Jason Snell:

I cut the cord this week.

After several years of very slowly inching my way toward the precipice, it all happened in a hurry this summer: A discovery that I preferred to watch shows via Apple TV apps, even if they were also available on my TiVo. The realization that other than “Jeopardy!” and live sports, everything I watched was streaming. Wanting to simplify my TV (and remote control) setup when a TiVo was stuck in the middle of it all.

Finally, I broke down and did the math: I could replace my Xfinity cable TV and internet with AT&T gigabit fiber internet and an over-the-top TV service. And, after swapping a few streaming service freebies (Comcast gave me Peacock, AT&T gives me HBO Max), I’d get faster internet and everything running on the Apple TV—for $65 less every month.

Back when cutting the cord was still new, the math was pretty easy. The choices were relatively few and to replicate your cable bundle, you’d spend more than you’d save.

But with the growing river of streaming options, that math has changed. You no longer need to replicate a bundle. Instead, you cherry pick a few things that are truly important to you, then add to the mix until you have more than you can possibly watch.

Though replicating the bundle is still relatively expensive, it’s easy enough and (as Jason point out) cost effective to grab what you need and add in enough to always have something interesting to watch.