Comcast loses more customers, claims other ISPs' cheap prices are "irrational" - Ars Technica

Translation: Our cr@ppy customer service and the fact that people realized our private pool is actually public is coming back to bite us in the buns. We are unprepared.

If you’re getting ready for the new NFL season but don’t know how to watch NFL games, here’s a quick guide. I’ve been an avid watcher for a long time, so I know my way around NFL streams, and decided to share my knowledge. Whether it’s regular season or the Super Bowl, there are a quite a few free options, so you don’t need to overspend on premium subscriptions.

Free NFL Streaming options by country:

• Australia – 7plus – Free (3 games per week + playoffs + Super Bowl)

• New Zealand – TVNZ+ – Free (3 games per week + playoffs + Super Bowl)

• UK – My5 – Free (2 Sunday games + Monday Night Football)

• US – Twitch – Free (Thursday Night Football, plus Week 1 Chargers @ Chiefs on YouTube)

• France – M6/6play – Free (1 game per week + playoffs + Super Bowl)

• Spain – Movistar Plus+ / Vamos – Free (select games)

• Mexico – Azteca 7 – Free (select games)

• Germany – RTL, Nitro – Free (select games, incl. primetime)

If you’re outside those countries, the games will be geoblocked. Luckily, with a VPN, you can connect to a server in an allowed region to unblock the content and watch it.

Here’s a step by step guide to access NFL streams if you’re in one of the mentioned countries:

1. Pick a VPN (avoid free ones, they usually get blocked). I use NordVPN (got it with a discount by using “FORUM” discount code, heard Surfshark’s also good, but there are many different options: check this Reddit made VPN table.

2. Connect to a server in the country you want to watch the content from.

3. Clear browser cache. Reload the browser window.

4. Go to the broadcaster’s site/app and stream the game you want.

Key NFL dates for 2025/2026:

• Regular Season: Sept 4, 2025 – Jan 4, 2026

• Wild Card Round: Jan 10–11, 2026

• Divisional Round: Jan 17–18, 2026

• Conference Championships: Jan 25, 2026

• Pro Bowl Games: Feb 1, 2026

• Super Bowl LX: Feb 8, 2026 (Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA)

Hope this helps anyone getting their NFL streams set up for the season. Personally, I’ve got my eye on a few contenders but who’s your pick to take the Lombardi Trophy this year?

REVISED - To include a copy of the excellent note that u/CaptinKirk sent to the FCC.

The FCC has reopened comments (deadline January 20, 2026) on letting broadcasters encrypt primary ATSC 3.0 channels — already happening in some markets and blocking HDHomeRun, Plex, Tablo, TVs without internet, etc.

The real harms that Antenna Man wants us to stress: • No internet = no TV (huge public-safety issue during storms/power outages) • Locks out network tuners (HDHomeRun, Tablo) and wireless viewing on phones/laptops • Forces expensive new TVs/set-top boxes on fixed-income families • Reduces competition and raises prices

File here (takes 1 minute): → https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express

Proceeding: 16-142 (no space before the number)

Also, if ZIP+4 gives you trouble, just leave it blank.

Copy/paste examples (straight from Antenna Man’s recommendations):

Short/personal version Proceeding 16-142

I rely on over-the-air TV with an HDHomeRun/Plex/Tablo. When stations encrypt their ATSC 3.0 signal, I lose access unless I have an active internet connection — which isn’t always possible in rural areas, or during storms or outages. This is a serious public-safety risk.

Please prohibit encryption on primary channels or require that encrypted 3.0 stations remain fully accessible without internet.

Longer/fact-based version Proceeding 16-142

Encryption on ATSC 3.0 primary channels is already causing real problems:

• Devices like HDHomeRun and Tablo cannot play encrypted channels at all

• Viewers without broadband (or during internet outages) are completely locked out — dangerous during emergencies

• There are no affordable network tuners that support encrypted 3.0 streams

• Forcing everyone to buy new TVs/set-top boxes will hurt low-income and rural viewers

Please ban encryption of primary program streams or, at minimum, require that any encrypted 3.0 channel be viewable on all certified devices without an internet connection.

ANOTHER OPTION: Another user, u/CaptinKirk, wrote:

I am writing to express serious concern regarding the implementation of digital rights management (DRM) within ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) broadcasts. While I understand the industry’s stated intent to protect content, the practical effect of this DRM is profoundly anti-consumer, technologically restrictive, and in direct conflict with the public interest obligations that apply to U.S. broadcast licensees.

In my home market, DRM-protected ATSC 3.0 signals are effectively unusable with consumer-accessible hardware. For example, my HDHomeRun device is fully capable of receiving ATSC 3.0 broadcasts; however, due to station-imposed DRM encryption, it is unable to access any local programming except PBS. This is not a technical deficiency of equipment. It is a deliberate broadcast restriction that blocks lawful reception of free, over-the-air content.

More critically, DRM in ATSC 3.0 prevents reliable reception of emergency messaging, including EAS data, when the device cannot decrypt the broadcast. This directly undermines one of the core reasons television spectrum is publicly allocated: to ensure universal access to vital information during emergencies.

ATSC 3.0 DRM requires a functioning internet connection to retrieve decryption keys. This creates an unacceptable public safety vulnerability. In many emergency scenarios, such as tornadoes, wildfires, severe storms, power failures, cyber outages, or network disruptions, broadband access is often the first service to fail. Under the current DRM implementation, consumers without an active internet connection cannot receive the encrypted broadcast, which means they also cannot receive critical alerts or emergency messaging that could save lives.

The public safety purpose of broadcast television is completely negated when access is contingent on a functioning ISP.

Over-the-air broadcasting was never intended to require internet connectivity for reception. The introduction of DRM fundamentally alters this principle by placing exclusive control of broadcast accessibility in the hands of private entities rather than maintaining open, unconditional public access. Local broadcasters utilize public spectrum, and this public resource should not be restricted through proprietary or internet-dependent mechanisms that block lawful viewing.

The FCC has long required that emergency alerts be available to all Americans without subscription, without specialized equipment, and without dependence on third-party services. ATSC 3.0 DRM, as currently implemented, is incompatible with these longstanding principles.

I respectfully urge the Commission to:

1. ⁠Reevaluate and regulate the use of DRM in ATSC 3.0 broadcasts, ensuring that it cannot impede access to free, over-the-air content or emergency communications.

2. ⁠Prohibit any DRM scheme that requires an active internet connection for decryption, device authentication, or access to EAS data.

3. ⁠Ensure that consumers retain the unconditional ability to receive all broadcast programming and emergency alerts using commercially available equipment, including tuner devices such as the HDHomeRun.

4. ⁠Reaffirm that the use of public airwaves must serve the public interest, not limit access to local programming or create avoidable public-safety risks.

ATSC 3.0 has the potential to improve broadcasting, but only if it remains accessible and maintains the foundational commitments of U.S. over-the-air television: universality, openness, and public safety. DRM, in its current form, directly opposes those commitments.

Thank you for your attention to this issue. I ask that the FCC act to ensure that over-the-air broadcasting remains a reliable and accessible public service for all Americans.

Every real-world comment counts. Let’s keep OTA truly free and open.

(Antenna Man video with full tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEf2Jot7ZQM)

Link to FCC filing stats for 16-142, suggested by u/DogeFantastic6705:

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/search/search-filings/results?q=(proceedings.name:(16-142))

Just to put things into perspective, here is the current Price list of streaming platform. 

• Netflix: Pushed Premium all the way to $24.99/mo and Standard to $17.99/mo (and let's not even talk about how they jacked up the Extra Member fees).

• Disney+ & Hulu: Bumped their ad-free tiers to $18.99/mo each. That makes the standalone ad-free bundle an eye-watering $32.99/mo.

• Max: Raised their ad-free Standard tier up to $18.49/mo, with Premium sitting at $22.99/mo.

• Paramount+: Just raised prices across the board last month, pushing Premium to $13.99/mo.

• Apple TV+: Jacked up their single tier by a massive 30% to $12.99/mo.

It seriously feels like every single time I open an app, there's a new pop-up telling me my billing cycle is going up. In fact, recent data shows that subscription video services saw an inflation rate of nearly 20% in 2025 alone. That's insane.

So, let's hear it. If you had to put one streaming service on the chopping block today, which one is getting canceled and why? Is it because a certain platform just doesn't drop enough good shows to justify $20+ a month? Are you refusing on principle to pay just to remove ads? Or are you just completely burnt out from the constant billing hikes?

Cutting the cord sounded like such an obvious money-saving move until I actually started researching it.

People online always say “just cancel cable” like it’s this super simple thing, but then you realize every single channel/show/sport is scattered across different apps and half of them want another subscription on top of the subscription you already pay for. I started trying to recreate what I already have with cable and somehow kept ending up near the same monthly price once live TV and sports entered the conversation. Listen I have a big family, and a lot of people want different things...

I mean I am getting there, making some compromises, but it ain't that easy, as some people here like to say.

I cut the cord, but now it feels like I’m juggling 5–6 streaming subscriptions instead. Out of curiosity, I tried setting up a small niche streaming setup using Muvi just to host the content I actually care about. Made me wonder — do you see niche/self-hosted streaming as a real alternative, or are the big platforms still worth it despite the cost? Not promoting, just curious.

For me, it's probably Netflix. The price keeps going up, password sharing is restricted now, and I feel like I spend more time scrolling than actually finding something worth watching.

I used to have Netflix, Disney+, HBO, and Prime all active at the same time, and still somehow spent most nights just scrolling.

At some point I realized I was paying ~€40/month for that, so I started rotating them instead. Now I keep one (sometimes two) at a time, watch what I actually planned to watch, then cancel and move on.

I’ll do something like Netflix for a month to catch up, then switch to HBO for new stuff, then maybe Disney+, and sometimes I just skip a month entirely if nothing looks worth it. If a show is weekly, I just wait until it’s finished and binge it in one go.

What made it work was keeping a watchlist (I use JustWatch), not subscribing “just to browse,” canceling right after subscribing, and checking what’s actually new before picking a service. Now I’m usually at €10–15/month, sometimes even €0 when the month's really busy with traveling or smth.

Do you rotate subscriptions or keep everything active? Or do you have “must-keep” services?

Everyone talks about why they left cable, but I’m curious what (if anything) do you still miss? For me it’s the simplicity of just turning on the TV and something is already playing without thinking.

Anyone else?

Honestly asking: with streaming prices going up, apps getting worse, and content split everywhere, is it finally worth going back to cable? Has anyone actually switched back?

Maybe I'm getting old but does everything need a subscription now?

I feel like every app, service, device, and website wants a monthly payment. It used to be "buy the thing, own the thing." Now it's $5 here, $10 there, and suddenly you're spending way more than you realize.

The worst part is when companies move features that used to be free behind a subscription and act like they're doing you a favor.

Am I just being cheap or is subscription fatigue becoming a real thing?

I’ve been using Pluto TV and Tubi a lot lately, and honestly, the library is better than some paid apps. I’m trying to keep my monthly bill under $30 by using more free/legal options.

Are there any hidden gems I’m missing? I’m mostly looking for stuff with a good user interface and fewer repetitive commercials.