Live TV Plans Are Changing
The major live TV streaming players are all making big changes to their plans. Here’s a breakdown of the best ones and the ones you can skip.
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YouTube TV’s New Genre Plans
Let’s start with YouTube TV. It’s the live TV streaming leader and where a lot of the action is right now. Early in the year, YouTube TV announced the gradual rollout of cheaper, genre-specific plans: sports, sports and news, entertainment. That’s just a few of them. All these new plans have fewer channels than the main plan, which is sticking around, but they’re priced lower. Not everyone’s excited about these new options. Writer Jared Newman called the sports plan a letdown in a column for PC World, and he makes some fair points. Still, the YouTube TV sports plan could end up being the most popular new plan of the year, by far. What it really comes down to is the channel lineup.
The Sports Plan’s Channel Lineup
Last year, a sports fan named Caleb shared his must-have channels: only 13, but stuck inside a big bundle. It turns out YouTube TV’s new sports plan includes every one of them, including his locals, ESPN, Fox Sports, TBS, TNT, and USA. After realizing that, an email went out to him right away, and he wrote back to say he’s already planning to make the switch.
Pricing And Retention Discounts
This plan offers what a lot of people have been asking for: just the sports. At $65, that’s reportedly about $18 a month less than YouTube TV’s main plan, and new customers can pay $55 a month for the first year. That price gap could change, though. It wouldn’t be surprising if YouTube TV raises the main plan’s price once ESPN Unlimited gets added to it in the fall. For now, the service seems to be focused on retaining customers through offers like retention discounts.
If you’re offered something like $20 off a month for four months, it may be worth holding off on switching to one of the genre plans just yet. YouTube TV is still a solid pick, with a strong channel lineup and interface and more pricing flexibility than ever, but it’s still worth weighing against the other services below.
DirecTV Streaming Plans
DirecTV streaming plans got roughly a year’s head start on genre-specific packages. The $70 a month My Sports plan is still worth comparing to YouTube TV’s new bundle, but two cheaper options seem to be the most popular. Starting with the $35 My Entertainment plan, which includes more than 60 cable channels, mostly entertainment with a few cable news networks mixed in, plus ad-supported Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, all bundled into that price.
Local channels and sports aren’t included, which is part of what keeps the pricing down. If you do want locals, the $40 My News plan is worth a look, since in many areas it includes all four major broadcast channels alongside those cable news networks.
DirecTV Genre Packs And Downgrades
All the plans mentioned above are DirecTV genre packs, essentially step-down options from the traditional full bundles, which are still offered under the new name “streaming packages.” The entertainment plan is still a solid alternative to YouTube TV’s main plan and has been heavily discounted lately, sometimes down to $50 for the first month.
But if you’re on a pricier plan like Choice or above, you may have a chance to downgrade and save this year, given what’s been happening with regional sports networks. The same goes for Fubo, which has also carried regional sports networks in most of its bundles.
Fubo And Hulu Plus Live TV
Fubo has been marketing a more affordable sports plan at $56 a month, but there are still real channel gaps. NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery networks, for example, weren’t included at the time of writing. That brings us to Hulu Plus Live TV, still a solid option if you want the Disney bundle folded into your live TV plan.
The channel lineup overlaps a lot with YouTube TV’s main plan, with a few differences worth comparing side by side. There’s also been a lot of speculation this year about Hulu content moving into Disney+, and what that means for Hulu Live subscribers, especially now that Disney reportedly owns 70% of Fubo.
Sling TV’s Flexible Passes
We’re heading into the first spring sports season with Sling TV‘s new flexible passes. Starting at $5, you can pay for one, three, or seven days at a time, with no monthly commitment. The passes only apply to one plan, Sling Orange, which is anchored by ESPN but also includes TBS and TNT, good for college basketball. If these passes ever disappear, that channel value is probably why. Sling still offers its regular monthly plans too, mainly Orange and Blue, which can also be combined.
The price of Sling Blue, which leans more toward news and entertainment, has gone up in areas where locals are included, so it now runs anywhere from $46 to $55 a month on its own. There’s also Sling Select, starting at $20 a month, which has an odd mix of channels but does include locals in some areas for an extra fee.
Philo And Frndly TV
After football season, a lot of people don’t want to keep paying for a big bundle full of expensive sports programming, and some try to avoid that year-round. That’s where Philo has traditionally been a solid recommendation. It reportedly started at $16 when first tested; now the starting price has climbed to $33 a month.
There’s a new-customer promo that’s been running for a while, maybe a sign the price increase went a bit too far for some. Still, if you watch a lot of reality TV, drama, and true crime on cable networks, this may be the right service for you. It also includes HBO Max, Discovery+, and AMC+ in that monthly price.
Frndly TV As A Cheaper Alternative
There’s also Frndly TV, a much cheaper alternative to Philo. Their channel lineups differ quite a bit, but both are primarily focused on entertainment and lifestyle networks. Channels like A&E, History, and Hallmark are popular on Frndly TV. It’s affordable enough that some people use it purely as an add-on to their main live TV plan, just to fill in channel gaps.
Which Plan Should You Choose
With the changes above in mind, here’s how to narrow things down. If you want the full pay TV bundle, sports, news, entertainment, and locals, start with the YouTube TV main plan or the DirecTV entertainment bundle (not to be confused with DirecTV’s My Entertainment genre pack). Both full bundles offer strong channel lineups and solid apps; you’ll pay more because you’re getting more. Want sports only? The YouTube TV Sports Plan is the most interesting option. Want sports and news together? Check out DirecTV My Sports, since despite the name, it includes some popular news channels too.
Locals, Cable News, And Entertainment Picks
For locals without an antenna, all the options run a bit pricey. But if DirecTV’s My News plan covers your major locals, that’s the top pick. The various new YouTube TV plans also include full local coverage. For cable news, DirecTV’s My Entertainment and My News genre packs are the top picks (Sling Blue used to be the go-to here). For entertainment, several of these options could work, it really depends on which genres and networks you care about, but start with DirecTV My Entertainment, Philo, or Frndly TV.
If you’re leaning away from live TV but still dip in occasionally, try Sling TV’s day passes on the Orange plan for $5. You pay for the short-term pass, it cancels automatically, and you won’t be billed again.
My Personal TV Setup
YouTube TV has been tested temporarily just to track all these changes, but keeping a live TV plan year-round is no longer the norm for a lot of people, including me. A DIY bundle of standalone apps works better instead. In fact, most people who responded to a poll said their primary source of TV is standalone apps, both free and paid, and many of those now offer access to live TV as well.
