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YouTube TV is a service that I recommend to a lot of first-time streamers who want the best of cable TV at a lower price
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even if it's just a slightly lower price. So when the service announced in early 2024 that it hit 8 million subscribers, I wasn't really surprised
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But this, it did surprise me. A chart from end screen media, it shows YouTube TV has more subscribers than several of its main competitors combined
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Services like Hulu Live, Sling TV, Fubo, and Direct TV stream. YouTube TV and its live TV streaming competitors are all in the business of providing cable TV over the internet
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You can call it Cable 2.0. So why is YouTube TV so much more popular
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Let's dive in. We'll start by looking at Hulu Plus Live TV. Like YouTube TV, Hulu's live TV service launched in 2017
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Remember that? And in those early years, I actually probably... preferred Hulu Live over YouTube TV. Both services ended up adding channels and increasing their
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pricing multiple times. But one difference that I believe benefited YouTube TV over its competitors
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is that after it increased its price to $65 a month, that was in June 2020. It held that price for
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nearly three years until increasing it to $73 a month in March 2020. Meanwhile, during those same years
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Hulu Live increased its pricing in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. At the time I'm recording this video, the difference in price between YouTube TV and Hulu Live
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is only a few dollars a month, but I do believe the frequency of the price hikes has held Hulu Live back
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And while we're talking about pricing, I also think YouTube TV's free trial has led to more subscribers
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The length of that trial varies. Usually it's one to three weeks
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So if people test out YouTube TV because of that free trial and they end up liking the service they really don have a reason to test out Hulu Live or another live TV service
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Another factor, Hulu Live did not regularly offer a free trial for a couple of years
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But just recently, I noticed on Hulu Live's website that new and eligible returning subscribers can get a free trial
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Three days, so that trial it's back. and maybe that's in response to YouTube TV's success
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Aside from the pricing, there are a few more reasons why I tend to prefer YouTube TV over Hulu Live
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YouTube TV has a simple and clean user interface. With the YouTube TV base plan
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you get three simultaneous streams, only two with Hulu Plus Live TV
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And YouTube TV is compatible with 5G home internet services. I got a message the other day from someone who is already subscribed to the Disney bundle
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wants to add live TV and asked me if Hulu Live makes sense
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In that case, I do think Hulu Live makes sense because it's the only service that includes the Disney bundle
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Before you sign up for any of these services, compare the channel lineups
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You may find that either YouTube TV or Hulu Live will work
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There are a few differences, but these services carry a lot of the same channels
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Next, I want to talk about Sling TV. This is a service that got it start in 20
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A couple years before YouTube TV and Hulu Live even existed. I'm a big fan of Sling and I think the service should be more popular than it is
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So why isn't it? Sling TV's got two base plans instead of one, orange and blue, separate skinny bundles that are priced cheaper than YouTube TV
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Problem is, a lot of people cannot get everything they want with either orange or blue
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Sling TV has a solution for that. You can combine the orange and blue plants and pay a discounted monthly price
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Still cheaper than YouTube TV but wait Sling TV doesn offer complete local coverage So people who haven set up an antenna for local channels will probably rule this service out right away
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And Sling TV also doesn't offer unlimited cloud DVR storage. Sling TV is cheaper but with compromises
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If you can make it work for your household, you can save a lot of money over YouTube TV
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by sticking with just one of those baseplants, either orange or blue
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Fubo is a service that's right up there with YouTube TV when it comes to features and customization
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I've shared that with you on this channel before, and that's definitely Fubo's biggest strength as far as I'm concerned
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When it comes to the channel lineup, Fubo includes regional sports networks that YouTube TV and some of the other services have dropped long ago
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But those RSNs come at a steep price, and only loyal sports fans are going to be willing to pay for them
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Fubo's overall channel lineup has some other drawbacks. For example, it does not offer Warner Brothers Discovery Networks at recording time
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DirectTV stream was the first live TV streaming service that I tested all the way back in 2016
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It was called DirecTV now back then, and these days, this service is not heavily marketed by DirecTV
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Instead, DirecTV runs a lot of commercials for DirecTV via Internet. That's a streaming version of its satellite service
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That plan has a two-year contract plus fees for equipment and regional sports networks
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On the other hand, Direct TV stream is more like YouTube TV, a live TV streaming service with no contracts and no hidden fees
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The base plan is only slightly more expensive than YouTube TV, but DirecTV stream's most popular plan, the choice plan with regional sports networks, well, that one, it costs a lot more
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This is a service for people who want a traditional cable experience starting with a redesigned home screen that plays your last channel Here the live guide It got an option to sort by channel numbers And if you want to flip through those channels you can do so by using the keypad on your remote With DirecTV
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stream, I also think there's a pretty big emotional component. For people who feel like they've
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been ripped off by DirecTV in the past, they are not likely to sign up for DirecTV stream
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And if you are a former Comcast or charter customer, you can probably relate to that feeling
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But take a look at this chart from endscreen media again. We can't pretend that Google-owned YouTube TV is some little guy that's helping you get away from big cable
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YouTube TV is now the fourth largest pay TV service behind Charter, Comcast, and DirecTV
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I'm happy that so many people have watched my cord-cutting videos and switch to YouTube TV if that's the right service for them
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But I do want more competition and strong competition to keep pricing down
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Check this out. About 60% of people who responded to my YouTube community poll said they subscribed to a live TV streaming service
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So stick with me. I'll continue to update my reviews. But personally, I'm noticing that when I sit down to watch TV, I'm more likely to open up YouTube than YouTube TV
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And I don't even need a live TV service for part of the year. It's on pause
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Let's talk more about this in an upcoming video. The good thing about all the services I mentioned today, there are no contracts
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You can pay for one month at a time, stopping and starting them throughout the year to save money
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My whole goal with this channel is to help people lower their telecommunications bills
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That's TV, internet, and phone. And I'm asking my longtime subscribers for a little help here
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Leave a comment below for new cord cutters. Let them know how much you used to pay for cable and what you're paying now
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You can also include the cost of your internet service if you want to
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And when you're ready to switch streaming services, check out Michael's save
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or email me for a free personal recommendation. I've also got a new tool on my website to help you find the best internet plan in your zip code
