Hulu Live vs You Tube TV vs Directv Stream

[ski_mom]

I have finally convinced DH to get rid of satellite, but now I'm confusing myself trying to pick between all of the plans.

We definitely need our regional sports channel (I guess it's Bally Sports now - was always Fox Sports Midwest) and the network channels. Most everything else we watch on Netflix right now. We also have Hulu (cheap plan) that is currently included in DDs spotify plan somehow.

Just curious other's experiences with any of the major streaming systems. I see some of the packages come with some DVR-type storage, but I don't really understand why you would need that with the streaming services unless it's not truly on demand programming.

Thanks for any opinions / advice on the subject. Dh will never let me hear the end of it if it doesn't work lol!

 

[havaneselover]

I use YouTube TV (and have for 2+ years). It's great. I use the cloud dvr to tape the news in the morning and fast forward through commercials while I'm working out. I also think with on demand you can't skip the commercials, but I'm not certain.

And I originally picked YouTube TV because it had the news channel I wanted, local networks (although I really don't watch network TV anymore), Bravo, and ESPN for ds. They added Discovery after I started using them so I occassionally watch HGTV.

 

[kanerf]

All of these have trial plans that last 7 days or so, try them out and see which one has the channels you watch. I use YouTube TV myself.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I've used them all, and after they've all raised their prices a few times, I ended up right back where I started... in the Comcast bundle. Paying for Internet + streaming TV wasn't any cheaper than just paying for normal cable in a bundle with the internet bill.

 

[dclpluto]

I've used them all, and after they've all raised their prices a few times, I ended up right back where I started... in the Comcast bundle. Paying for Internet + streaming TV wasn't any cheaper than just paying for normal cable in a bundle with the internet bill.

yep I looked at it to. Not really cost effective until we retire and get a second home.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

Yeah if you’re not just going to an antenna for local tv then you aren’t going to be saving much.

 

[Psychodisney]

Yeah if you’re not just going to an antenna for local tv then you aren’t going to be saving much.

Not true. We switched to YouTube about 1.5 years ago. Yes, we still pay for internet ( approx $90) from Xfinity. Youtube is $65. Our Xfinity used to be $215 combined. Bonus for us, we can log into Youtube TV at our second home. So, even more savings there.

 

[havaneselover]

Not true. We switched to YouTube about 1.5 years ago. Yes, we still pay for internet ( approx $90) from Xfinity. Youtube is $65. Our Xfinity used to be $215 combined. Bonus for us, we can log into Youtube TV at our second home. So, even more savings there.

I think my savings has decreased, but I'm still saving money. A big part of that is because there's no equipment to rent. Even if it were the same price, I prefer YouTube TV to Fios. The cloud dvr is great.

 

[camreesmom]

We switched to FuboTV because Directv was just getting out of hand.

 

[SteveH]

@camreesmom we're dropping Hulu in favor of Fubo - doesn't matter much to me but wife like the channel line up better and less expensive.

 

[ski_mom]

Thanks for all the replies so far! I do like the idea of trying them out with their trial offers.

I know the costs add up, but I figure we'd have to have the internet anyway because we log onto our computers for work and fun at home all of the time too. So even if we stuck with satellite, we'd still have the internet costs.

 

[_19disnA]

Make sure to get them to tell you the price AFTER the trial offer is up. Many are cagey about telling you the actual prices beyond the promotional rate. If they claim they don't know what the price will be 6 months from now, ask them to tell you the price for those paying TODAY. If they won't tell you, then best to find someone else as your provider.

 

[sheilafri]

Another vote for YouTubeTV. We’ve used it for a couple years now and have several friends who have switched on our recommendation. We save a couple hundred dollars a year at our primary residence. It’s a couple thousand when we add in that we have dropped cable at our vacation home as it travels with us. We did buy Roku for our non-smart TVs and love the intuitive interface. We now rotate in and out of various streaming channels for added variety and to check out the latest big shows.

 

[dclpluto]

Not true. We switched to YouTube about 1.5 years ago. Yes, we still pay for internet ( approx $90) from Xfinity. Youtube is $65. Our Xfinity used to be $215 combined. Bonus for us, we can log into Youtube TV at our second home. So, even more savings there.

yes if you have a second home it’s worth it but if not you don’t save that much.

 

[TDSAXX]

I think my savings has decreased, but I'm still saving money. A big part of that is because there's no equipment to rent. Even if it were the same price, I prefer YouTube TV to Fios. The cloud dvr is great.

You hit the nail on the head the big difference is what you save on equipment rental. The other nice thing about YouTube TV is you can pause it. We usually pause it for 3-4 months in the summer as there’s less to watch and we are outdoors enjoying the weather.

 

[bdgrbckr13]

I noticed you mentioned Bally sports. At least in my area Bally is not available on YouTube TV. My BIL was looking at switching but said his wife would kill him if they couldn't get the Brewers games.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

Ditched Directv 2 months ago for YouTube. Savings about $50/mo. Minor inconvenience is that recording a show you can’t just do new episodes like on Directv. It records all episodes so sometimes in your library you see old these old episodes, but it’s unlimited storage. The biggest pro is no receiver hooked up to tv. Everything is now on my Fire Cube, no switching between fire or receiver based on what I want to watch. No looking at another drive.

 

[elgerber]

I noticed you mentioned Bally sports. At least in my area Bally is not available on YouTube TV. My BIL was looking at switching but said his wife would kill him if they couldn't get the Brewers games.

This is correct. We swtiched to YouTube TV over a year ago we love it, BUT, they parted ways with Ballys/Fox Sports Midwest right after. I believe the only way to get Ballys around here is Comcast, and maybe Direct TV.

 

[mikehn]

It depends on how many tvs you have in the house

 

[ICF]

We recently dropped DTV, as our plan cost had gotten crazy and was up to about $125 / mo, which was AFTER a $60 credit we got each month. We had no premium services and had service on only 3 TV's.

I already had Hulu for .99 / mo from their black friday deal and are still under our 3 year initial sign up for Disney + until Nov 2022.

I signed up for Netflix ($15/mo) and got a great deal on ESPN+ ($69 annually....less $10 back from Rakuten and a 20% off offer on my Chase Southwest CC, which brought the actual cost down to about $45 for the year or less than $4/mo)

My kid gets free HBO Max through his college and we "borrowed" my in-laws cable logon in order to watch Bally Sports (aka FSMW) and the Big 10 Network....as you can't subscribe on a 1 off basis to either of those.

We also have the "free" version of Peacock -- but will sign up most likely next time they have a special promo and that will at most be $5/mo.

We have an Antenna to watch locals if we want local news or want to watch something on the major networks live....

So all up and in we are paying about $20/mo vs $125. That price will go up as we have to start paying again for Disney + (which we would have kept with or without DTV) and my kid will eventually graduate and we may or may not pay for HBO Max down the road.