“I like the idea of YouTube TV, but I want TBS.”

“I’m thinking about cutting the cord, and think Sling TV sounds perfect for me, but I don’t think I can give up CBS.”

I hear these kinds of statements from readers all the time. And I totally get it. I, too, used to be programmed to want — in my mind, need — specific stations. However, having been on the other side for a few years now, having survived the time when cable-less meant sacrifice was a given, I’ve learned a valuable lesson.

That lesson is this: If the thought of losing out on a handful of channels is the primary reason you haven’t cut the cord, then you’re going about the decision-making process in the wrong way.


The reality is that if ditching your cable company is something you’re actually serious about, then you should also be serious about reframing how you think about TV in general. By that, I mean you should be open, if not enthusiastic, about untethering yourself from someone else’s programming.

Maybe, if it helps, you might try thinking about cutting the cord as your chance at an entertainment awakening.

You don’t have to take my word alone for it. Regular readers probably remember Carol Manifold, who I helped cut the cord earlier this year. After all was said and done, the La Jolla resident told me that she noticed a marked change in her viewing behaviors.

Carol chose to skip the streaming cable alternatives altogether. Instead, she went with a TV diet of CBS All Access, PBS, Netflix and Amazon Video. As a result, she reported thinking “more actively” about what to watch, instead of mindlessly turning on the TV just to have it on.


“I’m making different choices,” she told me at the time. “I’m less in the habit of just watching TV. Sometimes I just read a book or go out in the yard.”

Interestingly enough, I, too, rediscovered the joy of reading a good book after severing ties with my cable plan. But that’s me. I’m not trying to preach about the value of reading, per se, but I do believe that the best content available right now isn’t tied to a cable provider.

As far as TV shows go, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu are making the best original material. Their Emmy award-winning shows are a sign of that, certainly, but so, too, is the office water-cooler chatter that almost never has anything to do with network TV. For what it’s worth, the Union-Tribune business section is currently buzzing about the Netflix series “Ozark” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Story-telling has never been better in audio format as well. I’m talking about podcasts, of course. And most of those are completely free. Plus, there’s a niche for everyone, not just people like me who are obsessed with true crime.


“Dirty John,” the new hit podcast produced by some supremely talented folks at our sister paper The Los Angeles Times and the podcast network Wondery, are as compelling a story as any available on any medium. I say that after having binged on all four of the episodes available; not because of any fellow newsroom cheerleading.

My point is this: Start with something you love. Not a channel or show, but a topic, genre or hobby. Then, go find it and consume it. You might even try my version of an elimination diet and start from scratch. Don’t default to your cable box. Give it up completely for a week or two and see what you gravitate to instead. Then, you can slowly add shows or networks back into the fold.

If you go that route before making your list of channel requirements, I think you’ll find the experience far more liberating. You should get to a point where you only turn to a streaming cable alternative — say YouTube TV, DirecTV Now, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue or Hulu with Live TV — as a last resort, and not your be-all, end-all TV product.

Otherwise, maybe this way of life isn’t right for you. And that’s totally OK, too.


To discuss all things streaming TV, join our Facebook group, SDUT cord-cutters.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin