Streaming services advice needed
YouTube tv was a great value at one time,but prices keep going up.Number 1 requirement is easy access to Wolverines.Any reviews on sling, Hulu etc.I should have paid attention to previous posts.Hope I don’t end up in Bolivia.I guess I will take this ass chewin like a man.
I keep hearing about iPTV. It's sort of not legal? But it's free. I can't afford Sunday Ticket so I'm thinking about it.
April 27th, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
Think of it as a "gray area" and you will be fine. If you're still "skittish" get a good VPN and relax.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:15 AM ^
Gray area?!? It isn’t the least bit gray. It’s stealing! What the fuck is wrong with you people. Do you shoplift? Do you pull away from the gas station without paying? For fucks sake, if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. why would you intentionally become a criminal just because a VPN might let you get away with it. Have some self respect.
April 28th, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
There isn't a gas station in the world that will let you drive off without paying anymore. You have to prepay everywhere. But I agree. Stealing is stealing. Don't do it.
This Sunday ticket stuff is ridiculous. Very grateful I’m not an NFL fan.
IPTV is awesome! I pay about $100/ year and have a NVIDIA Shield box (it’s not the best interface, but the stream quality is amazing, 4K). If you get the box they sell, the interface is much better, just like real cable.
Ask your friends for their hookup or go to your local Indian grocery store and ask them.
my guy is [email protected]
Edit: you don’t need a vpn, the paid services restrict you by MAC address, so it’s basically $100/ TV. You basically log into their system and get the feed there. It’s awesome for NFL and CFB games (sometimes there is a little lag, if a bunch of people are watching).
I just paused my hulu because I don’t have time to watch tv anymore. It was pretty good when I did watch though so…
If you got the balls, go for IPTV.
IPTV is an illegal live TV streaming service. I think it would be better to say, "If you don't have qualms stealing stuff, go for IPTV."
Sling doesn't get CBS which will have M games this year, and to get ESPN and Fox and BTN you'll be paying 11 less than YTTV. Hulu, Fubo and YTTV are all comparable to each other, in price and options. Personally I like YTTV a lot but they give me the RSN where i live so it's worth it in a way doing isn't. But if you're willing to get an antenna for CBS and any local channels you're missing, Sling can save you about ten bucks a month for all the M games.
Hulu live tv is great because you get all the Michigan football games and you can turn off the “live tv” part any time. I couldn’t speak to the other Michigan sports but that’s what I use during football season
April 28th, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
what does turning off the 'live tv part' do?
April 28th, 2023 at 10:27 AM ^
I'm wondering the same thing. Over the past couple of years I've watched most Michigan basketball and football games on DVR, which offers the benefit of engaging in other activities during daylight hours AND watching the games without commercials (in about half the time). If Hulu not live TV provides access to Michigan games after the fact (doubtful), that would work for me.
April 28th, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
Hulu has a couple of services: Live TV and a steaming service. The streaming service is like many others and it's relatively cheap. It has many network shows that are available the day after on streaming. And Hulu's original content. But nothing is live. If you want live streams of channels (like a cable experience), you add on Live TV. I have no direct experience with Hulu Live TV so I can't speak to its coverage and if it has channels to cover all michigan sports.
April 28th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
So it's basically the equivalent of turning off the "streaming TV" service and just keeping the content on demand service. I currently have Hulu without live TV. So, I can watch all of the content that exists in their library (Only Murders, Dopesick, Atlanta) ala a Netflix-style service. If I had Hulu Live TV, I would also have channels streaming live content (including live sports, which is the main appeal) and a DVR type service (something more akin to YouTubeTV).
Because it's all streaming, you can easily turn your service "on" or "off" or make easy changes on the fly. Whereas in the old "Comcast" world, turning off Comcast would require disconnect fees, returning equipment, etc. A bigger pain in the ass. So, many streaming consumers (especially NFL fans) like to turn their service on and off based on things like the NFL season. But also, it applies to content seasons. Ted Lasso is streaming on Apple TV right now, let's sign back up for AppleTV for the next two months then cancel when it's done. Apple is hoping they have enough quality "shoulder" programming that you decide to keep your sub going.
April 28th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
thanks JMo and SF Wolv. question: does turning off the 'live' part save you money? we have hulu and this is all new to me, admittedly the dullest knife in the drawer.
April 28th, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
Oh yeah. Live service is considerably more expensive. Hulu service is something like $7 a month for the limited ad version. Hulu Live TV bundle starts at something like $70 a month.
Basically, in the world of broadcast, live TV (and specifically live sports) is the big gotta have it. You may know I play a part time reformed ad man in my real life. Getting people to watch ads in 2023 is almost impossible. We block ads. We skip ads. Our eyes are naturally averse and inherently avoid ads. BUT the thing you can't avoid? Those damn Burger King ads that are constantly playing during live sporting events. (At Beeee Kaaayyy have it your way... you rule!)
Live sports are the last bastion of live ads. And as such, live TV (for live sports) swings an awfully expensive sword. Otherwise, we'll watch it on demand, expect to be able to fast forward the ads, or have none at all, like most "TV" content we consume in the current modern era. Brands can't get you to watch their ads that way. But with live sports, there's no FF button. You watch every one of FOX's 200 commercial breaks on Saturdays.
But all of that to say... if you turn it off, you dont get the live sports anymore. So, like I mentioned previously, some football fans only turn on their Hulu Live or YouTubeTV subs between September and February. Or for me, I only turn the extended sports tier of my YTTV package on from Sept to Jan when I want to watch Redzone. Otherwise, I don't care about the rest of the stuff on there. Saves me a few bucks during the year. In my previous Comcast life, it was "hard" to do that, so I'd just suck it up due to laziness. Now, it's just a click in my menu screen.
I’ve tried pricing it out and with the rising prices of streaming services and the costs associated from debundling, and the internet package we have, it’s not any cheaper or maybe just marginally so. Not worth the headache for me.
April 27th, 2023 at 10:08 PM ^
I currently have Hulu live (basically just for Only Murders), and it's okay. I'm just waiting for the NFL schedule release to see if I need to switch to YouTube TV and pick up Sunday Ticket. As a Lions and Jets fan, I think I might have enough prime time games to get by without needing to make the switch.
April 27th, 2023 at 10:38 PM ^
Lions AND Jets fan? Have you considered no TV on Sundays?
April 27th, 2023 at 11:26 PM ^
It ain't easy, that's for sure
That's pretty scary, Putin.
I thought I was bad, rooting for the bubonic plague and embolisms, but you just took dark to a whole new level.
April 27th, 2023 at 10:30 PM ^
i use YouTube TV because i like it and i can record everything with unlimited storage basically. F1 races, football games, stanley cup playoffs, etc.
With YouTube tv there is no Bally i thought?
With YouTube tv there is no Bally i thought?
April 27th, 2023 at 10:33 PM ^
share YTTV with someone in your area and it automatically becomes 50% off.
April 27th, 2023 at 11:39 PM ^
This is so true. My wife's family all lives within ten miles of us. YTTV is CHEAP
This can be true but you get 3 simultaneous streams. So you would have to decide who gets 2 streams and who gets 1 stream. The person with 2 streams should probably pay 2/3s of the bill. And you will have to be sure the other person you are sharing with it sticking to their max streams.
Why not?
It's bad. Very bad.
April 27th, 2023 at 11:23 PM ^
you should go to bolivia for not adding a space after your periods.
April 27th, 2023 at 11:40 PM ^
Worse yet---no space, either, after his commas.
And he's doing a lot of whimpering at the end of his post.
April 27th, 2023 at 11:53 PM ^
Cmon guys...
Hey, there’s this thing called google, what it does is…
Streaming cats can be a lot of fun...
I hate to say it but theres more value going back to Spectrum for me right now. I tend to switch up suppliers every 18 months, which keeps my costs lower. Youtube TV has been awesome, but with the increase they arent competitive anymore.
$73/mth cancellable plan isn't competitive? I'm Spectrum will give you an intro rate but it will skyrocket on the back end of your contract.
Which is why he switches every 18 months or so
After paying the uncompetitive rate for 6 months and whatever hookup/disconnect/equipment fees all cable companies charge. I'd be surprised if the total cost comes out less than 73/mth.
Hulu and YouTubeTV are functionally the same price at this point. It's $70/month and YouTube is $73. In order to get all the sports channels with sling, you have to get both of their tiers for $55/month.
They're all basically turning into cable companies at this point, expanding "included" channels (IE ones you can't opt out of) and rising the cost of the subscription because of it.
The irony of it all is that it might actually be cheaper to go back to cable if all you want it sports channels.
No disrespect, but do you realize how many threads we've had about this subject? Ten? Twenty?
Upshot: They're all pretty much the same!
I just dumped YTTV due to the price increases......same story as cable previously, 80 channels and a trillion hours of content I never watch, just to have sports. Solution is to just turn it on for the few months I need it then turn it off the rest of the year. I had to sign up for an intro offer from Sling to watch NBA playoffs, but once my son is off to school next fall, I won't even have to do that.
I still find it ludicrous that someone hasn't figured out a way to provide an "only sports" or AllSports streaming service for $50-$60/month, possibly with league or sports options that raise or lower then price accordingly. The rev share of that would be far greater than what sports channel/networks are getting from the $70 for current services that share it across 140+ providers. I literally watch 0 live streaming non-sports TV b/c I simply cannot stand the ads anymore, so why do I have to pay for channels/programming I'm never going to even think about watching?