Cable TV can be quite a rip-off. I dumped mine. I got a good amplified antenna for my TV at BestBuy. I think it cost $40 or $50. Also I have the Roku stick. My Internet access is through the federally subsidized low income program through my landline phone company. That costs me about $22/month, and it's fast enough (12 mbps) to accomodate the Roku stick.

The high def reception you get through just an antenna is impressive. I get quite a few channels. I also have a "smart" TV that lets me watch YouTube streamed from my wireless computer modem, using my inexpensive Kindle Fire tablet as an interface device. I'm finding out that there is a great wealth of interesting stuff you can get for free from YouTube.

My satellite provider wasn't a bad deal, but I got to where I couldn't justify the expense. Cable (as in "no dish" non-satellite cable) is just a scandalous rip-off of the American consumer. Something needs to be done about those providers. They charge, like, $20/month more than the satellite dish-style companies for comparable basic packages, and the reception has more issues, while the remote and user interface are less well-designed. Some apartment complexes won't allow tenants to have satellite dishes installed, forcing you to use cable cable. Those should be regulated like the virtual monopolies that they've become.