Fed up with YouTube TV’s next price hike? Try this

If you feel like YouTube TV’s upcoming price increase is a turning point, you’re not alone.

Last week, I heard a lot of people say that the increase in interest rates from $73 per month to $83 per month, starting January 13, 2025, was the final straw for them. They are now looking for alternatives to YouTube TV that offer similar channel coverage at a lower price.

Unfortunately, such a simple escape hatch does not exist. Like every other live TV service (Includes satellite and cable), YouTube TV keeps raising prices as TV producers keep asking for more money from their channels. Unless the entire industry embraces Cheaper, more flexible bundlesthe cost of all these services will continue to rise.

This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth reporting Best Live TV Streaming Services.

The only option is to ditch the big pay TV package entirely. While this approach does involve sacrifice, the cost savings can be huge. Here are your options:

Consider antennas

With a cheap wireless antenna and good enough reception, you can watch the four major broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—as well as PBS and a few rerun-centric subchannels for free. The antenna won’t completely replace a larger antenna beam, but it will give you a good start. You can even set a wireless hard disk recorder Record the show for later use.

Antennas are not for everyone. Roughly speaking, you need to be within a maximum of 30 miles of a local radio station with an indoor antenna and 60 miles with an outdoor antenna. Even so, obstacles and terrain can affect the signal. use antenna website Look for nearby stations to get an idea of ​​what you need, and be prepared for some trial and error. If you’re ready to experiment, we’ve got a checklist The best indoor and outdoor antennas available.

Stream (some) local radio stations

If an antenna isn’t feasible, you can play some local stations instead, but this will cost you:

• Paramount+ vs. Showtime ($13 per month) includes live streaming of the nearest CBS stations, including NFL coverage, and on-demand access to CBS primetime programming. The less expensive, ad-free Paramount+ Essential package ($8 per month) doesn’t include CBS, but does offer NFL games. you can often Get Paramount+ for free in one-month increments.
• Peacock Premium ($14 per month) Includes your latest NBC programming, including Sunday Night Football, as well as on-demand NBC primetime programming. The less expensive ad-free Premium version ($8 per month) doesn’t include local NBC broadcasts, but does include NFL games.
• PBS app Includes free live local PBS stations and PBS programs on demand. An optional $5 monthly Passport donation unlocks more content.

You can also use the free nbc and ABC Apps that allow you to watch some network TV shows without a subscription, and the Paramount+ app also offers some CBS shows for free.

Unfortunately, you can’t watch the live broadcasts of ABC and Fox without a big pay TV package, but you can gourdstarting at $10 per month.

Find breaking news

The major cable news networks (CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC) aren’t available without a major pay-TV package, but you can access some of their content in other ways:

• Biggest offer Another CNN live broadcast Has much of the same programming, but the order is different from CNN itself.
• MSNBC website and mobile application Live audio via cable network is provided free of charge.
• Some of Fox News’ primetime shows are available on-demand via: fox countrybut there is no live broadcast.

Consider the many free options available for streaming news in lieu of cable news channels:

• Local News: Many local TV stations offer free newscasts if you know where to watch. Check news online, Zem, now local, haystack newsor your local station’s own website. You can also find local news via pipelinethis Roku ChannelAmazon’s Fire TV News Appas well as free channels on Google TV devices.
• National and international news: pluto tv, pipeline, Roku Channel, badand Sling TV free streamingboth offer 24/7 streaming news channels, even from major networks like CBS and NBC. This might quench your thirst for background TV that you get from cable news.

Find your favorite shows elsewhere

Aside from news and sports, cable channels rarely air exclusive new shows that aren’t available on standalone streaming services. If your favorite show is available on YouTube TV (or cable TV), e.g. Railgood or my bundle Can tell you where else to find them.

If it happens that a show is only on cable TV – e.g. yellowstone parkwhose final season is available exclusively from Paramount Network — you can always buy the show individually through stores like Amazon Video, fandangoor Apple TV.

Sort sports streaming options

Sports are a tricky area to switch to services like YouTube TV.

Currently, it’s impossible to watch ABC or Fox without a large TV package or antenna. ESPN also doesn’t work on its own — though This will change in 2025— Nor are FS1, FS2, or college conference channels like the SEC Network and Big Ten Network.

So what do you get without a service like YouTube TV? Some options:

• As I mentioned before, the ad-free tiers of Paramount+ and Peacock include live streaming from CBS and NBC respectively, including all sports coverage.
• maximum Stream all sports coverage from TNT, TBS and TruTV. Eventually, it will cost an additional $10 per month on top of the standard Max subscription, but there is currently no additional cost.
• Many regional sports networks are now available independently. I have compiled the following options NBA and National Hockey League team.
• MLB TV and NBA League Pass Offer games not aired in your local market. ESPN+ The same service is provided for NHL games.
• National Football League+ Local and nationally televised football matches are available, but only on your mobile phone or tablet.
• Amazon Prime, Apple TV+,even Netflix There is also an increasing number of sports programs, but their offerings are quite fragmented.

I also compiled some Additional tools to help organize sports streaming optionsespecially when you’re trying to follow a specific team or league.

Not ready to unbundle? Some other options:

Currently, the most complete live TV streaming service is significantly cheaper than YouTube TV sling tv. It offers a smaller number of pay TV channels but still offers major sports channels, with three basic packages available:

• sling tv orange ($46 per month) is currently the cheapest way to access ESPN and other ESPN-owned channels such as SEC Network.
• sling tv blue ($46 per month) is the cheapest way to access FS1 and FS2. It also includes live broadcasts of NBC and ABC in some markets, as well as on-demand programming from all three channels around the world.
• Sling orange + blue ($61 per month) combines the two packages above.

Unfortunately, Sling doesn’t have enough local channel coverage; ABC, Fox and NBC only available in select marketsand there’s no CBS anywhere. Therefore, it is best paired with wireless antennas.

Hulu + Live TV Also worth a look. While it’s not cheaper than YouTube TV’s upcoming $83 per month, it does include the full Disney bundle (Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu’s on-demand catalog) at no additional cost. If you subscribe to any of these services on your own, you can save money by switching from YouTube TV to Hulu + Live TV.

Finally, you might watch some TV packages that don’t include sports or local channels. Because they omit the most expensive content on cable TV, their prices are much lower:

• Friendly TV ($7 per month) offers the Hallmark Channel and a few other channels that are primarily rerun-centric.
• Philo ($28 per month) offers entertainment channels with a focus on reality TV, but no sports, broadcast, or major cable news channels.
• Comcast’s NowTV is a $20-per-month bundle of entertainment channels and Peacock, with the option to add Netflix (with ads) and Apple TV+ for an additional $10 per month. It’s available to customers with Xfinity Home Network or the cheaper Comcast now internet plan.
• spectrum tv streaming is a $40 entertainment channel bundle that also includes CNN and Fox News, available to Spectrum Home Network customers.

let it go

If you’re thinking that a la carte streaming adds up to more cost than YouTube TV or even cable TV, you’d be right. This has It’s been like this for years, not an original ideaand completely Missed the point.

Unbundling your TV options doesn’t automatically save you money, but it does allow you to decide what’s really worth paying for. Therefore, independent services are also very motivated to provide Seasonal sales, comeback offers and other discounts. These can go a long way toward covering the cost of having a large number of services at once.

When you give up a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, you’re adopting a different mindset, one where you’re okay with what you have. The sooner you realize that you’re not going to watch it all anyway, the easier it will be to spin off.

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