Cord cutting basics and frequently-asked questions

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Congrats on taking the first step toward cutting cable or satellite TV, which is to figure out how it works, what exactly you need, and whether you should even be doing it in the first place.

This initial guide will answer all those basic questions, along with plenty of others that I’ve received over the last decade as a tech journalist covering this field. Let’s start with the most essential question of them all:

Should I cut the cord?

Cord-cutting is not the best option for everyone. Before you go down this path, here are some reasons why you might stick with cable or satellite TV:

• You’re getting a great promo deal: If your combined TV and home internet bill is less than $150 per month, cord-cutting probably won’t save much money without big changes in what you watch. (On average, though, TV alone costs well over $100 per month, leaving plenty of room to save.)
• You don’t have home internet service: More on this shortly, but adding home internet just for streaming TV will eat further into your potential savings. Cord-cutting works best for folks who have internet and Wi-Fi at home already.
• You’re inflexible: This is the big one. To cut the cord, you must be comfortable using new technology that is in many ways different from cable. You might also want to give up certain cable channels, sporting events, or TV shows to maximize your savings. The more you’re willing to adapt, the better time you’ll have and the more money you’ll save.

If you’re not ready, consider trading in some of your cable boxes and using your TV provider’s streaming apps, if available. That way you can get used to streaming and ease into making a full cut down the road.

Cord-cutting: The basics

Still on board? Here are the basic ingredients for cutting the cord:

• Streaming services: To replace your TV service, you will subscribe to one or more online video services. These can include on-demand video services such as Netflix, a bundle of live TV channels such as YouTube TV or Sling TV, or free streaming services such as Pluto TV and Tubi.

• A smart TV or streaming device: Once you’ve selected some streaming services, you’ll use a smart TV or streaming device to access them, similar to how you’d download apps on a smartphone. Most new televisions have smart TV software built in, but you can also buy a separate device, such as Roku Streaming Stick or Fire TV Stick, that plugs into any modern television.

• Home internet service: You’ll need an internet connection to watch streaming services through your TV, with required connection speeds ranging from 5- and 20Mbps (megabits per second), depending on video quality. Multiply that by the number of TVs you expect to use at the same time for a rough measure of how fast your internet connection should be for streaming. Yes, that means download speeds of 100Mbps should be more than sufficient on a strong Wi-Fi network. Cable providers might try to upsell you on faster speeds—especially when you threaten to cut out TV service—but you don’t need them.

• An antenna (optional): You don’t need an over-the-air antenna to cut the cord, but it can be helpful for watching local broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CW, and PBS—without an expensive pay TV package.

Frequently-asked questions

Next up: Understanding your streaming options

Coming up next on the complete guide to cord cutting, we’ll go over different kinds of streaming services and how to make sense of them all.

To the next section →