Cord cutting has become a big thing in the past few years, with more and more people axing their cable or satellite company in hopes of booting of ridiculously high bills. But getting rid of your TV lineup in favor of Netflix or Hulu can be a big sacrifice.
Can YouTube TV — the just-announced television service from Google’s iconic streaming juggernaut — finally make it possible to throw your cable box out the window for good?
Major networks and local channels
One of the biggest pitfalls of giving up your monthly cable or satellite subscription is that most of the alternatives like Sling TV or DirecTV Now don’t offer the full complement of major broadcast networks like ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. On those services, some channels are only available in certain packages or subscription levels, and some aren’t available at all. YouTube TV will have it all from the get go, and that’s a big plus. Here’s the confirmed channel list for YouTube TV so far, with more to be added in the coming weeks and months:
- BTN
- CBS
- CBS Sports
- CNBC
- CSN
- Chiller
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- E!
- ESPN
- ESPN 2
- ESPN 3
- ESPN News
- ESPN U
- FS1
- FS2
- FX
- FXM
- FXX
- Fox
- Fox Business
- Fox News
- Fox Sports
- Free Form
- Local Now
- NBC
- NBC Golf
- Nat Geo Wild
- Oxygen
- Showtime
- Sprout
- SyFy
- Telemundo
- The CW
- The Disney Channel
- Universal
- Universo
Endless DVR
YouTube is one of the biggest content distributors on the entire internet, so you know they have plenty of storage on hand. They’re sharing that with all YouTube TV subscribers in the form of bottomless DVR. That means you’ll literally never run out of room to store your favorite shows, and never have to go through your list and delete things just to free up space for whatever you want to record next. It’s a totally painless way to save all the shows you hold close to your heart. (Yes, but can you fast-forward through the commercials? That’s what I’m trying to find out!)
It’s cheap!
If cost is one of the main reasons you want to ditch your cable sitch, YouTube TV’s $35 monthly rate should put a big ole’ smile on your face. Don’t expect to find a rate like that from any of the major cable providers that includes the same channels because…well…you just won’t find it (if you do, it’s probably a promotional price that runs out in six months before sticker-shock hits).
Major flexibility
YouTube TV gives you six individual logins per subscription, which means six accounts can access to the same YouTube TV content for the same monthly price. The number of simultaneous streams is limited to three, so you’ll have three TVs, smartphones, or tablets going at once without a problem. It works on pretty much any device that YouTube does, including both Android and iOS devices, home computers, Google Home, and even Chromecast.
YouTube has a new sign-up page for people who want to be notified when more info about YouTube TV comes out, so if you’re itching to ditch the evil cable empire now’s the time to get your foot in the door. The service is slated to be officially launched “soon.”
And we’ll continue to drill down to figure it all out too!