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Cord Cutting in 2025: 10 Things That Are Totally Different Now!
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May 10, 2025
Cord cutting has changed ā a lot. In this video, I walk you through 10 major differences in how cord cutting works in 2025, including streaming bundles, device upgrades, pricing shifts, and smarter ways to save on internet. šØ Get the latest deals and free trials: https://michaelsavesdeals.com/ šŗ Compare live TV services: https://michaelsaves.com/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming/ š» Find a better internet plan: https://michaelsaves.com/internet-plan-comparison-tool/ Start your regular Amazon shopping with my link to support the channel: https://www.amazon.com/shop/michaelsaves NOTE: This description box includes an affiliate link. If you use my link, I may receive a small commission. It helps offset the 80% decline in YouTube revenue my channel has experienced since November 2022. Need a personal recommendation for streaming TV, phone or internet service? Email [email protected]! FOLLOW MICHAEL SAVES: Website: https://michaelsaves.com/ Deal Alerts: https://michaelsavesdeals.com/ Newsletter: https://michaelsaves.beehiiv.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themichaelsaves X (Formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/michaelsaves Buy Me a Coffee (Support the Channel): https://buymeacoffee.com/michaelsaves
View Video Transcript
0:00
it's been 10 years since I first started
0:02
helping people cut the cord and save
0:04
money with streaming and a whole lot has
0:06
changed since then So today I'm breaking
0:09
it all down Number one live TV streaming
0:12
is no longer a budget option You know
0:15
for me the most exciting chapter in cord
0:17
cutting was between 2017 and 2019 Let me
0:22
explain Back then the cable replacement
0:25
services from YouTube TV and the rest
0:28
were about half the price that they are
0:30
today When I covered the launch of
0:32
YouTube TV it was only $35 a month And
0:36
you know what's happened since then the
0:37
price has more than doubled but so has
0:40
the channel lineup The base plan had 40
0:42
channels then and now more than 100 It's
0:46
a big bundle Most people can agree
0:48
saving money on streaming was just a lot
0:51
easier back then when these services
0:53
were cheaper I didn't get comments like
0:56
this one from people saying they're
0:58
thinking about going back to cable
1:00
Unfortunately a lot of people missed out
1:02
on the best savings Let me know when did
1:05
you cut the cord i was surprised just
1:07
how slowly services like YouTube TV Hubu
1:10
Live and Sling TV grew during those
1:13
early years So 2017 to 2019 people did
1:17
catch on and at least in the case of
1:20
YouTube TV it has grown to more of what
1:23
I expected from these services and it's
1:26
actually forecasted to be the largest
1:28
paid TV provider in 2026 All that said
1:32
what I'm hearing from cord cutters is
1:34
they're sick of the live TV streaming
1:35
price hikes as well as declining
1:38
programming quality and they're looking
1:40
for more cheaper options That leads me
1:43
to two trends I'm watching First will
1:46
viewers drop the big bundles for
1:48
standalone apps from ESPN and Fox and
1:52
second will new skinny bundles from
1:54
Direct TV and others actually catch on
1:58
i'll keep you posted in my monthly news
2:00
update videos Number two today free
2:03
streaming It's come a long way And in
2:05
fact in an upcoming streaming audit I
2:08
share a recommendation that I never
2:10
would have made 10 years ago This person
2:12
pays for Hulu to watch an occasional
2:14
movie And my recommendation stop paying
2:17
for Hulu and check out the movies on
2:20
Tuby instead Tuby the Roku channel and
2:23
Pluto TV they have become legit
2:26
alternatives Sure they've still got
2:28
plenty of background noise but not only
2:31
background noise There's large libraries
2:33
of movies and TV shows plus some
2:36
original content And they've become hubs
2:39
for free news and weather through their
2:41
live guides And in the case of Tuby it
2:44
also made history in 2025 streaming Fox
2:48
Sports's coverage of the Super Bowl
2:50
Number three today YouTube on your TV
2:53
set Has the way you watched YouTube
2:55
changed a decade ago I was watching
2:58
YouTube on my phone and on my laptop Now
3:01
more often than not I'm streaming it on
3:04
a TV set It's become part of my nightly
3:06
routine and based on the data I'm not
3:09
alone Earlier this year YouTube
3:11
announced that TV is now the primary
3:14
device for YouTube viewing in the United
3:16
States It's something I've noticed with
3:18
the Michael Saves channel as well This
3:21
is one of my older videos from 2019 Only
3:24
14% of the total watch time came from TV
3:28
sets Mobile was first then computers Now
3:31
for my news update video published in
3:33
May 2025 more than 76% of watch time
3:38
came from TV sets No matter the device
3:41
people are spending more time with
3:43
YouTube And because it's free it could
3:45
reduce the need for so many paid
3:47
streaming apps in your life In addition
3:50
to user generated content like mine
3:53
legacy media companies have major
3:55
presences on the platform for both news
3:58
and entertainment content Sometimes they
4:01
upload full episodes and it's all free
4:04
We're up to number four today the
4:06
evolution of Netflix and it used to be
4:09
the only service that I never cancelled
4:12
But with more competition and better
4:14
deals from others I treat it like the
4:17
rest subscribe binge and cancel And
4:20
Netflix knows this The service has been
4:23
changing to stay ahead of the rest
4:25
adding live events like NFL games and
4:28
WWE And that shift has not hurt them And
4:32
other big parts of its evolution a
4:34
crackdown on password sharing and the
4:37
launch of a plan with advertising That
4:40
brings me to number five And Netflix
4:42
isn't alone Ads are everywhere again
4:45
Nearly all of its ondemand streaming
4:48
competitors have launched lowerpric
4:50
plans that include ads but not as bad as
4:54
traditional broadcast or cable TV And
4:57
despite all the complaints about ads
4:59
many people seem willing to sit through
5:02
a few commercials Take a look here This
5:05
is from TO's video trends report and it
5:08
found tolerance for ads has increased to
5:11
more than 76% But most people they say
5:15
they'd prefer to see all ads upfront
5:18
before a program starts I hear that The
5:21
things that annoyed respondents most
5:23
about ads too many ads or ad breaks
5:26
repetitive ads poor ad placement and
5:30
irrelevant ads And finally more than 40%
5:34
of people said personalized ads could
5:37
improve the streaming experience Number
5:40
six sports went streaming only and
5:43
things got complicated Having a pay TV
5:46
bundle from a cable satellite or live TV
5:49
streaming service that used to be enough
5:51
for sports fans but now it's just the
5:54
beginning Major sports leagues are
5:56
making streaming only deals so you may
5:59
end up needing multiple apps to keep up
6:02
ESPN has a where to watch tool It's like
6:05
a massive TV guide for sports and it
6:08
shows you where games are airing across
6:10
networks and apps not just ESPN Number
6:13
seven the rise of a new type of bundle
6:16
Now I know a lot of people cut the cord
6:18
to get away from expensive bundles with
6:21
a bunch of channels that they don't
6:23
watch But now there's a new type of
6:26
bundle that is gaining some traction I'm
6:29
talking about the bundling of standalone
6:31
streaming services like this one Disney
6:34
Plus Hulu and Max Three separate
6:36
services one bill Bundles like these do
6:40
offer savings compared to the regular
6:42
pricing and other bundles are available
6:45
from Xfinity and Verizon Number eight
6:48
streaming devices are getting better And
6:51
do you remember your first streaming
6:53
device mine was a Google Chcast It
6:55
didn't even have a physical remote but
6:58
thankfully those days are behind us Most
7:01
of the streaming media players that I've
7:03
tested over the past 5 years or so
7:06
they've been pretty good My two
7:08
favorites Roku Ultra and Apple TV both
7:11
around a h 100red bucks But there are
7:14
perfectly adequate devices that cost
7:16
half or even a third of that price
7:19
especially when they go on sale And
7:21
these days a lot of people are relying
7:22
more on the built-in streaming platforms
7:25
They come included with your smart TV
7:28
Number nine today with the explosion of
7:30
streaming apps Having a rotation
7:33
strategy is now the norm This used to be
7:36
a hack I shared this tip in 2020 in my
7:39
video about the number one mistake
7:42
people make after cancelling cable TV
7:44
the message Since you don't have a
7:46
contract with streaming you can stop and
7:49
start your subscriptions as your viewing
7:51
habits change Lately I'm hearing more
7:54
from people who rotate just one or maybe
7:56
two paid streaming apps and keep their
7:59
bill to right around $25 a month but a
8:02
rotation strategy works for people with
8:04
higher streaming TV budgets as well Some
8:07
people sign up for a live TV streaming
8:09
service only during football season So
8:12
about 6 months on and 6 months off And
8:16
for others it's more of a summer pause
8:18
from live TV Two or three months maybe
8:21
after the end of NHL and NBA playoffs At
8:25
today's prices you'll save more than $80
8:28
every month that you drop live TV
8:31
Subscriber churn is one of the biggest
8:33
challenges that streaming apps face So
8:36
when you go to cancel don't be surprised
8:38
if you're offered an incentive to stick
8:41
around a little longer And number 10
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today 5G home internet became a real
8:46
cord cutting option This has been the
8:49
best surprise since I started on this
8:51
beat With the advancement of 5G wireless
8:54
technology millions of people have a new
8:56
internet option and it's powered by the
8:59
cellular networks T-Mobile Verizon and
9:03
AT&T They all now offer 5G home internet
9:07
products They're affordably priced and
9:10
offer fast enough speeds for streaming
9:12
TV and everyday internet activities And
9:16
these services have also led to better
9:18
deals from cable internet providers You
9:21
can check availability and compare
9:23
offers in your area at
9:26
michaelsdealss.com It's free and only
9:28
takes a minute And keep watching for
9:31
more ways to save on streaming TV