession, the US government's response was to let companies borrow money with a negative interest rate so that companies actually made money just by borrowing. This fueled rapid expansion in the tech industry as companies that struggled to make profits off their core business model were able to stay afloat because of this government-backed debt. In itself, it's controversial, but it's not a bad thing categorically, since it helps companies create a bridge to profitability that might not otherwise exist in the free market.

Now that interest rates are going up to combat inflation, however, every company has to scramble to actually have to make a profit on its actual business, and the only way to do that in media of any kind is to run ads and charge higher subscription fees. Like cable companies have been doing for decades. They do it because it's the only way it works in practice.

So in the end, streaming services will have to become just like cable companies. Higher fees, more ads, and lower production-quality content. The days of Andor and high-production TV shows that run for a season or two before getting canceled regardless of how many subscribers they bring in aren't long for this world, and many popular shows are already getting axed even now. It will only get worse now that streaming services have to actually make sure each show makes its money back.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.

Still want sports or local news? Live TV streaming services services like Sling TV and YouTube TV start at $25 a month and can stream most of the live channels available on your cable box with no contracts to sign, so you can cancel anytime. You can watch every live NFL game every week, for example, with no cable box required.

Even if you cut cable TV you'll still need a home internet connection for streaming. Many people get their internet as part of a cable TV bundle, maybe with phone service too. Often your cable company is the same one providing your internet connection, but sometimes you can shop around to find the best internet provider.

Make a list of the shows and channels you and your family watch regularly. In some cases you'll be able to replace your favorite channel programming with a streaming service such as Netflix or Hulu, but be aware that many current-season episodes won't be available immediately.

The best part about any of the services above? Unlike cable, you can cancel and restart service anytime without contracts or penalties. You can subscribe to follow a particular show, for example, and then cancel after the finale.

Do you use your cable box's DVR a lot? Live TV streaming services offer a "cloud DVR," but they do have some limitations compared to TiVo or the DVR from your cable company. They often have storage limits, shows that expire after a certain time, limitations on which channels can be recorded, and some even force you to watch commercials. YouTube TV has the best cloud DVR we've tested, and in most ways it's as good as TiVo, and most other services' cloud DVRs are solid too.

Thanks to on-demand, however, you might not miss your DVR much at all. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and others let you watch shows on-demand -- often the same shows you're using your DVR to record. And live TV services such as YouTube TV and Sling TV offer a lot of on-demand shows, and you can often pause or even skip commercials. On the other hand, every episode of every show might not be available.

One way to get around the high cost of local networks on streaming is to use an antenna. To qualify as a television, and not a monitor, a display needs to have an over-the-air tuner built-in, so you can plug in an antenna and watch broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS. Reception varies widely depending on where you live, however, and unless you buy an antenna DVR like the AirTV or TiVo Bolt OTA, you're restricted to live-only viewing.

You won't need that cable box anymore, but you will need some kind of streaming device to watch services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max. Maybe the app is built into your smart TV, maybe into your game console, or maybe you have to buy a new streaming device like a Roku or Apple TV. In any case you'll also need to connect such a device to each TV that's currently connected to a cable box.

Streaming devices are relatively cheap ($25 and up), and you don't have to pay the cable company every month to rent one. And with most services you can also watch on your phone, tablet or computer.

Sports fans have an increasing number of streaming options that show live games, but depending on which sport(s) you follow, the local team(s) in your area and how many games you want to watch, it can get costly. Channels devoted to NBA basketball, NHL hockey and MLB baseball teams, known as regional sports networks, are available on most cable networks but are rare and expensive on streaming services. These are the channels you'll need to watch most regular-season games for those sports (the playoffs are generally on national channels).

Live TV streaming service DirecTV Stream's $90 plan is often the only option if you want to watch your local RSN via streaming, although in some parts of the country a somewhat cheaper service (namely YouTube TV or Fubo TV at $65 or $70, respectively) will carry your channel. Coverage varies widely by sport, team and city, so check out our dedicated guides for more details -- including exactly which services carry your local team and how much they cost.

NFL pro football is a different beast. Those games are usually carried on local CBS, Fox and NBC networks, but you'll typically need an antenna or a live TV streaming service, or you'll have to watch select games on Paramount Plus or Amazon Prime Video -- the latter hosts Thursday Night Football exclusively in 2022. And of course you'll need ESPN, available on most livestreaming services, to watch Monday Night Football.

If you like to chat with friends in real-time during the game, or follow live games on Twitter or social media, be aware that streaming sports are often delayed compared to the "live" game on cable or elsewhere. The Super Bowl, for example, lags 30 seconds to a minute behind cable.

Cutting the cable cord can save you a lot of money but you'll need to do some planning to make the transition as painless as possible. It pays to get all your streaming ducks in a row before you make that final fateful call to your cable provider.

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