Cable replacement is supposed to mean a smaller bill. Consumer Reports says the six big live TV streaming services, DirecTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Philo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, promise exactly that, “but their own prices are rising.” Look at the real monthly totals and some of them land closer to cable than the sticker suggests.
Take DirecTV, the old satellite company’s streaming service, formerly called DirecTV Stream. Its Choice plan lists at $95 a month and reaches about 125 channels, which makes it the cheapest tier with a good set of regional sports networks. Add the required $24-a-month regional sports fee and the $10 Gemini box rental and the bill is $129. The Ultimate plan, about 160 channels plus Starz, lists at $125 and comes to $159. The Premier plan lists at $170 and really costs $204. Unlimited cloud DVR is included. There are cheaper Genre Packs too, such as My Sports and MyNews, from $20 to $60 a month.
Sports and sticker prices
Fubo is built around sports. Its Pro plan, with more than 200 channels, is $89 a month plus regional fees, and the Elite plan, about 280 channels, is $99. A Sports & News package with ESPN Unlimited content but no entertainment channels is $65. Fubo is also the only service here that charges a fee for regional sports networks, up to $17 a month depending on location. It has been through a dispute with NBCUniversal, settled after the networks were pulled, and prices rose by as much as $15 a month on some plans. Its on-demand library is thin, and it lacks the Warner Bros. Discovery and A&E channels.
Hulu + Live TV offers about 100 channels, including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC in a growing number of markets, plus Hulu’s streaming library. After a price hike it bundles Disney+ with ads and ESPN Select for $90 a month; a Premium version runs $100. It has unlimited cloud DVR but lacks AMC, BBC America and NBA TV.
The cheaper end
Philo costs $25 a month for Essential and $33 for the bundle, which has more than 70 channels. It is a sensible pairing with an antenna for local stations, because it has none. It also skips live news such as CNN and Fox News and sports networks like ESPN.
Sling TV is the pick-and-mix option. Orange is $46 with 30-plus cable channels including ESPN and Disney but no local broadcasts. Blue is $55 with three simultaneous users and some local channels, though not ESPN. The two together are $70. CBS locals are not available at all, and ABC only in some regions. Everyone now gets 50 hours of free DVR storage, up from 10, and unlimited storage is $5 extra.
YouTube TV carries more than 100 channels, all the major broadcast networks, and a cloud DVR with unlimited storage for up to nine months. Its new lower-priced Sports plan is $65 a month, a sports and news bundle is $72, and an entertainment plan is $55. The biggest holes are A&E, CW, DIY Network, History and Lifetime.
Consumer Reports’ advice before signing up is to read each service’s channel list carefully to be sure the channels you actually watch are there.
Sources
- YouTube TV – Wikipedia
- 6 Live TV Streaming Services That Let You Cut Cable TV – Consumer Reports
- Video Streaming Services That Let You Cut Cable TV
