Free trial: Yes | Monthly price: $73/month | Live TV: Yes | Local channels: Yes
YouTube TV a great option for cable cutters who still want to watch live TV without signing up for a contract. It carries over 85 different channels, so you’ll never miss a cable TV or satellite subscription if you switch. YouTube TV even carries your regional PBS channels, a rarity on most live TV streaming services.
Where YouTube TV really shines is the live sports section. It not only offers sports channels such as CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, TBS, and TNT, but also offers specialty sports coverage networks such as MLB Network, NBA TV, and NFL Network. If you want specialty sports channels like NFL RedZone, FOX College Sports, GOLTV, FOX Soccer Plus, MAVTV Motorsports Network, TVG and Stadium, you can also opt for the Sports Plus package for an additional $11 per month. Unfortunately, YouTube TV recently lost the right to carry Bally Sports regional networks, which means you won’t get regional channels like Bally Sports Detroit or Bally Sports Southwest.
One particularly strong selling point for sports fans is that instead of always having to remember to record a particular game, you can simply choose to “watch” a particular team and the DVR will automatically record all of its games. Plus, if you’re late into the match, there’s a ‘catch highlights’ feature that lets you catch up on all the highlights up until then, so you can get up to speed.
YouTube TV costs $73 a month, which may not be more than your basic cable package. If you want to add 4K viewing (currently only available during certain sporting events) and unlimited streaming, you’ll have to cough up an extra $20 per month. But the standard subscription includes BBC, BET, Comedy Central, Food Network, MTV, Nickelodeon, USA and more. including channels such as
It offers one of the best cloud DVRs available today. YouTube TV’s DVR has unlimited storage, plus you have up to nine months to watch your recorded content before it expires. There are also no additional DVR fees; you can rewind or fast forward the recorded content as you like by default. However, we should note that YouTube TV has ads that you cannot fast-forward through on-demand content.
There are also plenty of premium channels that you can add for as little as $3 a month, like Showtime, Max, Starz, Cinemax, and EPIX. You can also subscribe to the Entertainment Plus package, which includes Max, Showtime and Starz for $30 a month. Other niche add-ons include CuriosityStream, AMC Premiere, Shudder, Sundance Now, Urban Movie Channel, and Acorn TV. — NL
