# The Cost of "TV" Channels - Streaming Gives Perspective



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

There is some discussion in many threads in this Forum over whether the cost of subscriptions for TV "channels" is worth it. Internet streaming services have given me a perspective on costs. I view Netflix et al. as "channels" and evaluate the cost per "channel" by the week. Whether "it's worth it" in my mind depends on the content we watch per week from the various channels. And subjectively, the ease of skipping commercials enters into my opinion.

I'm currently buying access to 25 channels from which I watch content for $130 a month/$30 a week/$4.33 a day (for details, see note below). I can't watch 25 shows a day, so trying to assign value received on a daily basis is impossible.But I can analyze the cost over a week:

$2.77 a week for HULU
$2.31 a week for HBO
$2.07 a week for Netflix
$1.73 a week for Showtime
$1.12 per channel per week to Dish for the 18 broadcast & cable channels from which I record and watch content
$0.96 a week for Acorn TV
$0.46 a week for Feeln TV
$0.00 a week for Amazon (note: if you subscribed to Amazon Prime only for the video it would be $1.90 a week)
Here my assessment of the value for the money:

HULU without ads was an experiment for me to see how it worked. If you subscribe to cable/satellite TV it's not worth it because of the lack of original content and I will be dropping it for now, though I may come back later when the original content grows or I cease to have any satellite or cable TV.
HBO, Netflix, and Showtime are expensive, but they provide access to excellent original programming and together a broad range of movies.
The cost per channel for the 18 broadcast and cable channels is reasonable even though some are worth more and some less when comparing to the streaming channels - it averages out particularly because we do watch a lot of content on the broadcast networks and in my mind the Hopper AutoHop ad skipping feature gives those channels more value than the cable channels.
Acorn TV is a bargain because we watch a lot of excellent programming from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada from Acorn TV.
Feeln probably is not worth it except it provides access to some "feel good" TV.
Amazon, for us, is a real bargain as we'd have Amazon Prime anyway.
I'm sure others have different opinions, all of which are valid as this is a subjective opinion. And as prices change, opinions may change.

_(NOTE: My basic Dish bill for AT120 with a Hopper and a Joey represents $4.83 a month/$1.12 a week/16¢ a day per channel for the 18 broadcast and regular cable channels I record content from through the year at some point. (The problem here is that to watch any one channel, I have to pay for all18 and a whole lot more, but I'm buying for the 18.) I'm also currently paying Dish $10.00 a month/$2.31 a week/33¢ day for HBO and $7.50/$1.73/25¢ for Showtime. If I did not have Dish I would have to pay more for them, but still could have access to them. I also subscribe to the following "channels" - Amazon at $0.00 per month/0¢ per week/0¢ per day (we have subscribed to Prime since it began and well before they had video), Feeln TV at $1.99/46¢/7¢, Acorn TV at $4.17/96¢/14¢, Netflix at $8.99/$2.07/30¢, and HULU (commercial free) at $11.99/$2.77/40¢.)_


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