vasaver wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:38 pm
How many people spend $200-$300 per month for DirecTV satellite? Oh and they also have cable service at a cabin or beach home? For many people $65/month is a huge savings.
But if you were happy with the youtube channels, you wouldn't be paying 200+/month for directTV. You would be paying more like 70. When streaming started people hoped that bundling would be weakened (i.e. you paying 20 bucks for channels you never watch). So far that hasn't happened. I know I watch like 10-15 channels today but we are paying for 60+ because that is the only way to get the ones we want. It isn't clear if the math would actually work out. Everyone thinks that if they didn't have to pay for those 40 channels they don't watch, their bill would be cheaper. But it might turn out that those 20 channels you want would just cost more (i.e. people are subsidizing the channels I want to watch and they don't).
Personally I like streaming mainly because cable boxes have about the worst UI possible. They know they have you locked in and it shows. Streaming services aren't great, but at least they try:) I would love to see what people would come up with if any company could build a front end to these services.
randomguy wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:18 pm
Personally I like streaming mainly because cable boxes have about the worst UI possible. They know they have you locked in and it shows. Streaming services aren't great, but at least they try:) I would love to see what people would come up with if any company could build a front end to these services.
I was able to put up with DirecTV's crummy interface until they offered me a free upgrade. I ended up with three bulky boxes instead of one and the "improved" interface was horrendous!
I never did get it to do what I wanted. It would record things I didn't ask for (using up my then-precious internet bandwidth). I couldn't get it to record some things I wanted to record and a bunch of other annoyances. The thing was a weird mix of dish and internet, all looking like some Frankenstein cable TV setup. Three boxes, lots of coax and a couple of Ethernet cables.
I called the people who installed it (subcontracted by DTV, I believe) and the tech said it was just an awful implementation and it was not me misunderstanding how to use it.
I cancelled. The stupid dish is still on my roof with useless and clumsy coax running into my house and though the attic. I must have been in some "satisfaction guaranteed" window because I didn't get charged.
Gigabit Fiber and streaming will surely put DTV out of its misery.
May neither drought nor rain nor blizzard disturb the joy juice in your gizzard. -- Squire Omar Barker (aka S.O.B.), the Cowboy Poet
Triple digit golfer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:17 pm
In other words, big surprise, there's no free lunch and cable really isn't as "over priced" as people thought it is.
If you watch sports or cable news, you have to pay. They're expensive.
Cable is outrageously overpriced, when your cable company adds $30+ to the base rate for “broadcast tv surcharges” and “sports surcharges” and so on.
And if all you care about is, say, one news channel and few sports channels, paying $X for a whole bunch of other channels you never watch is crazy.
I’m coming around though to just watching whatever sports are available on the main networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, mostly). For a casual football fan, that should provide enough, and especially if your team has a national or large regional presence. At least as of last year, most of ESPN’s big college games were on ABC anyway.
So buy an over the air antenna and maybe that is all you need for the sports fix?
I'm also coming around to that myself. I can't justify $65 for something that I might use 10 hours a month. Everything else we watch is on Hulu already.
vasaver wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 2:38 pm
How many people spend $200-$300 per month for DirecTV satellite? Oh and they also have cable service at a cabin or beach home? For many people $65/month is a huge savings.
But if you were happy with the youtube channels, you wouldn't be paying 200+/month for directTV. You would be paying more like 70. When streaming started people hoped that bundling would be weakened (i.e. you paying 20 bucks for channels you never watch). So far that hasn't happened. I know I watch like 10-15 channels today but we are paying for 60+ because that is the only way to get the ones we want. It isn't clear if the math would actually work out. Everyone thinks that if they didn't have to pay for those 40 channels they don't watch, their bill would be cheaper. But it might turn out that those 20 channels you want would just cost more (i.e. people are subsidizing the channels I want to watch and they don't).
Personally I like streaming mainly because cable boxes have about the worst UI possible. They know they have you locked in and it shows. Streaming services aren't great, but at least they try:) I would love to see what people would come up with if any company could build a front end to these services.
I can't seem to find the DirecTV plan for $70 a month. When I check https://www.directv.com/packages/ the closest channel lineup I see is the Entertainment Package for $64.99 the first year and goes up to $97.00 the second year on contract. How much is the DVR, extra boxes, taxes, fees...? Early Termination, Activation?...there is so much fine print who knows what the total price is?
Oh and that second location cabin, beach home? When I travel now I just take my Rokus and plug them in.
YouTubeTV is a deal for many satellite/cable subscribers. Although I prefer the grandfathered go big DirecTV Now / ATT TV streaming plan. It is $65 a month for a better channel selection and hbo.
Triple digit golfer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:17 pm
I didn't see this mentioned (but I didn't read every post), but doesn't me paying for and using YTTV give Google valuable marketing data? I mean, they have so many products for free to get your data and surely they are using my viewing habits to make their ad placement prices higher.
I actually thought this was the the reason Google originally launched Youtube TV, as the data on viewing habits could really allow Google to target ads both on live TV and offline when a user is browsing the internet. I wonder if there are laws prohibiting the collection of this type of data (EU is probably stricter with privacy). The nice feature with Youtube TV and in general Google's privacy is that it's relatively easy to pause your search and viewing history - its got a cleaner interface and I think is better than other social media companies that track users.
Triple digit golfer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:17 pm
I didn't see this mentioned (but I didn't read every post), but doesn't me paying for and using YTTV give Google valuable marketing data? I mean, they have so many products for free to get your data and surely they are using my viewing habits to make their ad placement prices higher.
I actually thought this was the the reason Google originally launched Youtube TV, as the data on viewing habits could really allow Google to target ads both on live TV and offline when a user is browsing the internet. I wonder if there are laws prohibiting the collection of this type of data (EU is probably stricter with privacy). The nice feature with Youtube TV and in general Google's privacy is that it's relatively easy to pause your search and viewing history - its got a cleaner interface and I think is better than other social media companies that track users.
Does that pause it for your viewing of it (and your spouses viewing of it) or of it entering their algorithms?
Triple digit golfer wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 3:17 pm
I didn't see this mentioned (but I didn't read every post), but doesn't me paying for and using YTTV give Google valuable marketing data? I mean, they have so many products for free to get your data and surely they are using my viewing habits to make their ad placement prices higher.
I actually thought this was the the reason Google originally launched Youtube TV, as the data on viewing habits could really allow Google to target ads both on live TV and offline when a user is browsing the internet. I wonder if there are laws prohibiting the collection of this type of data (EU is probably stricter with privacy). The nice feature with Youtube TV and in general Google's privacy is that it's relatively easy to pause your search and viewing history - its got a cleaner interface and I think is better than other social media companies that track users.
Does that pause it for your viewing of it (and your spouses viewing of it) or of it entering their algorithms?
From what I understand, when you pause it Google does not collect or store this data. And it therefore cannot be used in their algorithms. Google also allows you to clear out your existing history. They recommend a month I think, but easy enough possible to clean it out completely. Having said this, there are other ways in which Google and other social media companies collect user data outside of user history. But at least you know it won't be based on your search and viewing history.
02nz wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:10 pm
Sling is $30 (increased a few months ago from $25 for the Blue package I have, although they added DVR and a few channels for that price).
Sling Blue + News add on is by far the best value for me. I canceled You Tube TV after the last price hike. Sling TV does have a lot more bugs compared to You Tube TV - but it offers more of what I want for less!
It is still a "selling feature" to have a single channel with the Standard Def version, the Digital version and the HD version. 3 times the channels!
You get History Channel in standard def, digital crisp and HD, all for one low price. That is price is good for 6 months or 1 year. Then you pay a higher price. Don't forget cable modem rental, box rentals, HD up charge, excise tax, state and local fees, sales tax, access charge and a $10/month customer loyalty charge. Take that $64.99 base rate and double it.
The thought of going back to the UI for a cable box or even the sat boxes makes me shake a bit.
"We are here to provoke thoughtfulness, not agree with you." Unknown Boglehead
I don't mean this to be a cruel comment, but I'm sure there are many posters here who did the transition from rabbit ears to satellite/cable TV.
Wasn't satellite/cable TV originally sold like Netflix as an ad-free alternative to TV? (e.g. since you're paying for the TV service, you don't have to sit through ads)
$50/month looks so manageable, but $600/year is something you think twice about. An extra $15/month? No big deal. Now paying $780/year for TV? Ouch.
Really, what it comes down to what's important to you and how does it fit in your budget. I'm going to keep YTTV because it provides what's important to me. If I had to survive on just my Social Security of $30K/year, I might only opt for OTA which is acceptable in my area. But I have enough in investment income such that $780/year easily fits into my budget.
So run the numbers, look at alternatives, and decide on the best value for you.
Important: Review your decision after 6 months. At that point you may discover that you really aren't getting the value you expected from the option you selected. Fortunately, it's easy to change streaming services.
The key to success - Save early, save often, invest well.
Helo80 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 9:29 am
I don't mean this to be a cruel comment, but I'm sure there are many posters here who did the transition from rabbit ears to satellite/cable TV.
Wasn't satellite/cable TV originally sold like Netflix as an ad-free alternative to TV? (e.g. since you're paying for the TV service, you don't have to sit through ads)
Early cable was a way to get you more channels. More commercials, not less. The first cable box we had was brown and it had 15 buttons on it. Each one corresponded to a channel. My dad would yell at me to go change the channel. This was not too early adoption of cable, but I was old enough to remember. I was a "town kid" with cable. My friends out in the country had no cable option.
HBO was commercial free. I remember my parents had HBO for a couple years in the late 70s/early 80s. One 4th of July my couple friends and I watched Porky's when my parents were out for the night.
"We are here to provoke thoughtfulness, not agree with you." Unknown Boglehead
mrmass wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:48 am
For cable just do the 2 year swap. My name for 2, spouses name for 2...rinse repeat. Get all the specials this way.
Just don't do it if your email addy is tied to the account. You will lose it when you cancel it.
That’s what we do. Takes about an hour or 2 every 2 years.
And I’m paying less than what I’d pay for internet + YTTV after this price hike.
The subscriber numbers were already lousy for YouTube TV. This price hike might be their last hope at profitability before killing it. Hard to make any money when you don’t negotiate better content deals than cable, and don’t have any of the extra fees. Something has to give.
The industry needs a complete overhaul. Not just cable provided via the internet.
I think DW and I are going to try this. Our comcast bill just hit $205 a month for internet + cable. Looks like we can save ~$75 a month by starting a new account. Any issue with us both having the same last name, same CC, same equipment (we rent the cable box but have our own modem / router)?
mrmass wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:48 am
For cable just do the 2 year swap. My name for 2, spouses name for 2...rinse repeat. Get all the specials this way.
Just don't do it if your email addy is tied to the account. You will lose it when you cancel it.
That’s what we do. Takes about an hour or 2 every 2 years.
And I’m paying less than what I’d pay for internet + YTTV after this price hike.
The subscriber numbers were already lousy for YouTube TV. This price hike might be their last hope at profitability before killing it. Hard to make any money when you don’t negotiate better content deals than cable, and don’t have any of the extra fees. Something has to give.
The industry needs a complete overhaul. Not just cable provided via the internet.
I think DW and I are going to try this. Our comcast bill just hit $205 a month for internet + cable. Looks like we can save ~$75 a month by starting a new account. Any issue with us both having the same last name, same CC, same equipment (we rent the cable box but have our own modem / router)?
You’ll have to return your rented cable boxes. We do the cancellation over the phone and then set up the new account online. Just be sure your contract is up and you won’t have an ETF or anything.
The online system will probably tell you that there is existing service at that address, but just click the option saying that you’re a new customer and moving here soon.
mrmass wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:48 am
For cable just do the 2 year swap. My name for 2, spouses name for 2...rinse repeat. Get all the specials this way.
Just don't do it if your email addy is tied to the account. You will lose it when you cancel it.
That’s what we do. Takes about an hour or 2 every 2 years.
And I’m paying less than what I’d pay for internet + YTTV after this price hike.
The subscriber numbers were already lousy for YouTube TV. This price hike might be their last hope at profitability before killing it. Hard to make any money when you don’t negotiate better content deals than cable, and don’t have any of the extra fees. Something has to give.
The industry needs a complete overhaul. Not just cable provided via the internet.
I think DW and I are going to try this. Our comcast bill just hit $205 a month for internet + cable. Looks like we can save ~$75 a month by starting a new account. Any issue with us both having the same last name, same CC, same equipment (we rent the cable box but have our own modem / router)?
For our Comcast internet, my spouse and I switch names annually on the account (really it is a new account each time) to get the new customer rate. We have different last names though. Sort of ridiculous to jump through these hoops, but it saves around $250/year so it is worth 30 minutes of effort.
As a family where Disney+ is pretty much a given for us, the triple Disney bundle - Hulu with LiveTV, Disney+, ESPN+ - at $61.99 is now noticeably cheaper than YouTubeTV and Disney+ at $71.98.
That's pretty compelling, actually only $5/month more than we were paying with YTTV's prior price and Disney+. I think YTTV is going to lose a lot of families here. To be fair, they probably don't have much choice, with rising broadcast costs. Disney has a big built-in advantage in linear TV because they don't have to pay licenses for their own batch of channels.
UpsetRaptor wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:18 am
As a family where Disney+ is pretty much a given for us, the triple Disney bundle - Hulu with LiveTV, Disney+, ESPN+ - at $61.99 is now noticeably cheaper than YouTubeTV and Disney+ at $71.98.
That's pretty compelling, actually only $5/month more than we were paying with YTTV's prior price and Disney+. I think YTTV is going to lose a lot of families here. To be fair, they probably don't have much choice, with rising broadcast costs. Disney has a big built-in advantage in linear TV because they don't have to pay licenses for their own batch of channels.
They could have had a cheaper option rather than only having 1 package. They could have also have had 1 base package and then add-on bundles (like for sports). I agree they are going to lose a lot of subscribers to other streaming services that let you fine tune what you pay/get.
Last edited by michaeljc70 on Mon Jul 06, 2020 11:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bryzzo2016 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:57 pm
YouTube TV = sports fan dream!
But, since the [(removed) --admin LadyGeek] has shutdown sports, count me among those who cancelled. I can upgrade my OTA antenna setup nicely for $64.99/mo saved to keep the major networks and PBS.
I agree about the sports thing. YTTV has the perfect combination and I have no problem paying $64.99. Sports will be back soon enough. I tried an OTA for local channels and reception was spotty at best.
pcsrini wrote: ↑Tue Jun 30, 2020 2:02 pm
Google has raised the price of Youtube TV by 30% to $64.99/month. Late last year it was increased by 25% from $39.99 to $49.99. It's a good service, but the constant price increases make it less appealing.
Did anyone really expect streaming to save money in the long run? This business is at the mercy of the content providers and their ridiculous demands.
Ie you want ESPN you will also take the every other Disney owned channel. Same with Universal, Scripps and Discovery.
mrmass wrote: ↑Wed Jul 01, 2020 9:48 am
For cable just do the 2 year swap. My name for 2, spouses name for 2...rinse repeat. Get all the specials this way.
Just don't do it if your email addy is tied to the account. You will lose it when you cancel it.
That’s what we do. Takes about an hour or 2 every 2 years.
And I’m paying less than what I’d pay for internet + YTTV after this price hike.
The subscriber numbers were already lousy for YouTube TV. This price hike might be their last hope at profitability before killing it. Hard to make any money when you don’t negotiate better content deals than cable, and don’t have any of the extra fees. Something has to give.
The industry needs a complete overhaul. Not just cable provided via the internet.
I think DW and I are going to try this. Our comcast bill just hit $205 a month for internet + cable. Looks like we can save ~$75 a month by starting a new account. Any issue with us both having the same last name, same CC, same equipment (we rent the cable box but have our own modem / router)?
We pay $45 for ATT Now (grandfathered plan so has all the Chanels & 50 Mbs fiber for $10. I’d like boost up the internet but for that low of a price it works for now. No cable will beat that.
But if you’re trying to cord now I’d just go OTA, get a Tablo & Ruku TV for live TV & streaming and subscribe to Hulu no ads for $13.
confusedinvestor wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:19 pm
We just paused Youtube TV until NFL
My 9 yrs old son and I watch news together - ABC World New by David Muir (https://abcnews.go.com/WN)
Is there anyway to watch ABC or CBS news online (preferably recorded) even with a fee ?
I'm not interested in Sling for $30 so wondering if anyone has positive experience with CBS All Access (5.99/month) ?
You are in luck. Each has its own free online live news feed. https://www.cbsnews.com/live/, https://abcnews.go.com/Live. Most smart tv's or streaming devices such as Roku has CBS news and ABC news apps. These apps have recorded news as well live feeds.
Also consider pluto.tv. It has many live news channels. But CNN is on delay.
For those in the industry this isn't news but this article highlights the challenges for these new services (increasing content/programming costs). Whether it's a cable provider or some of these others they costs will hit everyone and eventually roll down hill to the customers.
After the YTTV price raise, I decided to implement an Amazon Fire TV Recast DVR for OTA recording.
I picked up a used 500GB/2 tuner for $140 on Cragslist. Original box and setup was easy.
We also paid for 1 month of Philo. Interestingly, the Recast Channel Guide integrates OTA with the Philo guide. This is part of Amazon Fire TVs integration.
Each TV has a new DVR option on the top menu of each TV you have a Fire TV cube/box/stick. Where you can see DVR OTA shows and browse the channel guide. Pretty slick. It also allows any TV to get OTA signal without being attached to a cable. 2 tuners, so that is a limitation.
Not sure if we'll keep Philo or re-up with YTTV when MLB and NFL start. I wanted to cancel as a statement and take the summer off anyway.
"We are here to provoke thoughtfulness, not agree with you." Unknown Boglehead
confusedinvestor wrote: ↑Tue Jul 07, 2020 10:19 pm
We just paused Youtube TV until NFL
My 9 yrs old son and I watch news together - ABC World New by David Muir (https://abcnews.go.com/WN)
Is there anyway to watch ABC or CBS news online (preferably recorded) even with a fee ?
I'm not interested in Sling for $30 so wondering if anyone has positive experience with CBS All Access (5.99/month) ?
You are in luck. Each has its own free online live news feed. https://www.cbsnews.com/live/, https://abcnews.go.com/Live. Most smart tv's or streaming devices such as Roku has CBS news and ABC news apps. These apps have recorded news as well live feeds.
Also consider pluto.tv. It has many live news channels. But CNN is on delay.
