Channels & viewing

[highstream]

Thanks for detailed reply. My OP mentioned “channel prices,” however inexact my generic use of that term is with regard to streaming, which are internet based (although Tennis Channel is the name of its premium internet streaming vehicle). However, in the other sense I was being exact — not categories but specific channels/sites. I’ve been looking at the other streaming services that have been mentioned, most of all of which have one or more important drawbacks for my purposes). My post here was to ask for help in how to get a sense of premium pricing with Roku, which I was not finding on the site. 

[Ello2022]

@highstream  As DB and myself have mentioned your going about it all wrong and you have yet to give specific details. The Roku channel store is just that. It’s a store to find channels. It’s not a pricing line up. I have now provided you 3 links with information. Read them and figure out what you want to do. Then add that channel from the channel store. But Google is the best place to start. Give me exact details of what you want and I will help you. I’ve been a cord cutter for years. You have yet to give full details. Do you want locals? Do you want a live tv streaming service? Do you want only on demand? Do you want only sports? Please give us more information. 

Before you cut the cord there are a lot of things to consider and a lot of things to go over. You need to be sure you have enough bandwidth to support all the devices in your home. You should have at least a 50 Mbps Internet connection. Next make a list of all the networks you watch and the shows you watch. Have a list of the networks you need and that works you’re willing to live without. Make a list of things such as live contacts and on-demand. Keep in mind you can also use an antenna if you have proper reception in your area. If you’re trying to find premium con tent pricing on Roku that is not the place to find it. The place to find it is on Google. I myself cannot use an antenna therefore I use DIRECTV Stream during the summer so I can watch my Red Sox on NESN. Won the baseball season over I switch back to YouTube TV. Are you looking to watch all the baseball games across the country? Or are you looking just to watch for local team? If you’re looking just to watch your local team then find out what network the games are on. Such as for me the Red Sox games are exclusively on NESN. So I know I need a service that offers The NESN network. NESN does not have a standalone subscription. So once again I will tell you that write down everything you want to learn. Search it all on Google. Sign up for it online. That download the channel onto your Roku and login. Cord cutting it’s not easy as 123. He will find he will not get all the networks and everything you have the table. So you will need to do your research on how things work what networks are available and how much they cost. If you provide me with some please details exactly what you’re looking for I will find a service anyway that works best for you. If you go to SupposeTV and put in your ZIP Code along with the networks you want to watch it’ll give you a list of live TV streaming services that will work best for you. CNET also have a complete breakdown of all the networks and what each life he needs streaming service has the offer

[DBDukes]

@highstream 

If I'm following you, and I'm not sure I am, there is no "premium pricing with Roku" for any channels or network or packages of content. Different services have different prices. And you'll probably pay the same price whether you use Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or Android/Google TV. Or any of the lesser platforms that are baked in to many smart TVs.

I'm kinda getting the impression you're thinking of Roku as something other than a platform for streaming. What Roku devices are, quite simply, are devices attached to TVs that either turn them into smart TVs, or turn them into different platform of smart TVs.

Side note: A Roku TV is simply a TV that uses the Roku platform for its smarts, nothing more. Other Roku devices attach to TVs (smart TVs or non-smart TV) via an HDMI port and allow you to use that for the "smarts."

The Big Four platforms I listed are basically all the same thing. Roku doesn't really do anything that the other platforms don't do. The primary difference is the interface and the user experience. But as for content? You'll find some small audience content that is Roku only, or everybody but Roku, or Android/Google TV only, and so on. But in general, most content is available on all the platforms.

What you're trying to ask is being interpreted differently, because I'm thinking your question is being answered. That usually means one of two things:

• You're trying to do something other than what you're actually asking, but cloaking the actual meaning with a generic question.
• You have a different idea of what Roku is than I (and most Roku users) have.

There may be other reasons, but in situations like this, it's usually one of those.

The question of how to find out what they cost is to look at them and read. Netflix is an example of a premium channel (app or service). How do you find what that costs? Go to Netflix Webpage and look.

Tennis Channel can provide premium content. How much is Tennis Channel Plus? Go to Tennis Channel Website and look.

And before you get irritated by that, keep in mind that Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Google/Android TV are really all the same thing. Like Ford, Chevrolet, Nissan, BMW, Toyota, etc are all cars. Just different brands with small differences, but all do the same thing. Same with streaming platforms. And you find the costs the same way on all.

Are you thinking Roku is something different than that? If so, what do you think Roku is? That may clear up some confusion.

[Ello2022]

@DBDukes  I think your on to something. I believe @highstream is under the impression that Roku is an alternative cable tv service. But a Roku is a streaming device like FireTV or Chromecast. It’s not a service. It’s a device with channels/apps to get you to services. But I think you are completely right. Often people think Roku is a service and not a device 

Spectrum TV = cable tv provider 

Roku = a streaming device 

[highstream]

Thank you for clarifying that. It explains why channel prices are not listed on Roku’s site. I’m just trying to figure out what the real costs for me would be for each type of service. My combined Internet/cable/phone Spectrum bill just went from about $170 to $230 a month, most of that from the TV portion, so I’m looking at the options out there in the context of the limited number of TV channels I actually watch. The Charter Spectrum service is actually fairly good, given that I live in a relatively rural or isolated mountain enclosed part of the country (southwest MT), where broadcast infrastructure system overload is an ongoing problem, at least until fiber optic becomes more widespread (delays for some channels to come up under certain circumstances).

[Ello2022]

@highstream  The links I provided can help you. I was paying $200 for Cox internet, phone and TV. I dropped tv and phone. Internet only is $65 and YouTube TV is $65. So I’m saving $70/month. But I know the networks I want and use. You need to decide all that. You can definitely save money but we have no idea what you want. Only you do. Each live tv streaming service offers different networks. Most have locals. But you need to make a list and do some research. You still haven’t provided any details 

[andyross]

Replacing traditional cable TV can save money, but it's also a bit tricky. Sports can be especially hard as few have any direct stream-only options. You may end up with a cable-TV equivalent like YouTube TV or similar.

Paramount+=CBS. The ad-free version gives you live TV including your local CBS affiliate. Hopefully, they don't block out sports.

Peacock=NBC.

Hulu=Fox and ABC

CW is free.

HBOMax includes many Turner network shows, and may end up merging with Discovery+ at some point.

And I would also EXTREMELY recommend signing up for services DIRECTLY at their own website whenever possible. Signing up through Roku may sometimes restrict your subscription to Roku devices only. Also, if you directly sign up, 100% of your money goes to that service, which can help keep subscription costs down for everyone. Even if you sign up through an app on a phone, it's likely Apple or Google will end up getting 30% of that subscription fee.

[Ello2022]

@highstream  The first step in cord cutting is knowing what you want. What shows, sports and movies you want and how you currently watch them. You haven’t given any details. Here is an example. 

I am a huge Walking Dead fan. It airs live on Sundays on the AMC network. I also needed TBS, TNT,  NBC, ABC and Fox. So I found a service that carriers those networks. I am a died hard Boston fan. I need to watch the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics and Sox. Bruins and Sox are on NESN and the Patriots games are usually on NBC or CBS. This is what you need to do. But if you are a Yankees fan and live in California you want be able to watch the Yankees on a local network. So you need to subscribe to MLB.TV

[highstream]

I watch in much varying degrees and thus over the course of the year find useful the following, almost entirely for sports (I get news & entertainment almost entirely in other ways)

CBS, NBC, ABC, the ESPN family, MLB, Golf Channel, Tennis Channel, FS1 & very occasionally FS2, CBS Sports Network, TNT & occasionally TBS, Root, WE (soccer), TRU (NBA TV hasn’t been available via cable where I am for several years)

Missing from the list and not necessary is the “entertainment” category, i.e., Showtime, which is mainly for when I’m bored, and a couple of the music channels Spectrum provides. 

[DBDukes]

@highstream 

For the cost of a one time Roku device purchase ($30, but go with the $40 or higher devices), you can begin some serious streaming now. It gives you access to a lot of content. See what's there that is free. Then decide what you need beyond that. And do you need it live or is on-demand (similar to a DVR) okay?

Once you get comfortable with using Roku and seeing what's there (during setup, skip all the options to add stuff), then you can decide if it's for you.

Is an antenna feasible? If so, you then have access to live local content, which can be a lot, depending on where you are.

Some people subscribe to a live streaming service. The more expensive ones include local channels,  and the cheaper ones don't have locals, which is why I asked about an antenna.

If you really need/want a live streaming service (not everybody needs or wants one), the Suppose TV tool helps you pick one.

Keep in mind that you don't need everything. And if you do (you don't, but okay), you don't need everything at once. You could subscribe to six different services, one month at a time (each service two months during the year) and watch more than you get from cable today, for a fraction of the cost.

There are a lot of ways to stream, and you need to find what works for you. It can be overwhelming, as it's a different way of doing things. But you can save a lot of money.

I have an antenna (I'm 40+ miles from TV towers so I have a large outdoor), so I get locals, plus all the subchannels (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, CW, MeTV, ION channels, Comet, 25 in all). I pay $49/month for Xfinity Internet. I have Hulu ($7/month). I have Amazon Prime (up to around $140/year now). And I subscribe to one other streaming service a month (HBO Max, Disney+, Discovery+, Paramount+, etc), rotating them ($5-15/month, average $10/month). That's less than $80/month.

I have phone from Ooma ($120/year + $7/month taxes), but there are other services that provide that. If you even need that, with cell phones more often being the home phone.

Spectrum should be able to tell you, or you could use the Spectrum Website to see what Internet only, or Internet + phone, costs. Read the small print for the price after any discount, because that's what you'll wind up paying eventually. For Xfinity, it's $49 for Internet.

You'll have to find what works best for you. What works for one person won't always work for another.