CableBill

There is no shortage of winners when it comes to the surprising ascent of basketball star Jeremy Lin: the Knicks; Madison Square Garden Inc.; the fans; the NBA; Linsanity T-shirt sellers. But the loser has been Time Warner Cable, and its losing streak could last awhile.

Comcast just signed a major new deal with Disney that will give subscribers to the country's largest cable provider access to a ton of content across a range of devices -- not just TVs. Of course, those customers are sure to end up paying for it in higher cable bills.

Apple could be about to make TV buffs very happy. 2012's Apple TV launch may be accompanied by an Internet-based TV service for which viewers will finally be able to choose which channels they want without having to pay for hundreds they don't.

The next time you find yourself bellyaching over your expanding monthly cable bill, don't blame your provider. Blame ESPN, the biggest offender when it comes to basic cable, setting distributors back $4.69 a month for every subscriber.

Millions of TV lovers hit by the weak economy and fat cable bills are going old-school: They're using antennas. That's right: The rabbit ears your grandmother jiggled to tune in "I Love Lucy" can still receive dozens of digital channels on HDTVs. Here's how you can rule the free airwaves.

So you've got your cell phone, your laptop, your big-screen TV with movie channels ... and a really big bill (or two!) every month. Make no mistake: Those high-tech devices that keep us connected to the rest of the world are necessary -- how else would you read WalletPop, for instance? -- but they...

The next cable bill that comes in your mail could contain a belated bad start to 2010 in the form of higher prices. Not only are new offerings, like 3-D programming, on the way later this year but networks in general want more money for their programming. Fox, for example, threatened to pull its...

I'm all for public education, but yesterday's local school operating and capital improvement levy passage means my wife and I will have to come up with another $800 a year, or $66 a month, to cover the increase in taxes. This means it's time to look for fat to trim from our monthly budget. I'm sure...