Update on Cord Cutting (Cable TV) 2017 - 2020

[Sojourner]

Of course it is technically possible. What they mean is it's not economically possible, given the price they had to pay Viacom. Evidently the deal only worked if they forced it on everyone for an additional $15.

Sure, OK, but you think there really was no way they could devise a more palatable, reasonably priced, tiered plan? Something like YTTV Basic (without the Viacom channels) for $55/month and YTTV Deluxe for $65/month? Surely there was some way, both technologically and economically, to do it. They simply chose the most expedient way, with little regard for their customers' finances. And that's especially galling in the midst of the worst economic recession in living memory. My two cents.

 

[Sojourner]

Are they still charging full price for ESPN when there are virtually no new sporting events to be broadcast?

Yes, all TV providers are. And DirecTV, for example, is also continuing to charge the full price (around $10/month for subscribers in my area) for "regional sports networks" like Fox Sports South. It feels almost like a license to steal for these networks, considering the total dearth of live sports programming.

 

[Cobra9777]

Sure, OK, but you think there really was no way they could devise a more palatable, reasonably priced, tiered plan? Something like YTTV Basic (without the Viacom channels) for $55/month and YTTV Deluxe for $65/month? Surely there was some way, both technologically and economically, to do it. They simply chose the most expedient way, with little regard for their customers' finances. And that's especially galling in the midst of the worst economic recession in living memory. My two cents.

PS Vue had tiers. They're gone.

My sense is that trying to make a reasonable deal with content owners is like negotiating with terrorists.

The younger demographic had been demanding those channels, mainly Comedy Central. So now they have it.

 

[Midpack]

Sure, OK, but you think there really was no way they could devise a more palatable, reasonably priced, tiered plan? Something like YTTV Basic (without the Viacom channels) for $55/month and YTTV Deluxe for $65/month? Surely there was some way, both technologically and economically, to do it. They simply chose the most expedient way, with little regard for their customers' finances. And that's especially galling in the midst of the worst economic recession in living memory. My two cents.

Their competition is cable and satellite, at still far higher prices. You couldn't get a comparable cable/satellite TV package for anywhere near $65/mo unless maybe it was on one TV - not most households. They aren't a philanthropic organization, so "customers' finances" have little to do with it. They will provide tiered plans if it benefits their top and bottom line - like 99% of businesses. I've saved quite a bit (over $1,300 vs Dish Network) since cutting the cable in Feb 2018, so no regrets. We all knew prices would converge, it's been discussed here many times...

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Of course it is technically possible. What they mean is it's not economically possible, given the price they had to pay Viacom. Evidently the deal only worked if they forced it on everyone for an additional $15.

Or....the deal only brought in massive amounts of profits to Google if they raised prices $15.

 

[pb4uski]

I would love some product where I could stream just my locals. While the transmitters are only 30 miles away there is a big-a__ mountain between us and the transmitters.

I know Locast serves Sarasota from it's Tampa transmitter but not sure about Vermont if that's what you're looking for. Suggest you try entering your location and check it out, it does not cost anything to try. I'm 100 miles away from Los Angeles and I qualify to receive their signal and get 48 channels at last count. Also if you use a VPN you can change your location. My daughter changed her location every Sunday to get the football game they wanted to watch. If it works for you, a $5 plus 50c Paypal Fee donation stops the annoying donation requests that come up every 15 minutes and always at the wrong time.
https://www.locast.org/

No Locast available here:

Unfortunately Locast is not available in your area.

Might try a VPN but I'm not that desparate.... yet!

 

[camfused]

It's a race to the top... fuboTV just announced they are raising their rates to $64.99, and also dropping all their Turner channels.

 

[jpeter1093]

It's a race to the top... fuboTV just announced they are raising their rates to $64.99, and also dropping all their Turner channels.

Sling TV still $30 for lots o' channels

 

[JustVisitingThisPlanet]

Seems YTTV/Hulu Live/ATT TV/Fubo will all eventually become sideways replacements for Cable and the other LiveTV streaming services will become niche services. Content owners are partly to blame for difficulty to provide tiered bundles, though Sling managed a way. At least it's easy to hop around services.

I don't do LiveTV services at all. Refuse to pay for ads. There's enough news on free Pluto and not really into sports anymore.

 

[pb4uski]

Seems YTTV/Hulu Live/ATT TV/Fubo will all eventually become sideways replacements for Cable ...

That does seem to be the direction that they are heading.... similar channel selection and slightly lower cost if you have multiple tvs where equipment costs are a killer and jack up your bill.

No OTA here so I wish someone would put out a streaming package with just live tv for local major network affiliates (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and PBS) with a DVR for $25 or $30/month that would work on FireTV.

 

[REWahoo]

No OTA here so I wish someone would put out a steaming package with just live tv for local major network affiliates...

That would be really hot!

 

[REWahoo]

Sling TV still $30 for lots o' channels

For now.

 

[RunningBum]

The nice thing is, even if you started YTTV last month, you could switch out of it. No new hardware or contracts. I'm going to take a closer look at suppose.tv to see what's best now. I had been lazy and not paused YTTV over the summer like I planned to, but maybe I will now until football season starts--if it does this year.

 

[camfused]

It *seems* like Sling and Philo are trying to keep the costs down, by limiting sports programs and some pricier channels. The others are just adding channels and jacking up the price.

Go Sling and Philo!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Are they still charging full price for ESPN when there are virtually no new sporting events to be broadcast?

Have you not seen the virtual games they are doing? How about bowling championships from 1986? There is no reason for them to lower their prices.

And YouTube. I am *not* a fan. I grow tired of the "YOU WANT TO JOIN?!? HUH?!? WELL, DO YOU!?!?" that pops up (and defaults to "WELL YES...OF COURSE!!!") every time I open a YT video. That pushiness alone will keep me from joining.

Sling TV still $30 for lots o' channels

*Still* $30, eh? I guess you forgot that the packages went up $5 *each* a mere 6 months ago.

 

[steelyman]

I was happily surprised to see a reappearance of the Movies! OTA channel after I rescanned (hadn’t done that in a while).

http://moviestvnetwork.com

I also noticed a handy feature on AntennaWeb that advises of the need to rescan (repack) channels in your area:

http://antennaweb.org

 

[Midpack]

It's a race to the top... fuboTV just announced they are raising their rates to $64.99, and also dropping all their Turner channels.

Seems YTTV/Hulu Live/ATT TV/Fubo will all eventually become sideways replacements for Cable and the other LiveTV streaming services will become niche services. Content owners are partly to blame for difficulty to provide tiered bundles, though Sling managed a way. At least it's easy to hop around services.

I don't do LiveTV services at all. Refuse to pay for ads. There's enough news on free Pluto and not really into sports anymore.

Re: Sling - without any of the major networks, it's a lot easier. We wouldn't consider a package without the majors, but if the streaming live broadcast alternatives keep going up we might become time shifters like so many younguns seemingly did long ago. Or we might futz around with OTA, though DW has steadfastly resisted when I've set it up in the past.

 

[REWahoo]

Interesting response from Sling to YTTV's price increase:

Sling TV is responding to YouTube TV’s price hike by offering new and existing subscribers a one-year price guarantee.

Here’s how it works: For customers who sign up or have an existing account by August 1, 2020, Sling TV will automatically guarantee its current price on any service through August 1, 2021.

https://clark.com/streaming-tv/sling-tv-price-guarantee/

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Interesting response from Sling to YTTV's price increase:



https://clark.com/streaming-tv/sling-tv-price-guarantee/

I have seen this [-]scam[/-] scheme often. What they don't mention is that if they add channels or change the line up, then they will often change the price, too. Easy for them to make that "promise" since their last increase was a mere 6 months ago.

 

[Cobra9777]

Sling and Philo don't carry the local broadcast networks nor the Fox regional sports networks. That's all we really use live streaming for. We could easily live without the "cable" channels, but we do watch a few programs, so it's nice to have.

AFAIK, Hulu and YTTV are the only real options for locals plus Fox RSNs. As I've posted before, we could cobble together a less-than-elegant combo of locast+Philo+Fitzy for $30/mo, which would provide everything we use YTTV for, minus our Fox RSN... and it looks like baseball will start in a few weeks.

Our plan for the moment is to stick with YTTV through the shortened baseball season and then switch to locast+Philo+Fitzy unless someone else starts offering a lightweight tier in the $45-50 range that meets our needs.

 

[pb4uski]

I hope you have better luck with Fitzy TV that I have. This is what I get:

 

[Midpack]

...unless someone else starts offering a lightweight tier in the $45-50 range that meets our needs.

That would be our preference too. We're more than happy with having all the majors and 60 something other networks with Hulu Live at $55/mo - we don't want ANY more networks if it means ANY premium, we're already getting many networks we don't ever watch. I haven't paid much attention to cable or satellite but I have seen some very low teaser rates bundled with internet and/or phone though they presumably balloon after a 1 or 2 year contract. Hopefully wherever all the live broadcast providers converge, it won't be as high as cable/satellite had become (is?).

 

[Chuckanut]

Have you not seen the virtual games they are doing? How about bowling championships from 1986? There is no reason for them to lower their prices.

Well, If they had replays of Bowling for Dollars which used to be on local stations in the 70's, I might be interested.

 

[aja8888]

Well, If they had replays of Bowling for Dollars which used to be on local stations in the 70's, I might be interested.

Wow! $540 jackpot! My how times change.

 

[Rustic23]

We are in the 'No over the a (OTA) TV. However, we were paying $120 a month for Dish a couple of years ago. So for now we will stick with YoutubeTV. For us YTTV wins out with their unlimited DVR and channel selection. However, we could make do with basic OTA channels and a few of the Network News channels. We will just wain and se.