The TV Answer Man Just Cut the Cord – Which Streaming Service Did I Get? And Why?
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – @tvanswerman
TV Answer Man, I want to cut the cord but I’m not sure which streamer to get to replace it. Any thoughts? — Ian, New Haven, Connecticut.
Ian, which TV service should you get? That’s a complicated question, one I’ve been frequently asked over the years in regards to both streaming and traditional cable and satellite. My answer is that you need to do your own research and determine which service best fits your needs.
Are you a sports fan? A movie buff? Reality TV addict? Crazy about 4K? Some TV services have better offerings in certain categories so you want to examine their lineups and choose the one that works best for you.
By example, I recently cancelled Comcast after subscribing to the cable operator’s video plan for the last six years. (Prior to that, I had DIRECTV since its launch in 1994.) I like Comcast but prices have escalated in recent years, so I decided to keep my Xfinity Internet service and dump the TV plan.
In searching for a replacement, I had one top priority: The Washington Nationals. I am a lifelong baseball fanatic and the Nats are my team. Living in the Washington, D.C. area, I needed a streaming service that carries MASN, the regional TV home of the Nationals. (I could have tried a VPN to watch the Nationals on MLB.TV without blackouts but I wanted a TV provider that also carried other channels.)
My final selection was easy: DIRECTV Stream. The service has more regional sports networks (RSNs) than any other streamer and MASN is included in the list. In fact, DIRECTV Stream is the only streaming service that carries MASN, making my choice a slam dunk, to mix metaphors.
If you want to watch your local sports team, and that’s your top priority, DIRECTV Stream should be your clear choice, too.
(By the way, if you’re getting DIRECTV’s streaming plan, here’s why you might want to avoid getting the streamer’s Gemini set-top. Use a Roku, Apple TV or Fire TV instead. That’s what I’m doing.)
But your priority may be different. For instance, if you’re a football fan, YouTube TV has the NFL Sunday Ticket exclusively. For some, that’s a slam dunk.
Sling TV now offers the first month of service for just $15 and that makes Sling an easy choice for cost-conscious consumers. (It’s $40 a month after the first month.)
It all depends on what you want and need.
Ian, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
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For me, living in Georgia it was Bally Sports South and Southeast and channel numbers my wife knew. Since we had Direct TV before it had to be DirectTV Stream and their box.
Left YouTube TV a few months ago when they got rid of MLB Network. DirecTV Stream has my RSN and MLB Network, and pretty much every channel imaginable (other than NFL Network). Plus, this morning the 4k channel just showed up on my TV through DirecTV Stream, with the extra 4k sports channels to come. YouTube TV is still charging for that. When all is said and done I’m getting more channels and more value through DirecTV Stream.
I’m not a sports fan, or watch those channels at all, so DirecTV Stream isn’t for me, especially @ $100 a month +tax (I need my live local OTA stations). I’ll stick with YTTV, despite a few compromises I had to make: 1) I wish I didn’t have to pay for sports channels I never watch, especially ESPN! I don’t like subsidizing sports fans at my expense. 2) Missing the A&E channels, The History Channel mainly, but I’ve gotten used to not having it for the past 3 years. I love the DVR. All-in-all it fits my needs the best out of all the available choices.
I shall stay with YTTV since it has pretty much everything we need to see. Also, they keep screwing up on the billing. I had the T-Mobile $10 discount. Well now Google is still charging me $54.99/month and T-Mobile is taking $10 a month off my T-Mobile bill because that is what they said that they would start doing. Last month T-Mo took $20 off my T-Mo bill and Google charged me $54.99. Also, the month before that. 🙂
Before I drop DirecTV, I’m waiting to find out which, if any, srtreaming services will be carrying Pac 12 sports programming , I’ve heard Apple, Prime, and others. Would you have any inside information? Thanks
If I had any inside info, I would have printed it.