MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – For a number of years, cable companies have been attacked, denigrated and abused like silver martens in our salons.

Now, with Apple ready to view Monday another streaming entertainment service, get ready for possible negative reactions to the streamers.

We hate the cable because the rates keep increasing and we offer hundreds of channels that we do not want. Many of us would prefer to order pay-per-view channels and they will not let us.

So, why continue to pay the man when we can cut the cord and enjoy the television for free?

Here is a good reason: the cable only works. One could say (and I have it of course) that the experience of alternative cable services such as YouTube and Hulu with Live TV is visually better, with more options on how to watch shows.

Jefferson Graham remote control for cable TV (Photo: Jefferson Graham)

But they lack long-standing essentials, such as giving us the ability to scroll through a remote to find content to watch and broadcast beloved channels such as PBS, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. Streamers do not have everything. The cable usually does.

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More importantly, as expensive as cable is (I currently pay $ 110 per month, and this includes high-speed internet service), I do not believe that generation of cutting cables will continue to be able to save money in the near future.

I have no tangible proof of presenting this to you, but just the reality that one day does not seem to happen without another announcement of a new subscription service. And Netflix, Hulu and DirecTV Now have recently increased their rates. Clearly, there is more to come.

My instinct is that subscribing to a handful of services will cost more than what we pay now for cable. Especially when you consider the cost of your Internet connection.

Of course, you can cut the cord and simply watch free TV channels via an antenna without any subscription services. But who wants to do that?

Look who's behind the streamers

Let's face it: Many of the same companies that control cable companies and their services (Comcast, AT & T, Disney) are the ones that are growing in subscription services.

Today it's a handful like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. But wait:

Disney, which now owns 20th Century Fox, along with ESPN and ABC, plans to launch a new streaming service later this year. AT & T Warner Media has its own service in preparation.

On Monday, Apple will certainly join the fray to introduce a new entertainment subscription service, as well as another offering of magazines and newspapers at a media event on its campus.

Add Netflix, Amazon, CBS, HBO, Disney, Warner, Hulu and whatever number of services you want, and you could potentially benefit from higher data rates than cable. It's just the logic.

Streamer # 1 Netflix is ​​on a ripping, spending more than $ 8 billion a year on programs to feed his monster. Where does the $ 8 billion come from? You and me. Ditto for Apple and its programming budget estimated at $ 1 billion.

Back to cable: you turn on the TV and you get a clear and stable picture.

You never have to worry about buffering or slowing video.

When you want to find something to watch, if you're an old-fashioned TV fan like me, you have to do what we always do: scroll the remote dial, search for programs, or tap the menu guide.

I love streaming and the visual menu, but I miss scrolling.

I particularly like the fact that streaming services like YouTube TV allow you to watch TV, phone or tablets and you can continue to watch wherever you are.

Frontier, my cable company, says the feature also allows them to watch remotely through an app, but I can only get it to work if I switch to another cable box, which would cost me $ 120 a year.

It's a joke for me. And I still hate the cable company, like everyone else. A monthly television show fee and a sports tax of about $ 20, even when I do not watch sports? Not fair.

But it will also come in streaming, I'm sure. Amazon now organizes sports events, as does CBS All Access and Disney's ESPN streaming service.

The teams do not play for free. Someone has to pay, and that's usually you and me.

Readers: how many streaming services do you subscribe now? How much would you add? Let me hear you on Twitter, where I am @jeffersongraham.

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