Cord Cutting Beginner’s Guide 2026: Everything You Need to Know
Cord cutting, canceling your cable TV subscription in favor of streaming, has gone mainstream. Over 25 million US households have cut the cord in the past decade, and the trend keeps accelerating. If you’re thinking about making the switch but don’t know where to start, this guide covers everything you need to know.
What Is Cord Cutting?
Cord cutting means canceling your cable or satellite TV subscription and replacing it with internet-based streaming services. You keep your internet service but ditch the cable TV package, saving anywhere from $80 to $200/month in the process.
What Do You Need to Cut the Cord?
1. Fast Internet
Streaming requires reliable internet. Minimum recommendations:
- HD streaming: 15 Mbps per stream
- 4K streaming: 25 Mbps per stream
- Multiple simultaneous users: 50 Mbps+
Most US broadband connections easily exceed this.
2. A Streaming Device
You probably already own at least one. Options:
- Amazon Firestick, $30–50, best value for IPTV
- Apple TV 4K, $130, best quality
- Android TV or Google TV, built into many modern TVs
- Smart TV, many have built-in streaming apps
- Phone or tablet, works fine for personal viewing
3. The Right Streaming Services
This is where most cord cutters get it wrong, they end up subscribing to so many services that they spend as much as cable. The key is to choose strategically.
A smart cord cutting stack might look like:
- KrushTV IPTV ($20/mo), Live TV, news, sports, 10,000+ channels
- Netflix or Disney+ ($8–18/mo), On-demand entertainment
- Total: $28–38/month vs $168+/month for cable
What Do You Get With IPTV for Live TV?
KrushTV replaces the live TV portion of cable entirely:
- 10,000+ live channels, news, sports, entertainment, local channels
- All major sports: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Premier League, UFC
- 70,000+ on-demand movies and TV series
- Works on every device
- $20/month, no contract
How to Cancel Cable
- Call your cable provider or visit their website
- Ask to cancel, expect a retention offer (decline if the price isn’t dramatically better)
- Return the cable box and any rented equipment
- You’re done, and you just freed up $100+ per month
Pro Tip: Try IPTV Before Canceling Cable
Don’t cancel cable until you’ve verified your IPTV service works for your household. Use KrushTV’s 3-day free trial (no credit card) to confirm all your channels are there, sports streams work, and quality is solid on your devices. Then cancel cable with confidence.