If YouTube TV’s newest value hike looks like a breaking level to you, you’re not alone.
Over the past week, I’ve heard from a bunch of parents who say the speed hike—from $73 per thirty days to $83 per thirty days, beginning January 13, 2025—is the final straw. They’re now looking for alternate options to YouTube TV that may present comparable channel protection for much less.
Sadly, that form of straightforward escape hatch doesn’t exist. Like each different stay TV service (including satellite and cable), YouTube TV retains elevating costs as a result of TV programmers hold demanding more cash for his or her channels. Except the whole trade embraces cheaper, more flexible bundles, the invoice for all of those providers will hold going up.
The one various is to ditch your large pay TV package deal completely. Whereas this method does contain sacrifice, the financial savings may be vital. Listed here are your choices.
This story is a part of TechHive’s in-depth protection of the perfect stay TV streaming providers.
Think about an antenna
With a reasonable over-the-air antenna and good-enough reception, you possibly can watch the large 4 broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—without spending a dime, together with PBS and a smattering of rerun-centric subchannels. An antenna gained’t completely change a much bigger bundle, nevertheless it’ll offer you a giant head begin. You’ll be able to even arrange an over-the-air DVR to document exhibits for later.
Antennas gained’t work for everybody. Roughly talking, you’ll need to be inside at most 30 miles of native broadcast stations to make use of an indoor antenna, and inside 60 miles for an out of doors mannequin. Even then, obstructions and topography can influence the sign. Use the Antennaweb website to search for close by stations for a way of what you want, and be ready for some trial and error. In case you’re able to experiment, we have now a listing of the perfect indoor and outside antennas accessible.
Stream (some) native stations
If an antenna isn’t possible, you possibly can stream some native stations as an alternative, nevertheless it’ll value you:
- Paramount+ with Showtime ($13 per thirty days) features a stay feed of your nearest CBS station, together with NFL protection, together with on-demand entry to primetime CBS exhibits. The cheaper Paramount+ Important tier with adverts ($8 per thirty days) doesn’t embody CBS, however does supply the NFL video games. You’ll be able to typically get Paramount+ without spending a dime in one-month increments.
- Peacock Premium Plus ($14 per thirty days) features a feed of your nearest NBC station, together with Sunday Evening Soccer, plus on-demand entry to primetime NBC exhibits. The cheaper Premium tier with adverts ($8 per thirty days) doesn’t embody a neighborhood NBC feed, however does carry NFL video games.
- The PBS app contains stay feeds of native PBS stations without spending a dime, together with on-demand PBS programming. An elective $5-per-month “Passport” donation unlocks further content material.
You may as well use the free NBC and ABC apps to observe some community TV exhibits with out a subscription, whereas the Paramount+ app presents some CBS applications without spending a dime as effectively.
Sadly, stay feeds of ABC and Fox are unavailable with out a big pay TV package deal, however you possibly can watch primetime exhibits from each networks on Hulu, which begins at $10 per thirty days.
Search for stay information
The most important cable information networks—CNN, Fox Information, and MSNBC—should not accessible with out a large pay TV package deal, however you possibly can entry a few of their content material in alternative routes:
- Max presents an alternate CNN stay feed with a lot of the identical programming, however not in the identical order as CNN correct.
- MSNBC’s web site and cellular app supply stay audio of the cable community without spending a dime.
- Some primetime Fox Information exhibits can be found on-demand through Fox Nation, however there’s no stay feed.
In lieu of cable information channels, contemplate the numerous free choices accessible for streaming the information as an alternative:
- Native information: Many native stations supply their newscasts without spending a dime if the place to look. Take a look at NewsOn, Zeam, Native Now, Haystack Information, or your native station’s personal web site. You’ll additionally discover native information through Tubi, the Roku Channel, Amazon’s Fire TV News app, and the free channels on Google TV units.
- Nationwide and worldwide information: Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, Xumo, and Sling TV Freestream, all supply round the clock streaming information channels, even from main networks similar to CBS and NBC. That will scratch the background TV itch you’d in any other case get from cable information.
Discover favourite exhibits elsewhere
Exterior of stories and sports activities, it’s uncommon for cable channels to hold unique new exhibits that aren’t accessible on standalone streaming providers. If there’s a present you want on YouTube TV (or cable), websites like Reelgood or MyBundle can let you know the place else to seek out them.
And if by likelihood a present is barely on cable—like Yellowstone, whose ultimate season was unique to Paramount Community—you possibly can all the time purchase that present individually by shops like Amazon Video, Fandango, or Apple TV.
Type by sports activities streaming choices
Sports activities are the place changing a service like YouTube TV will get tough.
At present, there’s no method to watch ABC or Fox with out a large TV package deal or an antenna. ESPN isn’t accessible on a standalone foundation both—though that will change in 2025—nor are FS1, FS2, or school convention channels similar to SEC Community and Massive Ten Community.
So what are you able to get with out a service like YouTube TV? Some choices:
- As I discussed earlier, the ad-free tiers of Paramount+ and Peacock embody stay feeds of CBS and NBC respectively, together with all sports activities protection.
- Max streams all sports activities protection from TNT, TBS, and TruTV. It will finally value an additional $10 per thirty days on high of an ordinary Max subscription, however is included at no additional cost for now.
- Many regional sports activities networks at the moment are accessible on a standalone foundation. I’ve compiled the choices for NBA and NHL groups.
- MLB TV and NBA League Move supply video games that aren’t broadcast in your native market. ESPN+ presents the identical service for NHL video games.
- NFL+ presents native and nationally-televised soccer video games, however solely on a telephone or pill.
- Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, and even Netflix are choosing up extra sports activities programming as effectively, however their choices are pretty scattershot.
I’ve additionally compiled some further instruments to assist kind by the sports activities streaming choices, significantly should you’re making an attempt to observe a selected group or league.
Not able to unbundle? Another choices:
For now, essentially the most full stay TV streaming service that’s markedly cheaper than YouTube TV is Sling TV. It presents a smaller bundle of pay TV channels, however nonetheless carries main sports activities channels, with three accessible base packages:
- Sling TV Orange ($46 per thirty days) is at the moment the most affordable method to entry ESPN and different ESPN-owned channels, similar to SEC Community.
- Sling TV Blue ($46 per thirty days) is the most affordable method to entry FS1 and FS2. It additionally contains stay entry to NBC and ABC in some markets, and on-demand programming from all three channels in all places.
- Sling Orange + Blue ($61 per thirty days) combines each of the above packages.
Sadly, Sling’s native channel protection is missing, with ABC, Fox, and NBC accessible solely in choose markets, and no CBS anyplace. For that motive, it pairs greatest with an over-the-air antenna.
Hulu + Stay TV can be price a glance. Whereas it’s no cheaper than what YouTube TV will quickly value at $83 month, it contains the complete Disney bundle (Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu’s on-demand catalog) at no additional cost. In case you subscribe to any of these providers on their very own, you’ll lower your expenses by switching from YouTube TV to Hulu + Stay TV as an alternative.
Lastly, you would possibly check out some TV packages that don’t embody sports activities or native channels. As a result of they omit the most costly content material on cable, their costs are considerably decrease:
- Frndly TV ($7 per thirty days) presents Hallmark Channel and a smattering of different largely rerun-centric channels.
- Philo ($28 per thirty days) presents leisure channels with a giant emphasis on actuality TV, however no sports activities, broadcast, or main cable information channels.
- Comcast’s NowTV is a $20-per-month bundle of leisure channels and Peacock, with an choice so as to add Netflix (with adverts) and Apple TV+ for $10 per thirty days additional. It’s accessible to prospects with Xfinity dwelling web or Comcast’s cheaper Now Web plans.
- Spectrum TV Stream is a $40 bundle of leisure channels that additionally contains CNN and Fox Information, accessible to Spectrum dwelling web prospects.
Simply let go
In case you’re considering that the price of a la carte streaming provides as much as greater than YouTube TV and even cable, you’d be proper. This has been the case for years, is not an original thought, and completely misses the point.
Unbundling your TV choices doesn’t robotically prevent cash, nevertheless it does allow you to determine what’s actually price paying for. For that motive, standalone providers are additionally extremely incentivized to supply seasonal gross sales, comeback offers, and different reductions. These can significantly defray the price of having a bunch of providers on the identical time.
While you drop a stay TV streaming service similar to YouTube TV, you’re adopting a special mindset, wherein you make peace with not having every little thing. The earlier you understand you weren’t going to observe all of it anyway, the better unbundling turns into.
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