This week’s column: It’s a great time to threaten to cancel cable internet

Jared Newman   |   July 4, 2025
Photo by Markus Spiske via Unsplash

Last week, I secured my lowest price for Spectrum internet in years.

All it took was a call to Spectrum’s retention department, which is where you end up after telling the automated system that you want to cancel. After a mildly tedious conversation with an exceedingly friendly rep, my monthly bill dropped from $68 to $45 per month for the next year, and my speeds increased from 400 Mbps to 500 Mbps.

While I can’t guarantee the same results everywhere, in general it’s a great time to threaten to cancel cable internet service. For years, Comcast and Charter (which operates the Spectrum brand) have boasted to shareholders that growth in home internet more than offsets the collapse of cable TV, but now they’re also losing internet customers to faster fiber and cheaper wireless 5G alternatives. They are highly motivated to keep potential defectors on board, and you should take advantage.

Read the full column →

My biggest sale ever ends today.

If you’ve never been part of my Advisorator membership before, today’s the last chance to get your first year for $25, half off the regular price.

I started Advisorator in 2018 to help folks stay on top of technology and feel more empowered while using it. Here’s what that looks like:

  • Tuesday tech advice newsletter with expert insight, useful apps, hidden tricks and more. (I just wrote about going passwordless and my attempts to ditch Gmail.)
  • Online guides and tutorials on things like using a password manager, hiding your info online, picking a TV, and more.
  • Customizable deal alerts, so you can save money on just the types of tech products you care about.
  • Searchable archive of all my past cord cutting columns, plus an exclusive ad-free version of new columns going forward.
  • Members-only discussion forum, which is the best place to ask me your tech questions.

If you’re tired of sifting through the noise and just want direct access to someone who’s been covering personal technology for more than 16 years, Advisorator is for you. Learn more here, or just hit this button to get started:

Weekly rewind

Freevee’s last gasp: Back in November, Amazon announced that it would shut down Freevee, its attempt at a standalone free streaming service (with ads, of course). Now it’s telling customers that the app will stop working in August.

Not that it really matters. Amazon’s always offered Freevee content through the Prime Video app without a subscription, and that’s what people are more likely to use anyway. You’ll find the former Freevee catalog under the “Watch for Free” section.

More catch-up

Save more money

This section of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up subscribing to something.

If you didn’t jump on the free Paramount+ offer I mentioned last week, here’s a consolation prize: You can get two months of Paramount+ for $1 per month with promo code SUMMERSUN. This works for both the Essential and ad-free Premium tier, and is for new and returning subscribers alike (but not for existing ones). The offer ends on July 13.

Other notable deals:

Remember that I maintain a full list of active streaming deals on my website, updated on Fridays.

Thanks for reading!

And thanks again for thinking about an Advisorator membership—half-off for new members if you sign up today. Support from readers like you is what makes all of this possible. Learn more here, or just hit this button to get started:

Until next week,
Jared