A Year Without Cable, Week 6: Temptation

I wrote last week about how the summer season is probably the easiest time for a cord cutter. It’s because most of the high-quality programming takes a hike while viewers are spending more time outdoors, leaving your run-of-the-mill reality programs (singing competitions, dance-offs, shows about people who shouldn’t be famous, etc.)

But that doesn’t mean cable TV isn’t trying to tempt you in other ways. Whether it’s a sporting event that you can’t stream, or a provider offering a deal that makes your cord-cutting plan look expensive, there’s always some company trying to be the snake in your cable-free Garden of Eden.

I walked through Walmart the other day and was called out to by a DirecTV rep, who stood in the middle of the aisle. She asked me who my cable provider was, and fortunately, I had the excuse that I’d committed myself to a year of cable-less living for a writing project. But the package was cheap, and suddenly, I lost myself in a daydream where I was sitting in a big, comfy chair in the living room, watching NFL Sunday Ticket and, later, The Walking Dead as it aired for the first time.

But it would have been temporary happiness, tied to temporary pricing. The DirecTV plan would have been inexpensive just long enough for me to enjoy it, and then it would have bumped up, leaving me to either cancel and go back to my cable-free living arrangement or go through the trouble of switching providers.

It also would have guilted me into being on the couch at a certain time to watch a show’s first run, because why pay all that money for time-shifted content? Watching everything the next day means I might as well be cutting the cord. I could own that content, be able to watch it anywhere, and pay less.

I felt a tiny pull back toward that life with cable, but ultimately, I chose to walk away. I may be missing out on some things, but I still feel like I’m making out in terms of price and convenience. I’d much prefer cable companies work with us and give us a la carte channels and all-inclusive mobile streaming, but until that happens, I think going cable-free is the best way to cast a vote against the current system.

Cord cutters: have you felt the temptation to go back to cable? Let us know down below in the comments section.

(Apologies for publishing this week’s entry on a Wednesday, by the way. I’ve been playing with OS X Yosemite and iOS 8. We’ll continue to report on these, as well.)