Best live TV streaming service for cutting cable – CNET [CNET]

Many people may have considered cutting the cable cord, but for that one show or channel that keeps them from taking the plunge. Enter live TV streaming services. These streaming services allow you to keep the familiar TV channels you love, as well as live sports (including NBA basketball and major league baseball) plus local and national news. All this with just an inexpensive streaming device — no cable box or antenna required. 

Not to be confused with an on-demand streaming platform like Netflix, HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video, live TV streaming services such as Sling TV and YouTube TV offer a live channel lineup. Packages start at $25 a month with no extra fees or contracts, which is much less than a cable subscription. You can stream live programming from channels including CNN, NBC, Fox and ESPN on your smart TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV devices or game consoles, or on the go via a mobile device. The best part of all? Setting up a streaming TV service to watch original programming doesn’t require an engineer to visit your house.

Read more: Best streaming service: Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime and more

The downside? The prices and services themselves are in constant flux as people scramble to secure access to popular channels (ones with highly watched original shows and regional sports networks are particularly in demand) without a subscription. In the past six months Sling TV, Hulu, Philo and AT&T TV have all increased their prices. In April, Google and Roku got into a contract dispute that prevented users from downloading the YouTube TV app on Roku devices (although there is a workaround). There’s also the chance that a certain cable channel could disappear from a certain service after a contract expires. Change can also mean that competition is squeezed out — our former cheap picks AT&T TV Watch TV and TVision either stopped accepting customers or shut down entirely, while PlayStation Vue shuttered in 2020. 

Read more: YouTube ratchets up Roku face-off by adding YouTube TV to main YouTube app

With all of that in mind, welcome to the brave new world of live TV streaming over the internet. If you need help deciding which streaming bundle or service is best for you then read on! We’ll break down which services offer the most popular channels (including sports channels) and how to make the most of your streaming box, streaming stick, or other streaming device. We will update this best streaming service list periodically as things change (they always do).

How to shop for cord-cutting live TV services

Each of the services above offers a different mix of channels, so your first step should be choosing one that carries your “can’t miss” cable channels and shows. And some of the most important channels are locals, namely ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. Not every service offers all of them in every area.

The services can be broken down into two main groups: Budget, with prices ranging between $20 and $35 and few or no local channels; and Premium, with prices from $65 and up and including locals plus extras like supercharged cloud DVRs. That’s right, all of the services allow you to record and play back shows, just like a traditional cable or satellite DVR, but they often come with restrictions. 

Read more: Top 100 channels compared across Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, AT&T TV Now and Philo

Next there’s the multistream issue. If you want to watch more than one program at the same time — for example, on your living room TV and on a bedroom TV, or the main TV and a tablet or other devices — you’ll want to make sure the service you’re watching has enough simultaneous streams. Sling Orange only allows one stream at a time, and if you try to watch a second, it’s blocked. Other services have higher simultaneous stream limits.

Keep in mind that, especially if you do have more than one person watching at once on supported devices, you need to make sure you have fast, reliable broadband internet. A 100Mbps download service will cost around $50 to $60 a month, and sadly that’s where the savings of cutting cable can get swallowed up. 

Here’s a live TV streaming shopping list to consider: 

• Does the service offer your “must-have” channels? See CNET’s comparison of the top 100 channels here.
• Does it offer local channels in your area? See CNET’s comparison of local channel access here (last updated August 2018).
• How good is the cloud DVR?
• Does the interface make it easy to browse for shows?
• Are there enough simultaneous streams for you and your family?
• Is your internet connection up to snuff? See CNET’s guide to improving streaming quality here.

What streaming TV services won’t give you

Streaming TV services are great, but there are some things they can’t do compared to a traditional cable box. 

First, it’s worth looking at the channels that you can’t get with any of these services. For example, only one of the services offers PBS — YouTube TV — and this is because the broadcaster reportedly hadn’t acquired the streaming rights to all of the shows it airs. 

With sports returning from hiatus, fans will want to make sure they can follow their teams. Most services carry ESPN and local channels for NFL football, but if you follow a professional baseball or basketball team, you might need their specific channel — called a regional sports network or RSN — to watch regular season games. RSN coverage varies widely for each service.

Every live TV service’s video streaming is a few seconds to a minute or more behind the “live” stream you’ll get from your local cable or satellite provider. That means you could get a preview of scores or big plays from Twitter, phone alerts or phone calls from friends slightly before you see the action on screen.

If you’re used to 5.1-channel surround offered by cable or even OTA, then you’ll probably be disappointed that all of the services only include stereo sound on live broadcasts. 5.1 audio is available on some on-demand material, though.

Don’t care about live TV? More cord-cutter staples

In 2021 streaming fans have more choices than ever, including NBC/Comcast’s Peacock, AT&T’s HBO Max, Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus. While Peacock differs in that it has live news the other services lack traditional live channels — focusing instead on back catalogs and new original programming — but they can still eat into your entertainment budget.

Netflix: One of the first streaming TV services and it’s so popular that it’s become a catch-all term in the same way as “Magic Marker” or “Coke” in the South. And then, of course, there’s the ever-popular “Netflix and chill.” High-definition plans start at $14 a month, and the service covers thousands of TV shows and movies, including original TV series like The Queen’s Gambit and Stranger Things. Then there’s Netflix original movies like Army of the Dead and The Irishman. 

Amazon Prime Video: The “other” major streaming service, which is included as part of a $99 annual Prime Membership or $9 a month. The interface isn’t as user-friendly as Netflix, but the service also offers shows not on its rival, including original content like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Expanse. Amazon Prime also has the ability to add premium channels (HBO and Showtime and more), making it a potential one-stop shop.

Disney Plus: One of the biggest streaming services to launch in some time, Disney has gathered a mix of movies, TV shows and exclusive content, including Loki, The Mandalorian and WandaVision, for $8 a month. Read our Disney Plus review here.

Paramount Plus: Recently renamed from CBS All Access, Paramount Plus costs $6 a month, or ad-free for $10 a month The service offers live TV (in some cities), sports and on-demand content from CBS, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Paramount Network, plus its Paramount Pictures movie studio. Paramount Plus also offers exclusive originals such as Star Trek: Discovery, Picard and the Good Fight.

Vudu/Movies Anywhere: Digital libraries (or lockers) that incorporate legacy UltraViolet content and streaming movies and TV that are only available for purchase, such as new releases.

Peacock: Live now nationwide, Peacock is NBC’s answer to CBS All Access. Its main claim to fame is that its basic tier, with 7,500 hours of content, is free.

It’s also worth investigating free, ad-supported services such as Roku Channel, IMDb TV, TuBi TV, Pluto and Crackle, which offer a wealth of content. Read CNET’s roundup of free TV services here.

Is an indoor or outdoor antenna a viable option?

If you have a TV in your house — that is, a screen that incorporates a tuner — you’re part-way to cutting the cord already. An affordable indoor antenna hooked up to your TV will let you watch free TV over the air from any channel you receive in your local broadcast area. Antennas cost as little as $10. See our comparison of indoor antennas here.

You can also add a DVR such as the Amazon Fire TV Recast or TiVo Bolt OTA if you want. Then you can record those live TV antenna channels, play them back and skip commercials, just like on a standard cable TV DVR. Here’s CNET’s roundup of the best OTA DVRs for cord-cutters.

A solid, lower-cost alternative to live TV streaming services is the combination of an antenna for live local channels and an on-demand service such as Netflix or Hulu. That way you’ll still be able to watch live programming and also have a choice of on-demand content.

Conclusion: Try it yourself

Streaming live TV services are still in flux. Since launch, every service has increased its prices by at least $5 a month, channel selections and cities with local channel access are changing all the time, and reports persist about some services losing money, or even closing in the case of T-Mobile’s TVision. While streaming is undoubtedly the future, and cable the past, it will be some time before both prices and the services offered settle in.

That said, if you want a cable-like experience both at home and for on-the-go devices, without the dead weight that a cable subscription brings, then a streaming service is worth a look. There’s no contract to sign, and if you don’t like the service you’re on, you can easily switch. So whether you’re looking for a basic package such as Sling TV or want to pay more for a deluxe experience from the likes of YouTube TV, there should be a streaming TV service to suit you.

More streaming advice

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