Cutting the cord

[SeaBass]

Just got an email that YouTube TV is increasing their price from $64.99 to $72.99, effective April 18. Meet the new cable, same as the old cable. 😂

[MrTPlush]

39 minutes ago, SeaBass said:

Just got an email that YouTube TV is increasing their price from $64.99 to $72.99, effective April 18. Meet the new cable, same as the old cable. 😂

Except there is actually competition. Unlike most people who are lucky to have two cable options. Also...still over half the cost of cable, without a contract. 

Inflation is alive and healthy. Prices go up. This may make FuboTV a more attractive option over trying to juggle YouTubeTV+Bally though.

[owbc]

2 hours ago, MrTPlush said:

Except there is actually competition. Unlike most people who are lucky to have two cable options. Also...still over half the cost of cable, without a contract. 

Inflation is alive and healthy. Prices go up. This may make FuboTV a more attractive option over trying to juggle YouTubeTV+Bally though.

I'm in an area with two ISPs. Not surprisingly, the cost is exactly the same ($145/month) for CenturyLink gigabit + FuboTV vs. Xfinity gigabit + an equivalent TV package. 

[TURBO]

I am paying less than $100 per month with TDS.  That includes cable, internet, and landline phone.

Same exact package (except I don't get the AMC channel)  with spectrum was $250.  Dropped them like a hot potato as soon as TDS hit our area.

Price is guaranteed for 2 years, at which point it will probably double, then I will go and get spectrum again for their low introductory price, and so forth...

Competition is great!

[pitchleague]

On 2/1/2023 at 7:37 PM, nate82 said:

It will be back.  I think this happened with another sports channel and it was back a month or two later.

I don't believe it's back yet on Youtubetv.  Now that Sunday Ticket has at least some prices, it'd be nice for Youtube TV to get their act together with MLB Network.  I'd kinda like the discount on the Sunday Ticket prices.   Knowing my luck, they'll resolve things on June 9th, just a couple days after the early bird prices expire.

[Samurai Bucky]

We have been seriously looking at changing to fubo.  I was wondering:

• Bally Wisconsin is included... for realz?
• Is "ABC" considered WISN, and is CBS considered channel 58?  I noticed they have Fox 6 Milwaukee and WTMJ 4 listed.
• How many screens can I have outside of the house -- let's say via mobile devices?

Muchas thankyouas...

[MrTPlush]

16 hours ago, Samurai Bucky said:

We have been seriously looking at changing to fubo.  I was wondering:

• Bally Wisconsin is included... for realz?
• Is "ABC" considered WISN, and is CBS considered channel 58?  I noticed they have Fox 6 Milwaukee and WTMJ 4 listed.
• How many screens can I have outside of the house -- let's say via mobile devices?

Muchas thankyouas...

-Yes

-99% sure, Yes

-10 screens on your home network and I believe 3 devices mobile. Please note those 10 devices are on a single home network you designate as such. The 3 mobile devices cannot be TV platform devices. So password sharing is not feasible as some of the other streaming services are. I mean....I am sure if there is a will, there is probably a way. Like connecting a laptop via HDMI cord. However, that may not be even possible, as some services have ways to detect and block screen sharing like that. 

[Samurai Bucky]

On 4/20/2023 at 7:28 AM, MrTPlush said:

-Yes

-99% sure, Yes

-10 screens on your home network and I believe 3 devices mobile. Please note those 10 devices are on a single home network you designate as such. The 3 mobile devices cannot be TV platform devices. So password sharing is not feasible as some of the other streaming services are. I mean....I am sure if there is a will, there is probably a way. Like connecting a laptop via HDMI cord. However, that may not be even possible, as some services have ways to detect and block screen sharing like that. 

We subscribed for the 7-day free trial.  I'll keep everybody in the loop 😉

[Samurai Bucky]

We will be unsubscribing to YouTubeTV and going with the lowest Fubo plan.  Here are some reasons why:

• Ok Bally Sports... you got me.
• There is a "back to previous program" button.  Let's go!
• Transition from channel to channel is quicker.  Maybe I needed to set my primary DNS server to 8.8.8.8 to get YouTubeTV to be faster 😉
• Favorites!  I don't even know if YouTubeTV has that.
• I like watching some soccer once in awhile.  beinSports FTW.
• Not sure if I will be using the 1000 hrs of cloud DVR storage.  That vs. the Unlimited in YouTubeTV wasn't a show stopper.

I may be singing a different tune later on.  I have my local stations.  I don't really watch PBS, so not having that isn't a big deal.  No Turner stations, so when March Madness comes around next year, I will be SOL.

[SeaBass]

That's the beauty of the streaming services, you can quit Fubo for a month when March Madness comes around and go back to YouTube TV (or Hulu etc.), then quit that and go back to Fubo again when it's over. Click of a button.

Heck, a lot of those services simply let you pause your membership for a month or two, you shouldn't even need to cancel and lose whatever settings or recordings you have.

[MrTPlush]

I am sticking to Bally Sports and YoutubeTV combined, it is basically the same cost combined. Then I can keep my interface for TV consistently the same. I would rather unsubscribe from Bally+ in October and then resubscribe come April, that is it...no other fumbling around all year. 

Of course, I am not a channel flipper...so Samari's love of the back button to the most recent channel is meaningless to someone like me. 

[RobertCrawley]

How is YouTube TV working for people these days? I'm trying the trial version and it seems to work pretty well, but I don't know how well it works with FanDuel (Bally), the cost, etc. Thanks.

[LouisEly]

3 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

How is YouTube TV working for people these days? I'm trying the trial version and it seems to work pretty well, but I don't know how well it works with FanDuel (Bally), the cost, etc. Thanks.

Other than not having MLB Network, I like it.  Has everything else for sports.  Cost is about $80/mo including taxes. 

[RobertCrawley]

42 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Other than not having MLB Network, I like it.  Has everything else for sports.  Cost is about $80/mo including taxes. 

How do you watch Brewers games? Thanks!

[SeaBass]

11 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

How do you watch Brewers games? Thanks!

The only choices for Wisconsin residents to watch Brewers games via streaming are:

1) FanDuel Sports Network, standalone website or app (live local sports only):
https://fanduelsportsnetwork.com/
Price is $19.99/month or $189.99/year plus tax

2) fubo TV (live television with regional sports):
https://www.fubo.tv/welcome
The PRO package is the minimum tier for Brewers games
Price is $84.99/month plus tax

3) DIRECTV stream (live television with regional sports):
https://streamtv.directv.com/
The CHOICE package is the minimum tier for Brewers games
Price is $114.99/month plus tax

If you're going to stick with YouTube TV as your regular live TV streaming service then you wouldn't want fubo or DIRECTV stream you'd want only one of those 3 services since they all have live TV networks etc.

YouTube TV does not offer FanDuel Sports Network so you'd need to use FanDuel's website/app to watch Brewers games as long as you are a Wisconsin resident.

Outside of Wisconsin the only option would be MLB.TV and hope you aren't in a blacked out region.

[SeaBass]

11 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Other than not having MLB Network, I like it.  Has everything else for sports.  Cost is about $80/mo including taxes. 

MLB.com does offer a standalone subscription for MLB Network for $5.99/month.

Doesn't feel worth it to me but maybe for 2 or 3 months a year it wouldn't be awful. I could maybe see signing up during the last couple months of the baseball season to follow playoff races. But I probably wouldn't even then honestly.

[owbc]

15 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

How is YouTube TV working for people these days? I'm trying the trial version and it seems to work pretty well, but I don't know how well it works with FanDuel (Bally), the cost, etc. Thanks.

Switched to Hulu after November price increase. It’s been fine, all these services are basically the same. 
 

MLB season will be interesting, I’m currently boycotting paying for my local team (Seattle) until they make it easier to watch so might be sailing the high seas this year or watching more Brewers, which is free with MLB.tv through my season ticket membership. 

[TURBO]

Being a TDS member, as far as I can tell, Brewers games will be played on FanDuel (Old Bally's), with no extra fees for TDS members.  TDS has been awesome, and I like it much better than all the streaming options.  The only channel they don't carry that I want is AMC, it has everything else I could possibly want or need.

[SeaBass]

16 hours ago, TURBO said:

Being a TDS member, as far as I can tell, Brewers games will be played on FanDuel (Old Bally's), with no extra fees for TDS members.  TDS has been awesome, and I like it much better than all the streaming options.  The only channel they don't carry that I want is AMC, it has everything else I could possibly want or need.

Streaming is now very close to what cable was. I still prefer streaming over cable because I don't like all the extraneous fees that cable companies just can't help but charge. Also just being able to manage your subscription with the click of a button rather than going through the pain of talking to a customer service rep that is told to exhaust every option before letting you cancel.

BUT the price isn't as huge a gap as it once was. I can totally see why people would just stick with their cable subscription at this point. It's probably just not worth the hassle unless you really want to pinch every last penny.

I personally don't subscribe to any live TV provider period. Too much money and I don't watch it anyway. The only thing I want to watch is Packers games and my folks have me added as a family member for their YouTube TV subscription so that's the only time I watch it. I get Brewers games through the FanDuel app.

[Samurai Bucky]

We dropped YouTubeTV a long time ago.  We went to fuboTV when they were in their infancy.  Their prices have jumped big time, obviously.  We still get to watch FanDuel on fubo.

A few things I don't like about fubo:

• No Turner channels.  This is solved by our free MAX subscription that is still grandfathered by our AT&T wireless plan.  March Madness still in tact.
• Buffering on occasion.  It gets annoying at times, but that could be because of our horse-sugar Spectrum cable that seems to have hiccups on a regular basis.
• Viewers outside of the house.  Everybody is "cracking down" on this, I suppose.
• There are only 4 4K channels which are only used for key sporting events and are not available for DVR.

What I do like:

• beIn sports.  Every once in a while, they have some good stuff.
• The DVR is just like YouTubeTV (at least from what I remember from YouTube TV)

That's about all.  If YouTube TV carried FanDuel, we would jump back.

[TURBO]

Fanduel carries my new favorite show!  Foul Territory.  Found it a few weeks ago, and it is now in my daily viewing routine.  I like the fact that the panel really does say what they feel about all things baseball.  I don't like the fact that they are against a salary cap in general.

Eric Kratz is a fun watch, so is AJ Priesinski (probably murdered that spelling)  Took me a few episodes to get used to Scott Braun, but he has grown on me. 

Great show that fills my offseason baseball needs.

[homer]

We got rid of Peacock a few weeks ago. My wife wanted it back so I renewed it and they offered us a year for $30. I did something similar with Paramount as well. I ordered it through Amazon but getting to Paramount through the Amazon app is annoying so I was planning to cancel and reorder through Paramount itself. When I went to cancel they offered me two months for 99 cents each. Moral of the story is to cancel before they auto renew you and then sign up again at a cheaper rate.

[LouisEly]

On 2/16/2025 at 9:45 AM, homer said:

We got rid of Peacock a few weeks ago. My wife wanted it back so I renewed it and they offered us a year for $30. I did something similar with Paramount as well. I ordered it through Amazon but getting to Paramount through the Amazon app is annoying so I was planning to cancel and reorder through Paramount itself. When I went to cancel they offered me two months for 99 cents each. Moral of the story is to cancel before they auto renew you and then sign up again at a cheaper rate.

Get Peacock on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Last year I got one year for $19.95, year before I got one year for $1.99/mo.

I cancel in October/early Nov when there usually aren't any meaningful UW football or basketball games on for the next few weeks (usually UW football is on ESPN/Fox/B10/CBS/NBC unless they are playing Rutgers or Maryland), then resubscribe on BF/CM.  No football games on Peacock last year, Arizona was the only meaningful basketball game on.

Networks aren't allocated for the upcoming season yet, but the only football game that might be on Peacock is Nov 8th vs Washington as neither team was good last year.  Possibly Indiana on 11/15, but Indiana was good last year so probably not on Peacock.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Has anyone tried the fanduel app yet? I see its $19.99/month or $122.99/season through Sept (saves you about $20). Its also now available as an app on my Samsung TV instead of having to use a firestick like I had to with Bally. I have a new Samsung TV so not sure if that applies to older ones. You can also get it through Amazon prime as well but for the same price.

There is a 7 day trial.  They are streaming the Brewers at 2pm today and then the Monday night game.

Just curious if they made any improvements since last year as the Bally app was such a pain to use.