Depending on how you look at it, cord-cutting can either be extremely straightforward or remarkably complex.

I often hear from folks who see it the latter way, and for understandable reasons. It seems like every week, there are new streaming services to consider, more devices to choose from, and big changes to the options that already exist. The deeper into those weeds you get, the scarier cord-cutting starts to seem.

So, maybe it’s time to zoom out and consider a simpler approach. Instead of agonizing over every possibility, I suggest not overthinking the matter. Nothing is permanent in the world of cord-cutting anyway, so you might as well dive in and start figuring things out through first-hand experience. Over at TechHive, I've boiled the process down to three simple steps.

The future of TV news: Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Alex Weprin has an interesting read on how CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC are trying to navigate the rise of cord cutting without blowing up their cable TV businesses. And each network is handling it differently: Fox News recently announced that new episodes of its primetime shows steam on Fox Nation—a separate, $6 per month streaming service—the day after airing on cable. CNN is trying to build a a live and on-demand news service that exists in parallel to CNN's cable channel. NBCUniversal, meanwhile, has been funneling some of its MSNBC hosts over to Peacock to create new programming.

In all cases, the networks are stopping short of making their cable feeds available outside of big TV bundles, lest they jeopardize the lucrative carriage fees they get from pay TV providers. It's no different from how ESPN+ exists in parallel to the ESPN proper, or how Discovery+ doesn't include live feeds of Discovery's cable channels.

But over time, those lines will inevitably blur. There's no shortage of streaming news options that aren't beholden to cable, so in the same way that Netflix forced entertainment channels to unbundle more of their best shows, cable news networks will face pressure to make their streaming offerings more substantial. The transition should be fun to watch whether you care for cable news or not.

The price of regional sports: As Sinclair continues to tease out plans for a standalone regional sports streaming service next year, the New York Post reports on a possible price tag of $23 per month. At least that's what Sinclair has been telling potential investors as it asks them to throw money into the new venture.

I'm not at all surprised by that price, nor do I think it's unreasonable given that AT&T TV's $85 per month bundle is the only way to stream Sinclair's Bally Sports channels today. Without non-sports fans subsidizing the cost, sports channels will have to be a lot more expensive, and that's the way it probably should be.

The Apple TV's next update: Earlier this week, Apple held its annual WWDC conference, where it teased some neat new features coming to Apple TV. Most notably, you'll be able to watch synchronized video with friends while chatting through Facetime on an iPhone or iPad. While services like Scener and Teleparty have offered this kind of synchronized viewing for a while now, Apple's SharePlay turns it into a system-level feature on iOS, where you can easily use AirPlay to send the video over to an Apple TV streaming box.

Also intriguing: Apple TV apps will support signing in through Face ID on an iPhone, and if you set up user profiles, the Apple TV app will offer hybrid recommendations when multiple people are watching. (I've wanted streaming services to embrace this concept for years.) Apple TV will support spatial audio through AirPods as well for simulating a private surround sound system in your ears.

While none of those updates fundamentally change the basic act of watching TV, they may help the Apple TV stand out a bit more compared to cheaper streaming players. Look for them to arrive with tvOS 15 in the fall.

Once again, Costco is taking $9 off the new Apple TV 4K, bringing the price to $170 with 32 GB of storage. A major discount, this is not, but it's better than nothing for a device that seldom goes on sale. If you don't mind spending this much on a streaming player, I think it's great.

Meanwhile, the Roku Ultra is also on sale for $70, which is $30 off the regular price. It's the only Roku player with Dolby Vision support, and it has lots of other bells and whistles not found in cheaper models, including Bluetooth for playing audio from your phone, a headphone jack in the remote for private listening, two programmable remote buttons, a USB port for local media playback, and a remote finder feature. Costco is also bundling the Roku Streaming Stick+ with the Roku Ultra for a total of $100.

Thanks again for considering a subscription to Advisorator, for tuning into Cord Cutter Weekly, and for giving me the opportunity to create these two publications in the first place. I'm always happy to hear your questions and comments, so just reply to this email to get in touch.

Until next week,

Jared