Up next in 10
YouTube TV vs. Hulu Live vs. DIRECTV STREAM: Best Premium Live TV Streaming Services in 2022!
0 views
Mar 24, 2022
For the past couple of years, YouTube TV has been my #1 pick for first-time streamers who want the best of cable at a lower price. But recent changes from Hulu Live and DIRECTV STREAM are making things a lot more competitive. In today's video, I take an updated look at the changes to help you choose the best premium live TV streaming service. Compare your options here: https://michaelsaves.com/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming/ RELATED CONTENT: YouTube TV Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yryzr0KOLM Hulu Live 2022 Changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TrYOxsULeI DIRECTV STREAM 2022 Changes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AncYd_GpByY LINKS TO SERVICES: YouTube TV: https://tv.youtube.com Hulu Live: https://hulu.com DIRECTV STREAM: https://directv.com/stream CHAPTERS: 0:00 Premium Live TV Services Compared 0:28 Cloud DVR Storage Changes 1:33 Main Channel/Content Differences 2:50 Price Breakdown 4:19 Multiple Streams Included and Upgrades 5:00 Best Cable-Like User Experience 6:01 Why YouTube TV Remains My #1 Pick
View Video Transcript
0:00
for the past couple of years youtube tv
0:02
has been my number one pick for first
0:04
time streamers who want the best of
0:06
cable at a lower price but is youtube tv
0:10
still the best live tv service in 2022
0:13
keep watching and the answer is just not
0:15
as simple as before and that's because
0:17
of changes that hulu live and directv
0:20
stream have made to their services so
0:22
today i've got five factors to help you
0:24
choose from one of these services and
0:27
let's get started first cloud dvr
0:29
storage and up until recently this was
0:31
youtube tv's secret weapon in the
0:34
streaming tv wars unlimited cloud dvr
0:36
storage recording saved for up to nine
0:39
months but hulu live recently announced
0:41
it will match youtube tv's dvr for all
0:44
subscribers starting on april 13 2022 a
0:48
major shift for hulu live and here's why
0:51
up until the change it offered only 50
0:53
hours of cloud dvr storage with the base
0:56
plan and you had to upgrade to skip
0:58
through the ads ouch meanwhile though
1:01
directv stream has also started offering
1:03
unlimited cloud dvr storage but there is
1:06
some fine print involved
1:08
like making it available only if you
1:10
sign up online as of this recording
1:12
directv stream allows you to save your
1:15
recordings for only 90 days but it has
1:18
tested 9 months for some customers
1:21
it probably won't be long until it
1:22
matches the other two services still
1:25
because of that fine print with directv
1:27
stream the advantage here goes to
1:29
youtube tv and hulu live now let's move
1:32
on number two i want to address the
1:34
channel lineups and content and we start
1:37
with directv stream because it is the
1:39
only service of these three with the
1:41
valley regional sports networks those
1:44
rsns are not in the base plan though and
1:46
when you compare the base plans for
1:49
these three services there are a lot
1:51
more similarities than differences but
1:53
there are differences a lot of people
1:55
have requested that youtube tv add a and
1:58
e networks so that includes a e history
2:01
and lifetime as of recording they are
2:04
not on the service hulu live does have a
2:07
e networks but not amc networks which
2:10
youtube tv has meanwhile directv stream
2:13
carries channels from both of those
2:15
content partners one gap in directv
2:17
stream's base plan nfl network included
2:20
with the other two so you'll want to
2:22
review the channel lineups before you
2:24
sign up to confirm your must-have
2:26
channels including your locals and you
2:28
can do that by visiting the respective
2:31
websites of these services directly
2:33
links below and while we're talking
2:35
about content i gotta mention that hulu
2:37
live now includes the entire on-demand
2:40
disney bundle with the base plan so that
2:43
is hulu basic disney plus as well as
2:46
espn plus more on that in the next
2:49
section and i think this is where we
2:51
should talk about the pricing that is
2:52
number three let's begin with youtube tv
2:55
the base plan 65 a month at recording
2:58
time but that price has not moved since
3:00
june 2020 so be mindful of the date this
3:03
video was published this information may
3:06
change at recording time youtube tv is
3:09
offering 10 off a month for the first
3:11
three months a pretty typical offer for
3:13
them that is 55 a month plus there is
3:16
regularly a free trial sometimes two
3:19
weeks or more now in comparison directv
3:22
stream and hulu live have recently
3:24
increased their prices both start at 70
3:28
a month now but directv streams cheapest
3:30
plan with regional sports well that'll
3:33
cost you ninety dollars a month and the
3:35
fact that hulu live includes the
3:37
on-demand disney bundle it does add
3:39
value as long as you actually use it
3:42
purchased separately the disney bundle
3:43
is fourteen dollars a month at least for
3:46
now youtube tv's price advantage over
3:49
these other services it's minimal and it
3:51
may not last long after i upload this
3:54
video
3:55
but i will say that once youtube tv does
3:58
raise its prices i think it really has
4:00
to add some sort of a sweetener the most
4:03
obvious perk that youtube tv could
4:05
include is youtube premium which
4:07
provides an ad free experience on
4:09
regular youtube as well as youtube music
4:12
doing this would make youtube tv unique
4:14
again after the other services have now
4:16
matched its unlimited dvr the next
4:19
section ties in with pricing i'll cover
4:21
it quickly before we get to user
4:23
experience number four is multiple
4:25
streams and let me give credit to
4:27
directv stream it now offers unlimited
4:30
in-home streams three on the go with all
4:32
plans youtube tv limits you to three
4:35
streams at a time and two with hulu live
4:38
now both of these services do offer the
4:40
option to get unlimited simultaneous
4:42
streams but it'll cost you more and for
4:45
most households youtube tv's three
4:47
streams will do just fine but if you
4:50
live in a larger household with people
4:51
streaming on separate devices all at
4:54
once you may prefer directv stream since
4:56
you know you get all the streams you
4:58
need in the base plan we're moving on to
5:00
number five now the user experience and
5:03
i might as well start with directv
5:05
stream again to make the point that it
5:07
is probably the most cable-like of these
5:10
three services and specifically the
5:12
layout and functionality of the live tv
5:15
guide that you see here i personally
5:18
like youtube tv's navigation but the
5:20
live guide and library are undergoing
5:22
changes in 2022 based on feedback from
5:26
users so if you're watching this video
5:28
in the future expect improvements over
5:31
the current interface hulu live is much
5:33
different because it's part of the
5:35
regular hulu app it wasn't designed to
5:37
be just like cable so the learning curve
5:40
is a bit steeper and finding your way
5:43
around hulu live tends to take an extra
5:45
click or two from my experience you'll
5:48
find more details on the user experience
5:50
and my full reviews of these services
5:52
but to keep it simple youtube tv and
5:55
directv stream are the winners here hulu
5:57
live lags behind in several areas don't
6:01
click away yet because i've got one more
6:03
thing that may factor into your decision
6:06
and what i'm about to talk about here is
6:07
why youtube tv remains my number one
6:10
pick for a premium live tv service and
6:13
this has to do with how companies treat
6:16
their customers over time many cord
6:18
cutters want to get away from companies
6:20
like directv so they may eliminate
6:23
directv stream from consideration right
6:25
off the bat and the service has not been
6:28
consistent with its streaming product
6:30
over the years hulu live has provided a
6:32
pretty good service but it has been hard
6:34
to avoid the upselling in the past that
6:37
is changing to a degree with the free
6:39
unlimited dvr being added for a while
6:42
this may be a great service to test out
6:44
instead of youtube tv but hulu live is
6:47
known for regular annual price hikes so
6:50
let's see how long the current pricing
6:52
and offering lasts youtube tv just like
6:55
the others has raised its prices since
6:58
launch but for the past two years the
7:00
price has remained steady and they've
7:02
gone to battle with content providers to
7:05
keep it that way
7:06
something that shows me that they get it
7:08
now unless you want regional sports
7:10
networks most people are going to narrow
7:12
it down to youtube tv and hulu live and
7:15
both of them may be worth trying out for
7:17
a month before you pick a favorite but
7:20
as i've put together this video i must
7:22
acknowledge that all three services have
7:24
priced themselves too high for many cord
7:26
cutters and some may rather sign up for
7:29
sling tv and hook up an indoor antenna
7:31
big savings there i rotate all of these
7:34
services to update my reviews for you
7:36
but if i had to choose just one at this
7:39
point it would still be youtube tv of
7:41
course i'll let you know if that changes
7:43
and information in this video is always
7:46
subject to change find updated
7:48
comparisons of the major live tv
7:50
services on michaelsaves.com and i've
7:52
left another video for you to check out
7:54
right here see you there
8:05
you