You may be saving money by cutting the cord, but not as much as you were.

It’s getting more expensive to save money by cutting the cable or satellite cord. YouTube TV customers have been notified that their subscriptions are going up a whopping $15 next month and new customers who sign up will pay $65 a month. Hulu Plus Live TV also went up last year along with Fubo TV which notified customers that their cost will be $65 starting in August.

It’s all still less than most people have been paying for cable or satellite TV packages but the cost of cutting the cord is inching closer and closer to the prices we all complained about for years.

Which streaming service is the best option for you and your family? It’s hard to say.

Each service has its own agreements with the networks and content providers and you’ll need to dig through every website to find out which channels are offered. Sling has promised customers it won’t raise prices again for at least a year. Sling’s offerings include two packages of bundles for $30 a month as well as an “everything plan” for $75. 

While the $30 sounds pretty good, neither the Orange nor their Blue plans will likely give you every channel you currently watch. Plus there’s an additional cost for multiple streams and DVR capability. Sling also does not offer local channels. You’ll need an antenna for that.

AT&T TV is one of the newest services and as the company is trying to sign up new customers it’s offering an attractive $65/month Choice plan. What you don’t see at first is that in addition to the $65, you’ll have to pay an additional $7 per month charge for regional sports networks. Also, the $65/month is only for the first year. AT&T requires a 24 month contract and months 13-24 will be nearly $120/month plus the extra $7 for the sports networks.

Fubo TV has an attractive lineup but the price is competing with YouTube and Hulu plus Live TV. Philo has the cheapest plan at just $20/month for 60 channels but it does not offer any sports channels such as ESPN.

On top of those questions come the others. How many people will be watching different channels at the same time? All of the streaming services have limitations unless you want to pay more. DVR capability might also cost more but most services offer 500 hours or unlimited.

It’s confusing. I’ve put together a worksheet to help you see the comparison of channels, features and extras.

http://whatthetech.tv/cost-of-cord-cutting-going-up/

 

A Cord Cutter’s Worksheet (updated 7-6-20)