# Cord Cutting v.2



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

Alright, gents. I know it's been discussed before in an older thread we had going a while back. I figured I'd phrase my specific question like this:

Seems like YouTube TV is the way to go at the $65/month? Best bang for the buck for standard TV viewing? Or is there something else I maybe don't now about that I should look into?

I've had a very sweet deal with U-verse for the last 5-ish years, but this year they stopped letting me haggle with them like I'd done every other time they wanted to jack up my rate. My cable literally jumped $40 from last month to this one.


----------



## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

Sling is cheaper and has pretty much the same stuff. If you're password sharing, youtube TV may then be a better value.


----------



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

@Grizzly Adam, thanks. I'll read up on that one today.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Good topic reboot @JayGo.

I'm still on YouTube TV. It runs about $70 after tax. There were a couple content disputes last year, but otherwise I am happy with it.

I think Sling is cheaper because they don't stream all of the local networks. Their stance is they don't charge you for something you can get for free OTA.


----------



## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

We've had YouTube TV since it first came out and have always been happy with their offerings. The user interface is clean and it just works. My in-laws use our account too so it's a pretty sweet deal for everyone even with the price increases.

We also password share (not for long apparently) with Netflix, Disney +, and Hulu so we've got pretty much everything covered. It really works out great, especially with kiddos.


----------



## Grizzly Adam (May 5, 2017)

lbb091919 said:


> We've had YouTube TV since it first came out and have always been happy with their offerings. The user interface is clean and it just works. My in-laws use our account too so it's a pretty sweet deal for everyone even with the price increases.
> 
> We also password share (not for long apparently) with Netflix, Disney +, and Hulu so we've got pretty much everything covered. It really works out great, especially with kiddos.


That's how we do it too. If Netflix gets rid of password sharing, we will be dumping them. They are the one we are contributing, so we will have to find something else to share with the group.


----------



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

That's yet another topic the wife and I have been having....Netflix, Disney+, Paramount, and whatever else she wants. &#128176;&#128293;

It's gettin' nuts.


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Does anybody subscribe to YT Premium (ad free)? Opinions?


----------



## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Ware said:


> I think Sling is cheaper because they don't stream all of the local networks. Their stance is they don't charge you for something you can get for free OTA.


Depending on where you live it can be worth it too. I get about 25 local stations coming from three different cities. This covers a lot of sports surprisingly. Antenna outside (very small actually) and a booster.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I use an antenna and subscribe to Peacock and password share Hulu. There are some shows that I can't watch anymore but that has turned out to not be such a bad thing.


----------



## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

MasterMech said:


> Does anybody subscribe to YT Premium (ad free)? Opinions?


I do. Some people forego the subscription and use ad blockers to watch YouTube on their computer. I've also heard of whole-house adblockers, but I don't have time for that level of frugality.

We originally subscribed during the pre-election time period because the political ads were just overwhelming and unwanted. The plan was to drop the subscription afterwards. Well, we still have it because once you've lived with YouTube without ads, it's impossible to go back. We have a family plan and we setup one account for the living room TV to ensure a degree of privacy. Each of us accesses youtube through all three interfaces: web, mobile app, TV. It's fantastic.

We also have Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. None of us watches live TV anymore, except for the occasional football game. We are 99.99% ad-free.

Bonus benefit: My mother-in-law told me 10 years ago that I'd never get rid of ads. Ha! Vindication!


----------



## jerrywil (9 mo ago)

Sling, DirecTV Stream, both are cheaper version of youtube tv, still great.
Here https://www.firesticktricks.com/youtube-tv-alternatives.html you can find other youtube tv alternatives with the detailed description, their pros and cons etc. But of course it is only your choice if you want to pay for youtube tv than it is your way to go. The streaming service is definitely not bad.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

MasterMech said:


> Does anybody subscribe to YT Premium (ad free)? Opinions?


Yes. I was very skeptical, but like @ionicatoms said it is hard to go back after you experience YouTube with no ads. I know you can block ads with browser extensions, but I prefer to watch YouTube in the YouTube mobile app.

On its own I think it would be harder to justify the cost, but I was already subscribing to a different music streaming service so I dropped it and just use YouTube Music (Premium) app now. In other words, if you're already spending $8 to $12+ a month on a music streaming service, the cost to go to YouTube Premium and get music _and_ ad-free YouTube is really not much more.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

jerrywil said:


> Sling, DirecTV Stream, both are cheaper version of youtube tv, still great


DIRECTVstream is not cheaper than YouTube TV. Their base package is currently $69.99 plus tax.

I considered it as an alternative option back when it didn't look like YouTube TV and Disney/ESPN were going to sort out their differences, but I would have had to step up to their $89.99 plus tax plan just to get the SEC Network. :shock:


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I was paying $35/mo when I first signed up for YouTube TV back in the good 'ole days. At $64.99 plus tax they have nearly doubled. That is probably my biggest gripe with streaming services in general - they are quickly catching up to the cable and satellite companies with their pricing.

That said, being entirely self-serve is worth a lot to me. I like that I can add/remove or even discontinue service without having to talk to someone whose job is to try to talk me out of it.

I also respect that their price is their price. That was one of my biggest complaints with cable. Cox was bad about changing their package names and prices all the time.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

My biggest gripe about cable is that they don't reward loyalty. Only new people get the best offers.


----------



## lbb091919 (Apr 26, 2020)

Redtwin said:


> My biggest gripe about cable is that they don't reward loyalty. Only new people get the best offers.


One of the reasons we made the switch to YouTubeTV.


----------



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

And obviously, you guys get your internet service from the usual suspects, right? AT&T, Spectrum, etc....

The bundling is what always kept my TV service affordable, but that changed this year. So I guess is internet service eis another important part of this equation.


----------



## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

JayGo said:


> So I guess is internet service eis another important part of this equation.


I call Cox approx every 2 years to get on the latest internet-only promotional package. I have to do something similar with my 3 newspaper subscriptions. It's annoying and I would drop Cox in a heartbeat if ATT had fiber in my neighborhood.


----------



## Shuffinator (May 2, 2017)

I have been using https://xtremehdiptv.org/billing/index.php for 1 1/2 years now. 2 login's for $150/year and I get access on my phone. It is an app that I have on my firestick and there are 17000 channels to choose from. Has literally anything you can think of. I have 500 mb internet and I may get one 3 second buffer per week. For the cost savings, it was a no brainer for me.
If anybody wants to try, I ask that you use my link http://xtremehdiptv.org/billing/aff.php?aff=630 which should benefit both of us.


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

JayGo said:


> And obviously, you guys get your internet service from the usual suspects, right? AT&T, Spectrum, etc....


Thankfully no. My rural electric cooperative brought fiber to the home a few years ago.

They offer 100 mbps for $49.95 or gigabit for $79.95. Symmetrical upload and download, no data caps and no throttling.


----------



## theguybrarian (Apr 11, 2020)

Ware said:


> JayGo said:
> 
> 
> > And obviously, you guys get your internet service from the usual suspects, right? AT&T, Spectrum, etc....
> ...


Mine is in the process of doing it. My area is up next. I can't wait.


----------



## simplesimon (Aug 25, 2021)

For those that are satisfied with what OTA has to offer, check out HDHomeRun - it's a box that hooks up to your wifi and any platform on the same wifi network that supports the app (I believe all the major ones do) will be able to stream the OTA feed to that television. Works on the computer too.


----------



## thelawnlife (9 mo ago)

theguybrarian said:


> Ware said:
> 
> 
> > JayGo said:
> ...


Our hood got wired up/upgraded to ATT fiber from pots/copper DSL last year. I have 300Mpbs up/down around $50/month no data caps. It's a game changer very stable.


----------



## TulsaFan (May 1, 2017)

ionicatoms said:


> I call Cox approx every 2 years to get on the latest internet-only promotional package. I have to do something similar with my 3 newspaper subscriptions. It's annoying and I would drop Cox in a heartbeat if ATT had fiber in my neighborhood.


You should call Cox every time that they raise your rates. Ask for the *Retention Department* whose primary job is to keep you from canceling. You can haggle with them and the longer you keep them on the line...the cheaper it gets. Be prepared with cheaper price option plans from Directv, Dish, etc. I know people who get all the premium channels with the fastest internet for less than $100 from Cox. However, I would never waste my time or elevate my blood pressure doing this tactic.

Personally, I think the business model sucks and you should reward long term clients. Therefore, I cancelled several years ago and will never go back to Cox. It helps that my neighborhood has fiber through an alternative provider for streaming.


----------



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

Signed up for the YouTube TV free trial.
So far pretty good. Need to look at internet service now. Looms like thise are similarly priced throughout. We shall see.


----------



## ag_fishing (Feb 3, 2021)

We have sling for $37 a month. It's the cheapest option that offers nick jr for the kids and my wife's few channels


----------



## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

Ware said:


> MasterMech said:
> 
> 
> > Does anybody subscribe to YT Premium (ad free)? Opinions?
> ...


I'm hardly ever using a web browser to watch YT, hence considering YT premium. On mobile, TV App, Apple TV App, etc. Only time I'm watching in a browser, I probably shouldn't be.... :lol:

YT music is a nice bonus but I probably wouldn't use it given how embedded I am into the Apple ecosystem at this point. 5 HomePod Mini's in the house, subscribed to Apple One+, gives everyone in the family of 5 access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, Apple Fitness+, etc. For $30/mo.


----------



## Biggylawns (Jul 8, 2019)

T-Mobile offers internet service. You put in your address on their website and it says if it's available. If you already have magenta max it's 30 bucks/mo. Heard of a promo for youtube tv with them that's 50% off for a year.


----------



## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

As a sports nut this is actually a real difficult one for me and I actually change between a few different services throughout the year.

Baseball season, NBA...etc, for me it's directv's streaming service. The old "Fox Regional Sports Networks" now "Ballys Sports Region X" that YoutubeTV lost are only on that platform. Biggest downside is it's probably the most expensive service.

FuboTV is good, especially if you're a soccer fan (which I am not), but they lack TNT & TBS programming if those channels matter to you. I tend to grab this during football season though as I can grab Redzone and still get all of the CFB networks. Sadly during this time of the year I tend to carry Youtube TV as well, specifically for TNT and TBS.

Basically right now I spend all year playing wack-a-mole with different services based on what time of year it is in the Sports world. I can tell you, Directv's streaming service doesn't let you open 2 browsers at the same time under the same profile, so I can't split screen games, hence I know I'll be dropping it for CFB season.

FuboTV's background browser is really resource heavy if you live in the boonies like I do and still have crappy internet. I can watch 2 1080 games at a time on youtubeTV, but on Fubo I can only do a 1080 and 480 (sometimes 720) before the player gets laggy.

Even after the Ukraine Satellite shift Starlink is still showing late 2022 for me, so fingers crossed I have real internet by the end of the year.


----------



## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

It's funny how when you call to cancel a tv or internet service how all of a sudden they start to roll out the "better" and lower prices. Bastards.

Thanks for all of the info, everyone. After looking at what I think is every available option out there, the wife ended up liking YouTube TV interface.


----------



## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Just cut it all together and not watch it. plenty of other things to do.


----------

