Monday, June 30, 2014

Money Monday: The Downfall of Aereo




About 3 months ago, my husband and I were looking at our budget, and trying to find areas to cut expenses. One opportunity for savings was our satellite service. We were paying more than $110.00 each month to watch a handful of channels.

Through some friends, we heard about Aereo. That evening, we went to the site, signed up, paid $12.00 and we had streaming service. For us, it was perfect. We were able to get a few major channels that we wanted (ABC,NBC,CBS, and Fox) and did not have to pay for 80 channels that we had no interest in watching.

Plus, we were able to access Aereo on our phones, tablet, t.v., and computer. We are increasingly mobile, and we cherished the fact that we could access t.v. basically anywhere.

But, on Saturday, we received an email from Aereo noting the Supreme Court decision that made their business model illegal, and for the time being, they were shutting down operations.

Frankly, I disagree with how cable services are provided to us in America. We seem to have 2 options: buy everything or buy nothing for subscription based entertainment, irregardless if we want certain channels or not. That would be like going to the grocery store to buy grapes, but, if you want grapes, you have to buy every other type of fruit, no matter if you use it or not.

Why should I have to pay for the fishing,hunting, and golf channel if I never plan to watch them? I am not forced to buy brussel sprouts each month. I think they are disgusting and I will never eat them. Why would the government try to force me to buy something that I don't want?

In the end, the current system simply does not seem fair to consumers. It seems to benefit the big corporations. The Supreme Court made their decision, and we have to accept it.

Weigh in, what do you think? Any other former Aereo users out there?

2 comments:

Denise said...

doesn't teh supreme court have better things to do? grrrr.

I really dislike TV - I watch like soccer and maybe two shows. when I feel like watching TV - nothing on even on those 200 some channels!

Anonymous said...

I agree, I'm ditching cable when I move in the fall because I barely watch my TV now, but it would be nice if I could hang onto the few channels I actually watch shows on from time to time {Parenthood!} and major networks for football season. But I guess I'll be catching a lot of stuff at the sports bar or friends' houses this fall! I really wish there were some alternative to having to buy all the channels just to access the handful I watch