Mark Fawcett of St. Paul is about to become a “cord cutter.” That is the phrase used to describe those who cancel their cable or satellite TV, and swap in other entertainment sources at a typically lower cost.

Fawcett, for instance, is hooking up a newly purchased TV antenna for over-the-air broadcasts, while relying more heavily on streaming-video services such as Netflix and Hulu+, and selectively downloading rented or purchased videos via Apple’s iTunes Store.

“I am paying a ton of money for cable channels I never watch,” said Fawcett, explaining his primary reason for making the tech migration.

Fawcett is hardly alone. The trend was first noted years ago, when streaming video was in its infancy.

In 2014, about 7 percent of U.S. households fit into this category, up from 4.2 percent in 2010, according to a study by Experian Marketing Services. The percentage rises slightly for millennial households, and substantially — to 17.4 percent — for households that use Netflix or Hulu+.

The percentages might grow higher but for one limiting factor: complexity.

Cutting the cable cord and setting up the alternatives can be a complicated undertaking with lots of moving parts — including antennas, digital video recorders, streaming-video boxes and more. Sorting out which of many streaming services to use can be daunting, as well.

The move was a breeze for Fawcett, who runs the St. Paul-based Mac Men tech-help firm. For others, it can seem a lot easier to just stick with cable, even if it costs more.

Enter John Brillhart, A Fridley man whose company, Cable Alternatives, helps consumers identify and set up alternatives to cable-TV and satellite-TV services. Business, said Brillhart, is booming, with 10 to 15 consultations in customers’ homes a week.

“I’ve been a cord cutter since 2009, and people used to look at me funny,” Brillhart said. “But in the last couple of years I’ve found myself giving cord-cutting advice to my family and friends.”

That, he said, is how he realized there is “a latent market for a cord-cutting consultant. Most families need someone to personally connect them with all the options out there.”

He set up his company last year with the slogan, “I help you watch the TV you love for less.”

Brillhart typically charges $75 per consultation. For hardware installations, he charges $220 to $320, which includes the fee. These charges end up paying for themselves, he noted, since his customers save an average of $100 per month with cord-cutting setups compared to what cable or satellite used to cost them.

No one household is the same; Brillhart describes cord cutting as “a very personalized experience.”

But such setups tend to have a few factors in common. He’ll typically start by setting up an outdoor or attic antenna for over-the-air reception of basic channels in high definition. Often he’ll add a TiVo-branded DVR to record those over-the-air programs.

His customers are then able to fill the programming gaps with various streaming-video services via devices like Roku boxes. Services include Hulu+, which offers time-delayed streaming of currently airing shows, plus Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video with film and TV-show archives along with new, original programming like “Daredevil” and “Transparent.”

Results can sometimes be unpredictable. One customer insisted on being able to watch recent episodes of Doctor Who, Brillhart said. But when the setup was complete, the client became so mesmerized by Netflix programming that the favored science-fiction series became more like “Doctor Who?”

Live sports programming is a sticking point because much of it isn’t available without cable or satellite. Most of Brillhart’s customers decide that is a worthwhile sacrifice given all the money they’ll save. But, after a consultation with one sports-obsessed cable subscriber, Brillhart ended up recommending the status quo.

For some, sticking with the likes of Comcast makes sense, as the Twin Cities-dominant cable and Internet provider has added bells and whistles to its service to keep customers loyal. One all-new perk, a voice-controlled remote, interacts with Comcast’s slick X1 video-recording set-top box.

Comcast provides “choice, convenience, value, reliability, innovation and local service,” said Mary Beth Schubert, a St. Paul-based spokeswoman. “Our X1 platform has been a game changer for customers. We continue to roll out new features and options for our customers.”

But Brillhart insists that “with cable, the value proposition simply isn’t there.”

Fawcett of St. Paul couldn’t agree more. He loves how his just-purchased antenna will gives him access to the top commercial networks, Twin Cities Public Television and other channels, many of these in high definition.

He added that he has scant need for all of Comcast’s live channels since “I’ve tended to catch up on current shows using Hulu+. Also, I’m very busy with my work and my kids are busy with school, so we don’t watch as much TV, anyway.”

His bottom line: “We are saving money while using technology that makes our shows available in ways that make more sense to us.”