Best streaming service for the season?

[TigerHorn 1,354]

I cut the cord years ago, and usually sign up for a streaming service just for CFB season. YouTube TV has been my go-to, are they still be the best option for AU and SEC games, or is there something better? I haven't kept up with the media deals at all. 

[SphyNxXx 96]

I used Hulu Live last season interested if there are any better options

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,320]

15 minutes ago, TigerHorn said:

I cut the cord years ago, and usually sign up for a streaming service just for CFB season. YouTube TV has been my go-to, are they still be the best option for AU and SEC games, or is there something better? I haven't kept up with the media deals at all. 

YouTube TV has the best features. Last year (hard to stop life and watch the game on time with kids) I would wait till halftime to start the game and skip commercials and end about the same time as live TV would end. The ones that I couldn't get to in time would record for me. I watched the games much faster and honestly can't imagine having to dedicate 3-4 hours of the day ever again with the kids running around.

[toddc 13,194]

YouTube is top notch for me and especially the ability of infinite recordings. Tell it to record all Auburn games and it’s automatic.

[HAYinthemiddleoftheBARN 204]

Possibly fubo. Just looked into it and thinking about signing up. Not sure how much it costs but I'm Not wanting to rely on the "free" sites like ustvgo... which isn't available to me anymore. Anyone try fubo before? Let me know.

[Gowebb11 9,424]

I have Hulu live and have the ESPN+ add on. Very happy with it. 

[TigerHorn 1,354]

52 minutes ago, HAYinthemiddleoftheBARN said:

Possibly fubo. Just looked into it and thinking about signing up. Not sure how much it costs but I'm Not wanting to rely on the "free" sites like ustvgo... which isn't available to me anymore. Anyone try fubo before? Let me know.

We tried Fubo before, and it was pretty bad - lots of drops and pauses. Got rid of it before the season ended. Their stock price has imploded, not sure how long they will be with us. 

[WVR 818]

YouTube TV here as well. Love the record feature. 

[TigerHorn 1,354]

Hulu - what an incredibly confusing mess of plans. Looks simple enough until you really dig into it. See this page for more gruesome details.

YouTube TV is comparatively simple for $64.99/mo, $8 off the first three months. That's all you need, and there are ads. 

For Hulu, you can get:

Hulu/Live TV/Disney+/ESPN+ all with ads for $69.99/mo, and that is supposed to go up in October. 

If you want no ads on Hulu & Disney, it's $82.99/mo

Or you can get Hulu only with ads for $7.99/month and add on the ESPN+ package for $9.99/mo - no live TV in this option. I assume that means ESPN is still live, you just don't get the other channels. 

Or you can get the Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+ bundle (with ads, no live TV) for less, $12.99/mo, but that's on sale and it's not clear how long that promo price is good for. Basically, they are paying for you to take Disney+. Bob Iger has to pump up those subscriber numbers for D+ before the next earnings call! 

Which is a point about Hulu in general - uncertainty. It has been announced that their pricing will increase in October, but how much is as of yet unclear. Iger has also talked publicly in their last earnings call about "finding strategic partners" for both Hulu and ESPN+, which is megacorp speak for "We could firesale this hot mess at any moment, or we might just shut it down to take the tax loss."

To a degree, there is some of the same uncertainty with ESPN+ on YouTube, but that is an external contract with another megacorp, and will be very hard to break. Breaking the internal contracts for a wholly owned unit is easy peasy in comparison, should the Mouse decide to sell Hulu, ESPN, or both. 

All that to say, I'm still thinking about it...... 

[Win4AU 4,055]

17 minutes ago, TigerHorn said:

Hulu - what an incredibly confusing mess of plans. Looks simple enough until you really dig into it. See this page for more gruesome details.

YouTube TV is comparatively simple for $64.99/mo, $8 off the first three months. That's all you need, and there are ads. 

For Hulu, you can get:

Hulu/Live TV/Disney+/ESPN+ all with ads for $69.99/mo, and that is supposed to go up in October. 

If you want no ads on Hulu & Disney, it's $82.99/mo

Or you can get Hulu only with ads for $7.99/month and add on the ESPN+ package for $9.99/mo - no live TV in this option. I assume that means ESPN is still live, you just don't get the other channels. 

Or you can get the Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+ bundle (with ads, no live TV) for less, $12.99/mo, but that's on sale and it's not clear how long that promo price is good for. Basically, they are paying for you to take Disney+. Bob Iger has to pump up those subscriber numbers for D+ before the next earnings call! 

Which is a point about Hulu in general - uncertainty. It has been announced that their pricing will increase in October, but how much is as of yet unclear. Iger has also talked publicly in their last earnings call about "finding strategic partners" for both Hulu and ESPN+, which is megacorp speak for "We could firesale this hot mess at any moment, or we might just shut it down to take the tax loss."

To a degree, there is some of the same uncertainty with ESPN+ on YouTube, but that is an external contract with another megacorp, and will be very hard to break. Breaking the internal contracts for a wholly owned unit is easy peasy in comparison, should the Mouse decide to sell Hulu, ESPN, or both. 

All that to say, I'm still thinking about it...... 

ESPN+ doesn’t offer Any of the ESPN channels as far as I know.  
 

I priced all this out last year and would actually pay more for Internet + a Hulu/YouTube/Roku etc than I pay currently for my Xfinity bundle.  I don’t get espnu, ACC, or big ten network but so far that hasn’t been an issue.

Edit to add I did subscribe to espn+ for a couple men’s basketball games so it is helpful there.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Win4AU

[meh130 1,054]

I have DirecTV stream, as part of my AT&T fiber Internet. I like it, but it is as expensive as cable. If I could get the ESPN streams separately, I would probably dump them.

[TigerHorn 1,354]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

ESPN+ doesn’t offer Any of the ESPN channels as far as I know.  
 

I priced all this out last year and would actually pay more for Internet + a Hulu/YouTube/Roku etc than I pay currently for my Xfinity bundle.  I don’t get espnu, ACC, or big ten network but so far that hasn’t been an issue.

Edit to add I did subscribe to espn+ for a couple men’s basketball games so it is helpful there.

ESPN on YouTube offers ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN News. 

Now that you mention it, it's not entirely clear what the ESPN+ bundle gets you on Hulu.

Edited August 15, 2023 by TigerHorn

[TigerHorn 1,354]

16 minutes ago, meh130 said:

I have DirecTV stream, as part of my AT&T fiber Internet. I like it, but it is as expensive as cable. If I could get the ESPN streams separately, I would probably dump them.

That's the problem I have. I don't like paying for 100 channels I won't use on ANY service. I want ESPN and their companion channels, that's it, but there is no way to get only ESPN that I can find. 

[aubiefifty 17,072]

i have youtube tv and hulu. i do not want and hate to miss a college game i want to see. sometimes just the music side of youtube will have some free streams of games and sometimes they do not.

[AUcivE09 582]

I've been using HULU live and get most of what I want. For a couple of the off-games, I had to sign up for trials on other networks like CBS/Fox apps. Since my wife and I decided to cut Disney I will most likely try YouTube TV this year. I have heard good things and it is a little cheaper.

[fishepa 1,911]

11 hours ago, TigerHorn said:

That's the problem I have. I don't like paying for 100 channels I won't use on ANY service. I want ESPN and their companion channels, that's it, but there is no way to get only ESPN that I can find. 

That is true unfortunately.  You have to have some sort of Live TV streaming service (Hulu Live or YouTubeTV) to get the ESPN channels.  

[aubiefifty 17,072]

1 hour ago, AUcivE09 said:

I've been using HULU live and get most of what I want. For a couple of the off-games, I had to sign up for trials on other networks like CBS/Fox apps. Since my wife and I decided to cut Disney I will most likely try YouTube TV this year. I have heard good things and it is a little cheaper.

72.99 for youtube tv. hulue is less than half that and they are not quit as good but they have some nice stuff as well.

[Viper 3,139]

14 hours ago, TigerHorn said:

YouTube TV is comparatively simple for $64.99/mo, $8 off the first three months. That's all you need, and there are ads.

What can one do about watching the obscure games on ESPN+? Are they also on youtube TV? 

[woodford 3,676]

45 minutes ago, Viper said:

What can one do about watching the obscure games on ESPN+? Are they also on youtube TV? 

Should be able to use your YouTube login on the ESPN app and watch ESPN+. I don't have it but that's how it works for Hulu.

[woodford 3,676]

13 hours ago, TigerHorn said:

ESPN on YouTube offers ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2 and ESPN News. 

Now that you mention it, it's not entirely clear what the ESPN+ bundle gets you on Hulu.

I have Hulu Live with ESPN + and you get everything that is on ESPN+. Almost every single FCS game is on there every weekend, for example.

[GreenDrazi 24]

I have used Sling in the past and had to add ESPN+ separately.

The coverage schedule currently looks like that you'll need ESPN+ to watch Samford. UMass and Cal are just ESPN.

Will the New Mexico St game require ESPN+? By then (November), I'll want ESPN+ for some of the basketball games.

[AUcivE09 582]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

72.99 for youtube tv. hulue is less than half that and they are not quit as good but they have some nice stuff as well.

Less than half?! For Hulu Live?! My last bill for Hulu Live was something like $65 I think. 

[TheDob06 443]

ESPN+ will have nearly all the games unless it's on one of the other networks (CBS). 

If you already have one or can maximize the benefits to offset the annual fee, you can get the Disney bundle with ESPN+ for free through the Amex Platinum card.

[aubiefifty 17,072]

33 minutes ago, TheDob06 said:

ESPN+ will have nearly all the games unless it's on one of the other networks (CBS). 

If you already have one or can maximize the benefits to offset the annual fee, you can get the Disney bundle with ESPN+ for free through the Amex Platinum card.

thank you sir!  i plan on watching hulu and youtube tv both closely this season. i pulled the cable plug but football was pretty much over. i will keep both if i have to. at sixty eight tomorrow i have few things i can enjoy but Auburn sports is huge on the list!

[JuscAUse! 1,497]

My son has tried them all and built a house in an area that didn't have cable. Between borrowing Amazon passwords and whatever streaming service he had , he could watch all AU games. BUT.....like me , he loves football , and unless I'm at the loveliest village, I want to watch other games. That's the problem. And that's why he went back to cable when they got to his area. It's the only reason I still have cable.