Cord cutting is getting pricier, but there's one sure way to keep it cheap

Jefferson Graham | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Even the exec who put on 'The Simpsons' cut the cord When even veteran network TV programmer Garth Ancier cuts the cable cord, you take notice. He explains why he did, on TalkingTech.

The days of saving money by cutting the cord from cable TV services may be ending.

Consider two events from this week. AT&T, which just got approval from the Justice Department to swallow up Time Warner, quietly jacked up the starting rate of its DirecTV Now cable alternative TV service to $40 monthly, from $35.

And Netflix, which dominates video streaming, began testing a new higher priced tier in Italy for watching 4K programming on 4 screens. The trial cost in Europe was 17 euros, which works out to be around $20 monthly. The four screen plan (like 2 TVs, an iPad and iPhone) costs $13.99 here.

And Saturday happens to be National Cutting the Cord Day, at least according to TV manufacturer TCL and antenna company Mohu, which say they are celebrating with a sweepstakes to give away 103 TV/antenna combos, as $103 is national average for the cost of monthly cable TV service.

Oh, if only we could pay $103 for cutting the cord services. Those days seem so long ago.

The original notion of cutting the cord was to ditch expensive cable TV service, which offers hundreds of channels, many of which we never watch, and to just connect the TV to the Internet for entertainment.

With a streaming player like an Amazon Fire Stick (which starts at $39.99) and a subscription to Netflix (we pay $10.99 for the two-screen, non 4K option) plus internet access, you theoretically could be paying half as much as cable TV.

But here's the fine print. Cable companies have gotten savvy to cord cutters and make it against their economic interest to cancel pay-TV. I pay $111 monthly for cable TV and internet access with Frontier Communications. When I called to ask about having just internet, I was quoted $70 monthly. (New customers get the same service for $30 monthly, for what it's worth.)

So say you don't want to go to the bother of switching services into your partner's name, and you start with $70 monthly for Internet. Add $11 for two screens of Netflix, and choose from one of the various cable TV alternatives to get access to local TV and cable TV channels. DirecTV Now and YouTube TV are both $40 monthly. So now you're pushing $121 monthly, and you haven't even started adding Hulu, HBO Now, CBS All Access or any of the many, other TV subscription services.

Rich DeMuro, the author of the new "101 Handy Tech Tips for the iPhone," and a consumer tech reporter for KTLA-TV in Los Angeles, says there's only one sure fire way to cut the cord and make it affordable. "Get an antenna."

You'll still pay for internet access, but will save on the TV service (YouTube, DirecTV) fees. "Most people only watch the broadcast channels, and if they want more and want to see a specific show somewhere, they can always just buy it." Apple's iTunes offers season passes on most TV shows for $29.99.

DeMuro likes the Mohu Glide antenna ($89.99), which worked well in his home and the Tablo DVR, which starts at $139. which allows for viewing of the broadcast channels and a slew of digital networks as well.

"The fact is, cutting the cord now costs as much, if not more than cable," he says. "The reason to do it isn't to save money, but to have a better TV viewing experience."

We've tried YouTube TV and have to agree. It's way better than cable, with a better interface, easier access to channels we like and the ability to watch the shows anywhere--on TV, the phone, in the car, at the office, while on vacation. But it's still missing some key channels, like PBS and TV Land.

And so it goes. Happy National Cutting the Cord Day!

In other tech news this week

An odd glitch was reported by users of the Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone whose photos were randomly texted to contacts. The company said it is investigating. Meanwhile, Samsung announced earnings this week, and they were weak, with revenues down 0.7%, which analysts blamed on slow sales for the flagship S9 phone. The Verge estimated sales of 31 million units so far for the phone. In just the second quarter alone, Apple sold 51 million iPhones.

If you feel creepy about having Google read your Gmail to sell you ads, something the company said it would eventually stop doing, what are your thoughts about app developers doing the exact same thing? This week the "Wall Street Journal" outlined how developers have access to our information, while Ed Baig jumped in to show how to easily stop the developers from snooping.

The Sonos company, which makes smart speakers for streaming music, looked to be in trouble just two years ago, when it laid off workers and switched course to focus on the Alexa/Google Home talking speaker market. Now, as it prepares to go public, the company said it sold nearly $1 billion of speakers this year, with 19 million products in total since it opened for business in 2002.

This week's Talking Tech podcasts

What's streaming on Netflix and Amazon in July: We run down highlights, include new seasons of Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," and Phil Rosenthal's "Somebody Feed Phil," travel series.

How to take great travel photos: It's summer, prime-time for camera buffs, so we run some tips on getting postcard-worthy shots.

Facebook is the most downloaded iOS app ever: On the eve of Apple's 10th anniversary of the iOS App Store next week, we look at AppAnnie's chart of the most downloaded apps ever.

Prepare for Amazon Prime Day. The made-up sales holiday is July 16th, but it's never too early to start getting ready. We run down our tips for how to save.

New iPhones may be colorful. A new crop of phones may have brighter hues in the fall. We tell all on this podcast.

Phil Rosenthal gets a tech tuneup. The star of Netflix's "Somebody Feeds Phil," talks his new website, and the second season of his travel series.

The tech week in review. KTLA's Rich DeMuro joins me on the weekend podcast to go over the top stories of the week, including the Samsung snafu and Google app developers reading our e-mail.

And that's this week's TalkingTech weekend news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here, https://www.usatoday.com/featured-newsletter/consumer_tech/, listen to the daily TalkingTech podcast, and follow me, @jeffersongraham, on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.