Cord cutting had a big year in 2015. Many think it was the tipping point from cord cutting being a small hobby to a mass movement that will only keep growing.
2015 was full of new services and new devices with every major streaming set-top box manufacturer coming out with at least one new device and many new companies joining in. So let’s take a quick look back at what was a busy year in cord cutting.
ESPN, HBO & More Available Without Cable
You cannot talk about 2015 and cord cutting without talking about the Sling TV. Sling TV was announced at CES in January and quickly took the US by storm. For the first time cord cutters could legally get access to great networks like ESPN without a long-term contract.
Sling TV’s success was quickly followed by other new standalone streaming services, like HBO NOW and Showtime Anytime, that allow cord cutters to watch content that once was only available with a cable subscription.
Other services, like Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon, saw a huge amount of growth—from original award-winning content to new deals with companies like Disney, Discovery, and FX. Cord cutters can now get access to more content than ever before.
A Slew of New & Improved Streaming Devices
Cord cutters often pride themselves on the fact that we have a great selection of content. Well now we have an even better selection of devices to play the content on. 2015 offered the biggest line up of new devices for cord cutters by far that I can remember.
The year started out with an updated set of Rokus: the new Roku 2 and Roku 3 with faster speeds for the same price.
Later in 2014 came a ton of new devices. The new Apple TV came out and that some badly need updates to the Apple TV. That was quickly followed by the new Fire TV and Roku 4. Both the new Fire TV and Roku 4 offered 4K video faster speeds and better Wi-Fi.
Over The Air TV Continues to Expand
2015 was also a huge year for over-the-air content with 5 new channels released and more channels coming to new areas. Since the shift to digital OTA TV there is now more content than ever available to cord cutters. With the purchase of a small, cheap antenna many Americans can enjoy 20 or more channels for free and often in great HD.
Microsoft Brings Over-the-Air TV to Xbox One with Mohu
One of the most requested features from the Xbox One gaming community was for Microsoft to bring over-the-air TV capabilities to the device. Already capable of streaming popular services like Netflix, Hulu, and more, the addition of OTA TV in May meant that the Xbox One could serve as an all-in-one gaming and cord cutting machine.
These are just a few of the big stories of 2015. It was a great year to be a cord cutter because it is now easier than ever to stream your content legally online. 2016 looks to be exciting with more channels like ESPN dropping hints about releasing services similar to HBO Now.
If you have ever thought about cord cutting, now may be the time to give it a try.
