Twice this week, YouTube TV made the news: once for launching its new Entertainment Plus package with HBO Max, Showtime and Stars, and again for announcing a 4K package with offline downloads and unlimited simultaneous streams at home. Related comments made us wonder how many of our readers have a live TV subscription – either through a traditional cable provider or linked to an online streaming service like YouTube TV.
Cable subscriptions continue to decline. Indeed, the 2020 blockade appears to have accelerated this process even further. You would say that, with all of us stuck at home, we would have turned to live TV as a source of material to watch, but last year, streaming was more popular than ever. Only a handful of our readers claimed not to subscribe to any video streaming service.
Broadcasting live TV is a different beast, however. Netflix can cost $ 9-18 a month, and Disney + a mere $ 7, but YouTube TV begins for $ 65 a month, much more than its original launch price of $ 35. This is a change that has put many of our readers out of service. And there are many alternatives, like Hulu with Live TV, Fubo TV, Sling and even the anachronistic cable services themselves. Comcast has its Xfinity Stream, which allows you to watch TV on the internet, on your phone or from a Chromecast, free of charge with any TV plan. AT&T and T-Mobile also have their own live TV streaming services, although AT&T’s streaming situation is complicated.
There are also ways to get limited TV access for free, like Pluto TV, but the selection can be “eh”. And not to mention all the free trials you can accumulate for other services.
So, do you have a live TV subscription – cable or not? Or did your cable cut give the whole concept of channels and linear services not on demand to pass? If you subscribe to more than one (I guess possible), select all applicable options.
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