Hulu Live vs You Tube TV vs Directv Stream

We tried them all and ended up
With Hulu. We found it easiest to navigate. We do pay for the DVR so I can tape live and not wait a day to watch shows. Prices have gone up so we don’t save as much as we did but still prob $50 a month and I don’t have to call and beg every 2 years for cheaper rates when direct tv would skyrocket.
 
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.
What kind of speed is that internet? I just had to call Xfinity since my 1st year contract had ended and they gave me 2 years of 200 mbps for $40 a month. I think they wanted longer contracts since a company is expanding fiber to the area.

We don’t have a traditional tv service. I went cold turkey and only do streaming. We turn services on and off based on shows available. Plus we have the antenna. Right now we have regular hulu for $1, Netflix, Disney + (3 year contract), HBO max, amc + (paid for a year for $15 after a special and an offer from Amex), peacock free from xfinity, and Funimation for the kids. $40 for all that and everyone in the house has plenty to watch.
 
My one complaint about Hulu is that they limit you on the number of times you can log-in on a tv away from your home (you can access it via phone, IPad - but if you have a 2nd home
Or visit someone frequently, you can only login on the tv ~3 times).
 
I have the following:
- Cheap indoor HDTV antennas for all TVs to pick up local stations. $10-$20 one time investment per TV. They generally work well, get a number of channels. But a few times a year I have to tweak the antenna placement to get the best reception - just usually moving it a foot or two does the trick.
- Cheap Rokus on 2 TVs, other 2 are Roku TVs. $30ish x 2 one time investment.
- Philo - grandfathered in on the old $16.99 a month plan, cost for new subscribers has gone up but it's still cheaper than most. No sports though for the most part.
- Hulu/Showtime/Spotify Student Combo = $4.99 a month thanks to a college student in the house
- Netflix=Free via TMobile cell plan (and the cell plan is only $35/month per phone on 55+ plan)
- Paramount+=Free via TMobile cell plan
- Apple TV=Free via TMobile cell plan
- I pay $4.99 for Peacock+ a month here and there to binge watch my favorite Bravo series. I wait for all the episodes to be done, then pay for a single month and watch them all, then cancel back down to the free plan. I pay for about 2 months per year or so.
- I pay for Amazon Prime a month here and there for the faster shipping. I binge watch any shows there I want during those months. I currently also get Prime at the student rate thanks to a college student in the house, so cost is $6.99 a few times a year.

Most months, my cost is just $21. I am going to miss it when DD21 graduates this spring and loses those college discounts LOL but honestly, I mostly watch the local stations or Philo. A little bit of the others here and there, but not a lot at all. Oh - and I watch a lot of PBS. Shows airing on the local channel can be watched on the PBS Roku channel free during the same week generally and I can also pick up the local station with my antenna.
 
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We have YouTube TV as well and have had it for several years. I don’t really use it, but my husband and kids are huge sports fans and they have been able to watch every game they wanted. They love it and we haven’t had any problems with it. For us, it has definitely been cheaper than bundling it with cable. We only have Spectrum here and they were about 80-90 more a month with a bundle.
 
We use Fubo. It's got local channels and national channels; suits us very well. We really only need a few sports channels, Food Network, and VH1 (for Drag Race lol). The plan is about $70/month.

Check your CCs for cashback-- on my Chase there's often a Fubo cashback offer.
 
We started with You Tube TV but switched to Direct TV Stream due to the Bally Sports issue with YouTube TV. We have been happy with Direct TV Stream.
 












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