My big project last year was how to cut the cord, and I think my findings can help you kill the cable in 2022.
Long tired of the limitations of the cable box – the best cable TV alternatives allow you to take your DVR wherever you go – I had my foot out for a while. On top of that, the high cable price — $127 split between roommates should be a good night out, not a monthly bill — was just too much. Also, it doesn’t help that Netflix raises the prices for each service level.
So I tested all the major live TV services and ended up (predictably enough) with one of Tom’s Guide picks for the best streaming service. In fact, I had also chosen the same cord-cutting service that my colleague Kelly Woo had chosen.
But, because I love a good story, I’m not going to spoil the ending right off the bat. Because it’s less about the service that works for me and more about what you can learn from what I’ve discovered. And that includes the very complicated year for one of my top picks.
I almost cut the cord with YouTube TV
YouTube TV is awesome, it’s so awesome – from its clean, snappy interface to its unlimited DVR cap – that I’m really annoyed that I have good reasons not to pay for it. At one point, my biggest personal reason was the lack of a channel I wanted. It’s Vice. But the show I watch on Vice is between seasons, so I don’t have that excuse.
The main reason I don’t choose YouTube TV is the price. At $65, that’s $30 more than Sling TV per month, and it’s too expensive for a more enjoyable experience. Sure, its optional 4K streaming and offline downloads are nice perks, but they also cost more. But that’s not the only thing that has had me doubting YouTube TV lately.
Last April, YouTube TV was removed from the Roku Channel Store due to a dispute between Roku and YouTube. So any new subscribers then had to use the YouTube app, after YouTube buried its live TV feature in the regular YouTube app the following May. Of course, this did not resolve the intercompany dispute.
Then YouTube TV and Roku set a deadline of December 9 to fix all these issues, which they luckily did. All of this, however, was the kind of year-long headache we’ve had enough of. everywhere else at present.
YouTube TV’s complicated year of contract disputes with the networks didn’t end there, either. In September, YouTube and NBCUniversal announced that their negotiations might not work before their own deadline. Thankfully, their talks were extended and no one lost Sunday Night Football or SNL. And that means everyone with YouTube TV can also watch This Is Us Season 6.
The same cannot be said for the recent YouTube TV and Disney debacle. While the outage only lasted a day and changed, YouTube TV lost ESPN and ABC, along with other Disney-owned channels after the two parties failed to negotiate a contract. And if those channels mattered at the time, there was no alternative to their absence – which probably caused people to subscribe to a competitor (Sling if DTT matters, fubo if ABC matters).
At a recent family function, a relative asked me if he should also cut the cable, not knowing that was exactly my kind of question. When they told me about their needs, I ended up recommending a service that would have issues less than a month later. During the ESPN and ABC outage, however, I had to text them to alert them to the drama.
All of the above is not the situation everyone wants, and I hope YouTube TV has learned its lessons. Because while YouTube TV (85+ channels for $65 a month) is worth more than Sling TV (30+ channels for $35 a month) on paper, reliability is just as valuable. Because, yes, reader: I chose Sling TV.
Why I cut the cord with Sling TV
Three months into my Sling TV subscription service, I’ve found only one real flaw: local networks can vary when you’re on the road. Frustratingly, I chose Sling TV not because of an affinity for the service – its apps and design are just ok, its quality and speeds are similar – but because it works well enough and has all the channels I want.
And when I tested Sling TV, I found that “good enough” is what I’m going to have to settle for. I was also able to add FXX to watch the final season of It’s Always Sunny, as I considered Sling’s customization options valuable perks, allowing me to keep a starting price low and raise it myself if I wanted it.
And it’s way better than the services I could easily dismiss.
Take, for example, Hulu with Live TV. When I tested Hulu’s live TV offering for myself, I found it buffered a bit too often, and that was a no-no. Not even the cable pads, and I’m not replacing the cable with something that’s a worse experience. Sure, the interface is OK and the channel selection has what I need, but those were upgrades, not downgrades. Hulu is now offering Disney Plus and ESPN Plus for $5 more (not that you can choose), so I hope you’re excited for The Book of Boba Fett Episode 2 release date.
Then there is fubo TV. It’s primarily for international sports, but is marketed as a streaming service for sports fans. That’s why I was surprised to see them not offering TNT, a staple of the NBA post-season. When I tested fubo TV, I found it perfectly OK. It even has a really cool multi-channel display mode. But the lack of TNT is a dealbreaker for me, so I pulled it off.
Finally, there are two suitors to know that I knew pretty quickly that I didn’t like. DirecTV Stream is below average at best, putting its exclusive regional sports channels at high price points. Sure, it has HBO Max on some tiers, but I can get that pay-per-view service and watch Station Eleven episodes 8 and 9 as is.
And Philo? Well, it just doesn’t have enough channels.
Takeaways for budding cord cutters
The most important thing I’ve learned is that finding the right way to cut the cord isn’t about who has the prettiest app or the most features. If that were true, I would pay more for YouTube TV or fubo’s split view mode.
The two things that matter most are 1) getting all the channels you want (which Sling does, for me) at a price you like (which YouTube TV doesn’t) and 2) being able to watch those channels without issue (Hulu’s biggest flaw in my testing).
Of course, channel availability varies according to your personal preferences. If you want to watch The Bachelor season 26, you’ll need service with ABC. That’s why I wrote our Sling vs YouTube TV vs Hulu vs Fubo vs DirecTV Stream channel head-to-head, which compares the services by who owns the most of the top 100 services. I also wrote our guide to where to live stream the NFL, NBA, MLB and more, which takes those pesky regional sports networks into account.
With all of the above testing experience, I’m sure you’ll have an easier time cutting the cord than me.
