If you want a cable-like experience at home and for on-the-go devices, without the dead weight that a cable subscription brings, a streaming service is worth a look. There’s no contract to sign, and if you don’t like the service you’re on, you can easily switch. Whether you’re looking for a basic package such as Sling TV or want to pay more for a deluxe experience from the likes of Hulu Plus Live TV, there should be a live TV streaming service to suit you. Here’s some questions to help you get started:
Channels: Each of the TV streaming services above offers a different mix of channels, so your first step should be choosing one that carries your “can’t miss” cable channels and shows. Some of the most important live channels are local, namely ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Not every service offers all of them in every area, but the best streaming service for you will include the majority of what you love to watch, so it’s worth shopping around.
The live TV streaming service lineups are in constant flux as networks scramble to secure access to popular channels (ones with highly watched original shows and regional sports networks are especially in demand). There’s also the chance that a certain cable channel could disappear from a certain service after a network contract expires, which is what happened in 2020 with the regional sports networks.
These negotiations lead to other changes, too. Over the past few years, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu (multiple times), Philo and DirecTV have all raised their prices. Google and Roku resolved a contract dispute that prevented their users from downloading the YouTube TV app, but they lost Disney channels for two days due to a different dispute. Adding to this volatility is the fact that sometimes less popular services are simply phased out — AT&T TV Watch TV, TVision and PlayStation Vue are just three examples.
Price: Broadly, each of these streaming services can be broken down into two main groups: budget, with prices ranging between $25 and $50 and few or no local channels; and premium, with prices from $80 and up, and local channels and supercharged cloud DVRs. That’s right, all of the services allow you to record and playback shows, just like a traditional cable or satellite DVR, but they often come with restrictions.
Number of simultaneous users: If you want to watch more than one program at the same time — for example, on your living room TV and on a bedroom TV, or the main TV and a tablet or other devices — you’ll want to make sure the video streaming service you’re watching has enough simultaneous streams. Sling Orange only allows one stream at a time, and if you try to watch a second, it’s blocked. Other services have higher simultaneous stream limits.
Keep in mind that, especially if you do have more than one person watching at once on supported devices, you need to make sure you have fast, reliable broadband internet. A 100Mbps download service will cost around $50 to $60 a month, and sadly that’s where the savings of cutting cable can get swallowed up.
