Looking at TV options as of Feb 2020 (yes, again!) - here is why:

[bbodb1]

I know this subject has been discussed at length around here in the past few months, but with the recent changes (improvements?) in streaming options, it might be worth a review of recent choices to see if people are happy with any recent changes OR if they have found a new (recent) offering that may be worth considering.

In the interest of full disclosure, I currently have the following streaming viewing options:

• Hulu (although I just paused it for a few months to do this review of choices) - the ad free version. Cost a bit over $13 per month.
• Prime Video (included with Amazon Prime membership) - cost $119 per year (or right at $10 per month) but includes more than just video (photos, music, free 2 day shipping to name a few) Edit: I also use the channel option in Prime Video to watch CBS All Access. PV has an increasing number of channel options one can subscribe to - similar (in a way I suppose) to a la carte options.
• Netfilx - current cost is about $4 month as I am taking advantage of a TMobile promotion.
• Sling TV - I was carrying this but earlier this week I cancelled seeing how little we used it.

Like everyone else, what one wants to view (watch) guides your options and choices. In our household, the following are considered as must have options:

HGTV, DIY, NBCSN, Golf Channel, and on demand options to watch content from these sources and/or the ability to DVR.

I'm looking at You Tube TV (and I know others have spoken highly of it), but the price point of $50 seems a little steep. But, I do see all of our must have options present there.
Philo was another option considered but it does NOT have NBCSN and / or the Golf Channel. But Philo is (by far) the lowest cost service I have found thus far.

I've also read that Hulu is offering a joint subscription with Disney BUT this is NOT the ad free version of Hulu (and you cannot upgrade the joint subscription offering to the ad free Hulu version).

Since a lot of changes can occur in a short time when it comes to streaming services these days, has anyone seen/read/found anything recently worthy of being considered?

 

[glenmore]

We have YouTube TV and love it and feel the price is very reasonable for what we get. Love that you can put the channels in the order you want! We also have Netflix and Amazon Prime. Works for us. So many choices

 

[klpca]

We just subscribed to YouTube TV but only for basketball season. We will drop it after the NCAA's. We use Netflix, Prime and an over the air antenna. We are not big TV watchers except for sports. Go Aztecs!

 

[Luanne]

I guess we are dinosaurs. No streaming stations for us. Our internet is not reliable enough, nor do we have the bandwidth to stream effectively. At this point I really don't want any more choices either.

 

["Roger"]

...
Like everyone else, what one wants to view (watch) guides your options and choices...

From what you wrote, my tastes are probably far different than yours, but the only streaming service I belong to is Acorn.tv. British, Australian, and a few Canadian shows.

Britbox is its main competitor. Britbox has far more British tv going back further in time, but I love many of the Australian shows. Acorn.tv is heavy on mysteries, but the Australian mysteries are much more to my liking. Often lots of humor and, unlike with too many of the British mysteries, not everyone is guilty and hiding something.

 

[bbodb1]

From what you wrote, my tastes are probably far different than yours, but the only streaming service I belong to is Acorn.tv. British, Australian, and a few Canadian shows.

Britbox is its main competitor. Britbox has far more British tv going back further in time, but I love many of the Australian shows. Acorn.tv is heavy on mysteries, but the Australian mysteries are much more to my liking. Often lots of humor and, unlike with too many of the British mysteries, not everyone is guilty and hiding something.

I will give that a look - thank you for the heads up, Roger!

 

[VacationForever]

We have FUBO as they are #1 in sports channels. I watch Golf Channel and FUBO is a must have for my husband because this is the only streaming network that carries PAC-10. The main thing that is missing from FUBO is ESPN.

We have Amazon Prime Video and Acorn.tv - add on to prime for $4.99 per month. We love British, Canadian and Australia shows and Acorn is the only service which carries Murdoch Mysteries. We watched Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries. Still Standing is another great light humor ongoing series about small towns in Canada by Jonny Harris, aka George Crabtree in Murdoch Mysteries. Most of what we watch are on Acorn.

We tried Britbox add-on for 3 months when we found Jonathan Creek and after finishing the series, we found nothing else which we wanted to watch and cancelled it.

We had Sling TV for ESPN but when our condo building provided "free" Direct TV, we cancelled Sling TV.

 

[Talent312]

A thousand channels and nothing on... (paraphrasing Springsteen).

I miss the days when we only had 4 networks (PBS, CBS, NBC & ABC).
And you had to get up off the couch/recliner to change the channel.

Naw, not really....
I like the variety, and conversing with various devices from my recliner.
.

 

[CPNY]

I know this subject has been discussed at length around here in the past few months, but with the recent changes (improvements?) in streaming options, it might be worth a review of recent choices to see if people are happy with any recent changes OR if they have found a new (recent) offering that may be worth considering.

In the interest of full disclosure, I currently have the following streaming viewing options:

• Hulu (although I just paused it for a few months to do this review of choices) - the ad free version. Cost a bit over $13 per month.
• Prime Video (included with Amazon Prime membership) - cost $119 per year (or right at $10 per month) but includes more than just video (photos, music, free 2 day shipping to name a few) Edit: I also use the channel option in Prime Video to watch CBS All Access. PV has an increasing number of channel options one can subscribe to - similar (in a way I suppose) to a la carte options.
• Netfilx - current cost is about $4 month as I am taking advantage of a TMobile promotion.
• Sling TV - I was carrying this but earlier this week I cancelled seeing how little we used it.

Like everyone else, what one wants to view (watch) guides your options and choices. In our household, the following are considered as must have options:

HGTV, DIY, NBCSN, Golf Channel, and on demand options to watch content from these sources and/or the ability to DVR.

I'm looking at You Tube TV (and I know others have spoken highly of it), but the price point of $50 seems a little steep. But, I do see all of our must have options present there.
Philo was another option considered but it does NOT have NBCSN and / or the Golf Channel. But Philo is (by far) the lowest cost service I have found thus far.

I've also read that Hulu is offering a joint subscription with Disney BUT this is NOT the ad free version of Hulu (and you cannot upgrade the joint subscription offering to the ad free Hulu version).

Since a lot of changes can occur in a short time when it comes to streaming services these days, has anyone seen/read/found anything recently worthy of being considered?

I have YouTube and I absolutely love it. Before curing the cable i only watched a few stations. Once I got YouTube to i watch so many more stations I never watched before. There is another option depending on your cell carrier. I have ATT. With the premium you get the watch att all free which has over 40 cable channels free as part of my cell service. So around 10 channels i don’t get on YouTube tv I get on the watch atTV app.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We watch very few channels, yet we pay through the nose for it. I want to end Dish but need Rick to help me figure it all out.

 

[Bucky]

Our original foray Into streaming did not go well. We had a Tablo to record our shows on network tv and finally settled on PS Vue, which is now gone or going soon. We tried SlingTV and it was on par with PS Vue but with both we were always having technical problems of one type or another! The real problem was that nobody wanted to take responsibility for any problems. Internet provider claimed it was tv providers fault, tv provider claimed it was Roku or Apple TV fault, etc,etc,etc.

Thuss, we ended up going back with DISH Network on a two year price lock at a very good rate for our needs. Problem is that that rate is up 6-7 moS from now and it’s time to look at this junk again! Our channel needs are much more specific than most. We need all the locals because we DVR many network evening shows. We watch nothing live except the evening news. We also need/want the Hallmark channels, the Food Network, Cooking, Golf, History, ESPN, FS1, BBC America, HGTV, DIY,FYI, Travel, USA, TNT, Bravo, AHC and Oxygen channels.

The only way to cover all of our needs is with two services, YouTubeTV and Philo. What’s funny to me is even using these two services it’s still cheaper than what we are currently paying DISH on a promo rate! Once the normal rate for DISH kicks in in October the streaming services will be significantly cheaper.

 

[paxsarah]

YouTube TV has drifted upward in price since we first subscribed, but it’s a very good service. The usability is very good and unlimited DVR is excellent.

 

[presley]

'm looking at You Tube TV (and I know others have spoken highly of it), but the price point of $50 seems a little steep.

We tried it and I hated it because they force you to watch commercials on prerecorded shows. You can watch liveTV without commercials, but if you want to watch an old movie that isn't streaming live, you are forced to have a 2-3 minute commercial break several times. We're very used to recording everything that we want to watch on Directv and FF the commercials. I won't even watch anything that doesn't have that option.

I've also read that Hulu is offering a joint subscription with Disney

There's a discounted combo. I purchased the 3 years of Disney + before it came out. It was on some type of special of $100 and something for the 3 years. If you want Disney +, I'd go with a monthly version and cancel when you are done watching whatever you want to watch on there. It's very limited and after a couple months, we're pretty much done with it.

 

[WinniWoman]

We have internet TV (with a box) in our new home with Atlantic Broadband ($135 plus tax per month- steep imo). We get like over 200 channels including EPIC and Showtime but still nothing on. We also have Amazon Prime ($139 per year?) and we subscribe to The Blaze TV ($10). We use mostly Amazon Prime for movies and hubby likes FOX news and METV. Once in a while he watches something on Paramount.

I watch HGTV and a show on The Blaze occasionally, plus maybe once or twice a week a movie on Amazon prime. We have ONE TV I might add. The package includes TIVO which I could care less about and don't know how to use anyway. Hubby loves the voice controlled remote to switch channels.

This week we are having Best Buy come in to install a new Samsung 55 inch TV on the wall with a new JDL bluetooth soundbar system, as our 42 inch broke just before our first move to the rental this past Fall. Costing a fortune (imo) but we can'y do it ourselves.

I could live with a really cheap, basic TV internet/streaming lineup, but Hubby cannot, even though he basically watches the same stuff over and over again, reruns and all. I cannot live without good internet service, though.

 

[Timeshare Von]

I don't like where technology is taking our viewing options. We have ATT Uverse, with a midrange tier costing us $155/month, which also includes our internet service in the house. Every time I have to update our "package agreement" I get frustrated having to negotiate the rate down. At some point, we'll cut the cord . . . but for now, it's the lesser of the evils.

I would love to follow more bowling "live" as well as on recorded services, but there has been several new offerings, which simply add to the cost of wanting to following bowling . . . from youth events, to collegiate to professional. Our sport's national governing body (USBC) offers one service for $80/year (or just for a weekend or monthly basis for those who just want to want their kids/friends in a particular event). Another service covering the professional level is Flo, which I believe runs about $150/year . . . also with a monthly option.

As much as I'm interesting in watching bowling live, I just can't get over having to pay for it.

 

[paxsarah]

We tried it and I hated it because they force you to watch commercials on prerecorded shows. You can watch liveTV without commercials, but if you want to watch an old movie that isn't streaming live, you are forced to have a 2-3 minute commercial break several times.

I’ve found this to be the case anything considered video on demand vs. DVR. This is pretty standard across services. If I record a show on YouTube TV, I have to make sure I choose the DVR version rather than the VOD version so I can skip the commercials. This was true for us on Sling and even back when we had normal cable.

 

[mjm1]

We dropped DirectTV and subscribed to Hulu + Live TV and it has worked well for us. The main channel that we don’t get is the NFL Network, but I was the only one who watched it. Now I catch the NFL Live show on ESPN. We get CBS Sports as well as NBC Sports Bay Area and California. We can record shows, watch them when we want and skip commercials. We also subscribe to Netflix. So far we like what we have.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[bogey21]

I'm stuck with Spectrum (used to be Charter Cable) as my CCRC pays all but $22.60 per month. Plenty of channels and the price is right but the signal is not what it should be from time to time. On the other hand their Customer Service is great...

George

 

[rapmarks]

I am going to need to find something when we go north for the summer as the cable we have is unbelievably unreliable and we are not even getting network stations with it.
biggest concern is ease of use. My hasband barely can operate a remote.
he would want golf channel, news stations, and sports stations. I want network, news stations, and a few others. We have disconnected our antenna and it doesn’t work that well. We also have four TVs and often use two at the same time

 

[b2bailey]

I guess we are dinosaurs. No streaming stations for us. Our internet is not reliable enough, nor do we have the bandwidth to stream effectively. At this point I really don't want any more choices either.

I'm glad this post was started. At time of other thread, I was still connected to cable and after a lifetime of it, the description of other methods sounded like Greek to me. Since that time, Spectrum raised my monthly cable bill to nearly $200 per month. I said "I'm not going to pay that much for TV." So I cancelled all but internet (at a cost of $75/mo).

Fortunately my neighbor was feeling the same, and was one step ahead of me. She had an Amazon Fire Stick and showed me how it works. Easy Peasy. And yes, sometimes I like asking Alexa to help me.

That was nearly 6 months ago. I'm never going back. I received a call from Spectrum after I returned my cable box, offering lower monthly price.I said, you wouldn't budge on the price when I was a customer, so NO thank you.

I've tried a variety of services, accessed through the fire stick menu. Did some free trials. Have settled on the ad free HULU. I don't mind having to wait until the next day to see This is Us. And actually like it better because there is no need to fast forward through commercials -- there are no commercials.

I recently made a $10 monthly donation to PBS and can now watch any public television station I want. I only recently learned the channels chose their programs, not all the same.

Lastly, I intentionally do not have Prime. And after watching the recent Frontline special, it only served to reinforce the reason why.

From that show -- totally off topic but I can't resist. After paying his wife $39 Billion Dollars in divorce settlement, Bezos is still the richest man on earth.

 

[SteelerGal]

We have Prime and Netflix. I use Prime to get Britbox, Acorn, MHz, PBS and a Kidz Channel. We also did the HULU/Disney/ESPN package. We could cut cable but Hubs is a dinosaur and refuses to cut.

 

[pittle]

We have SlingTV - it now has 5 hours free DVR included now. We have not used it yet. We also have Amazon Prime, but Prime Video does not count for us because we order a lot of stuff and the free shipping covers the TV portion. We got Netflix free when we changed cell carriers (saved $65 in cell phone cost for 2 old folks and got more benefits - including Netflix for 2 devices).

We like Sling because we live in AZ and are huge Kansas Jayhawk fans - so we need ESPN channels as most KU games are on those. I love HGTV & DIY + Hallmark channels. (I worked at Hallmark for 29 years) So we have Sling Orange with the $5 extra for the package that includes Hallmark and DIY channels. We get all the local channels using HD Antennas - one for each TV. It is significantly less than we paid for Cox cable TV. We have Roku boxes that connects to Prime & Netflix on 3 of our TV's.

We pay $35 per month for Sling with the DIY and all the Hallmark Channels. We mostly watch ESPN, HGTV, DIY, Food Network & the Hallmark Channels. Super high speed internet costs us $112 per month. We would have that even if we did not have TV service.

 

[vacationhopeful]

My house in the woods (aka AS IN MY AVATAR picture) is a bit less than 100 miles west of NYC …. uses a digital antenna for about 15+ TV channels). I survive. and spent my cable savings for my electric bill.

My house which I have cable to get internet, has fewer than 15 channel and a $100 a month bill for internet and cableTV for 2 boxes for TV.

And that is called retirement and living well.

 

[pittle]

Our original foray Into streaming did not go well. We had a Tablo to record our shows on network tv and finally settled on PS Vue, which is now gone or going soon. We tried SlingTV and it was on par with PS Vue but with both we were always having technical problems of one type or another! The real problem was that nobody wanted to take responsibility for any problems. Internet provider claimed it was tv providers fault, tv provider claimed it was Roku or Apple TV fault, etc,etc,etc.

Thuss, we ended up going back with DISH Network on a two year price lock at a very good rate for our needs. Problem is that that rate is up 6-7 moS from now and it’s time to look at this junk again! Our channel needs are much more specific than most. We need all the locals because we DVR many network evening shows. We watch nothing live except the evening news. We also need/want the Hallmark channels, the Food Network, Cooking, Golf, History, ESPN, FS1, BBC America, HGTV, DIY,FYI, Travel, USA, TNT, Bravo, AHC and Oxygen channels.

The only way to cover all of our needs is with two services, YouTubeTV and Philo. What’s funny to me is even using these two services it’s still cheaper than what we are currently paying DISH on a promo rate! Once the normal rate for DISH kicks in in October the streaming services will be significantly cheaper.

Check Sling Prices again. They have most of the channels that you want except for local channels.

 

[geekette]

I guess we are dinosaurs. No streaming stations for us. Our internet is not reliable enough, nor do we have the bandwidth to stream effectively. At this point I really don't want any more choices either.

Likewise dino.

I like simple. One bill, one set of listings, the feed plugs right into the tv. I'm good with that.

I also do not want too many choices. It honestly works against me.