As we transition into a world where streaming rules, the once new and shiny cable box is akin to a slowly sinking ship.
Over the last few years, the number of Americans turning away from traditional pay-TV services like cable and satellite, or “cutting the cord,” has increased dramatically.
In 2019, cable and satellite TV providers lost a staggering 6 million subscribers compared to a little under 3 million in 2018. By 2020’s end, that number is expected to reach 6 million for the second straight year in what could be the worst year for traditional TV providers in history, according to data from eMarketer.
The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the issue for pay-TV providers, with a struggling national economy forcing people to cut costs wherever they can.
With a plethora of streaming options at our fingertips, giving us more efficient ways of watching movies and enjoying our favorite shows, people are finding alternatives to their cable and satellite providers, cutting the cord for a WiFi connection.
From cable-replacement services like YouTube TV to show and movie-streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, there is no shortage of market variety when it comes to choosing where you watch your favorite content.
Package this with network television losing major programming — such as American staples like the “Peanuts” specials, including Halloween’s “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” which network TV failed to air last month for the first time since 1966 — and you have the perfect formula for cord-cutting.
At times, seeing what’s out there can be pretty overwhelming, but don’t fret. If you plan to find a safe way off of that ship, we’re here to help.
In this guide, we’ll be laying out all of the notable options for cutting the cord as you move into 2021, starting with the services that offer live TV (which means we’ll be skipping the streaming services you’re probably already familiar with, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime).
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is Google’s entry into the live TV-streaming market — and it has emerged as one of the most successful, passing more than 2 million paid subscribers in August.
Launching in 2017 in just five U.S. markets, YouTube TV has since grown to include every market in the country and features a robust channel lineup for a $64.99 monthly price tag.
Cost: $64.99/month (two-week free trial)
In July, YouTube TV raised its monthly price, going from $50 to nearly $65, citing a deal with ViacomCBS that brought eight new channels — BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, among others — for the price hike.
YouTube TV has the most expensive basic package price among streaming services, but its straightforward channel lineup makes the transition from pay-TV much smoother than other platforms.
Channel lineup
In Chatham County, it has 93 standard channels to choose from, including all of the notable local channels (ABC 11, CBS, FOX 50 and WRAL). It even has PBS’ UNC-TV, the only streaming service in the bunch to offer it.
While other services tend to lack in certain areas, YouTube TV has most of its bases covered, offering 15 news channels in the form of traditional networks (CNN, FOX News, MSNBC) and others, 17 live sports channels like ESPN and NFL Network, as well as plenty of entertainment and kids programming.
Notable Missing Channels: FOX regional sports networks (RSNs), Hallmark Channel, A+E Networks (A&E, HISTORY, Vice, Lifetime)
DVR Storage: Unlimited
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu is most known for being direct competitors with Netflix in the on-demand video streaming world, but in 2016, it expanded to offer live TV with its service Hulu + Live TV, which now has the most paid subscribers out of them all (3.4 million).
With Hulu + Live TV’s streaming service, you get access not only to all of its live TV channels, but also its on-demand streaming library of over 80,000 TV episodes and movies. It’s arguably the best bang for your buck.
Cost: $54.99/month
Even with two price increases last year, which saw its price rise by $15 in 2019, it remains a cheaper option than both YouTube TV and fuboTV, keeping it on par with AT&T TV Now as the third-most-expensive streaming service around.
Channel lineup
In total, the service offers 71 channels in its basic plan, including all of the notable local channels (ABC 11, CBS, FOX 50 and WRAL).
Hulu + Live TV’s famous “Hulu has live sports” tagline is (mostly) accurate, as it offers a wide variety of sports options, including ESPN, FS1 and ACC Network, but excludes league-specific channels like NBA TV, MLB Network and NFL Network.
Notable Missing Channels: PBS (UNC-TV), The CW, NBA TV, MLB Network, NFL Network, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, AMC
DVR Storage: 50 hours (200 hours with Enhanced Cloud DVR add-on, $9.99/month)
AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now, formerly known as DirecTV Now, is a service owned by AT&T, the same company that runs satellite TV giant DirecTV. It’s one of two major instances of a pay-TV provider also owning a live TV streaming service and operating both simultaneously.
With its confusing packages and occasionally astronomical price, it sometimes feels like a satellite TV service dressed in streaming service clothing.
Cost: $55 to 183/month (seven-day free trial)
AT&T TV Now has a total of eight packages, all of which have a larger number of channels than the last, ranging from its $55 Plus package to its $183 Premier package.
The package system can be confusing. It’s reminiscent of cable and satellite companies charging extra for packages with slightly more channels, which is a cord-cutting turn-off.
Channel lineup
When looking at AT&T TV Now as a whole, you can’t help but love the channel lineup.
It has all of the major local networks and regional sports networks, excluding PBS. It has plenty of live sports options (ESPN, FS1, but not NFL Network), a plethora of entertainment channels like HGTV, TBS and AMC, kids networks like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and, of course, many national and global news networks.
While it offers a wide array of channels to choose from, many of those aren’t included in its base packages. For example, both the Plus and Max packages don’t include HGTV or AMC.
To find the channels you love, you might have to do a deep-dive into the eight packages to see which one might be right for you. Their website features a nice tool to compare them.
Notable Missing Channels: PBS (UNC-TV), NFL Network, MLB Network; Nearly all notable channels are offered, but many not in base packages
DVR Storage: 500 hours
fuboTV
fuboTV originally launched as a startup in 2015 to be the “Netflix of soccer,” according to its co-founder and CEO David Gandler, who saw a gap in televised international soccer matches and decided to fill it.
Five years later, it finds itself offering a lot more than soccer coverage, directly competing with the Googles and AT&Ts of the live TV streaming industry. At its core, however, fuboTV will always be a sports-first service.
Cost: $29.99 to 79.99/month (seven-day free trial)
fuboTV offers three packages:
• Family (110 channels, $64.99/month)
• Elite (155 channels, $79.99/month)
• fubo Latino (32 channels, $29.99/month)
Channel lineup
While fuboTV has expanded to offer a ton of entertainment and news channels -- excluding CNN — sports remain its specialty.
Its basic Family plan has most of the channels sports fans need, including ESPN, FS1 and conference networks like ACC Network, but no longer has TBS or TNT, which often hosts MLB and NBA games. Adding on the Sports Plus with NFL Red Zone package ($10.99/month) gets you an extra 25 channels, too.
It also has most of the notable local channels (WRAL, FOX 50, ABC 11), but not CBS, PBS or The CW.
fuboTV’s packages are much more manageable than AT&T TV Now’s, as its base Family package offers enough to keep customers satisfied, while its Elite package includes channels that are less of a necessity, like NBA TV, TeenNick and MTV Classic.
Notable Missing Channels: CBS, PBS (UNC-TV), The CW, TBS, TNT, CNN, truTV, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and more
DVR Storage:
• Family: 250 hours of Cloud DVR storage (can upgrade to 1000 hours with Cloud DVR 1,000, $16.99/month)
• Elite: 1,000 hours
• fubo Latino: 250 hours (can upgrade to 1,000 hours)
Sling TV
Sling TV was started in 2015 by Dish Network, the second-largest satellite TV provider in the country. At that time, Sling was the first live TV streaming service of its kind.
Sling TV has been a staple in the streaming industry for years -- and has been made doubly famous by the company’s racy, humorous ads about “slinging” -- but recent losses in subscribers raise the question of if it can hang with the newer giants in the field.
Cost: $30-45/month (three-day free trial)
Sling offers three packages:
• Sling Orange (33 channels, sports and family, $30/month)
• Sling Blue (40+ channels, news and entertainment, $30/month)
• Sling Orange + Blue (50+ channels, $45/month)
Channel lineup
Sling TV’s channel lineup, as a whole, isn’t nearly as robust as others on this list. It lacks all notable local channels in Chatham County, meaning you will have to watch CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC elsewhere.
One of Sling TV’s major selling points is that it’s considered “a la carte” television, allowing you to pick-and-choose from more than 50 different channels to add to your base package.
The issue with its packages is that both Sling Orange (sports/family) and Sling Blue (news/entertainment) have essentially split these categories in half, causing you to feel that whichever package you choose, your experience will still be somewhat incomplete.
For example, Sling Orange has ESPN and Stadium, but Sling Blue has NFL Network and FS1.
To get the most for your money, opting for the Sling Orange + Blue plan might be the most sensible option, allowing you to avoid the headache of determining what’s in each package.
Notable Missing Channels: FOX 50, WRAL, CBS NC, ABC 11, The CW, FOX RSNs, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon
DVR Storage: 10 hours of Cloud DVR storage (upgrade to 50 hours with Cloud DVR Plus, $5/month)
Philo
Philo began at Harvard University in 2009 as a small, two-person project featuring a makeshift aluminum foil satellite dish to pick up TV signals and send them directly to students’ laptops.
Over a decade later, it’s a nationwide live TV streaming service with a user-friendly interface, a simplistic sign-up process and the smallest price tag of them all.
Cost: $20/month (seven-day free trial)
One of the primary reasons people decide to cut the cord is to avoid the high prices often charged by cable and satellite providers. However, many live TV streaming services end up charging close to the same amount.
That’s where Philo comes in.
At $20/month, Philo is the most budget-friendly option among all of its competitors. However, it’s not for everyone.
Channel lineup
If you aren’t the biggest sports fan and typically choose to get your news from alternative sources, Philo is for you.
Upfront, Philo says it offers 63 channels regardless of your location. It has a formidable lineup of entertainment and lifestyle content, offering channels like HGTV, AMC, Nickelodeon and more, including BET, Comedy Central and MTV, which isn’t the case with all of its competitors.
The kicker is: it doesn’t offer any local channels, sports content or major news programming. While it does have a few news channels, such as BBC America and Newsy, it doesn’t support any of the most-watched American news networks.
Notable Missing Channels: All sports channels (including ESPN and FS1), local channels (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and The CW), major news networks (CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, etc.) and more
DVR Storage: Unlimited (recordings are saved for just 30 days)
For those of you who are leaning towards cutting the cord because of your cable or satellite TV provider’s exorbitant price or less-than-ideal customer service, you have options.
The key is to determine what content you can’t live without and how much you’d be willing to pay, then go from there to figure out what add-ons and other features you’d like to include, as well as what service fits those needs.
In the end, the abundance of choices for live TV programming increases the chance that you’ll find the service that best fulfills you and your family’s entertainment desires.