We're Thinking YouTube TV
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (96285)
United States
January 17, 2025 7:25pm CST
So, as you know, I made the decision on Tuesday to cancel cable to save $175 a month, which was the portion of our cable bill that covered the TV portion. Our service ended Thursday evening.
After several conversations, as well as inputs from my myLot friends, YouTube TV is the one that seems to stand out.
Many people I talk to, even outside of here have told me that the ones who stuck with not having cable had YouTube TV. We can get it for about $85 a month and seems to have all we want. Several cable channels we enjoy as well as local stations.
We have not made a decision yet, but YouTube TV seems to be the one that is front and center.
Has anyone had any experience with YouTube TV? What are your thoughts? Any other recommendations?
14 people like this
13 responses
@kaylachan (75156)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 Jan
Depends on what you’re looking for in t.v. As Karen mentioned, Roku is a good free option, with a lot of free apps and some live content such as news and sports. However, if you don’t want to go down the subscription rabbit hole, then Youtube tv is a good option. For me it’s 82/month (plus state and local taxes) and if you sign up with a YouTube account, then there’s usually a three-month free trial.
As you know George loves his nascar. And, that’s been the only real way to get anything remotely close. Any other service (while cheeper) often required compromise.
5 people like this
@kaylachan (75156)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
18 Jan
@porwest Most options out there give you a week or month.
2 people like this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
19 Jan
@kaylachan Yeah. We just signed up today, so as of right now we are officially using YouTube TV. We get 10 days free, then 6 months at $72.99, then it jumps to $82.99. Still way better than $175 and the wife is happy because she has the channels she wants.
3 people like this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
18 Jan
There were three main "concerns," if one would want to call them that. Local channels, ESPN and Fox News. YouTube TV offers all three of those things and then some, and the price seems reasonable considering its closest to the cable we were accustomed to and we'd still save over $100 a month. We have not pulled the trigger yet, and it may be a month or so before a final decision is made. But so far this seems to be a winner.
I like the 3-month free trial idea. I will DEFINITELY check that out.
2 people like this
@kareng (68255)
• United States
18 Jan
We put in Starlink, just need to get a new Smart TV. Cancelled DirectTV and the internet and the Starlink bill is less than what we were paying for both of those. Internet is super fast now and only outage is when the electricity goes out.
Currently have Roku on television set in the bedroom and there are loads of television shows and movies on there. No monthly fee, just purchase the stick and install. It's about $30.
3 people like this
@FourWalls (71508)
• United States
18 Jan
I don’t have any streaming service, so I can’t help you with a review.
3 people like this
@FourWalls (71508)
• United States
18 Jan
@vandana7 — no. I have a yearly subscription to my favorite sport (baseball), and it’s less for a year than Jim pays for a month of cable ($149 for a year vs. $179 a month).
2 people like this
@moffittjc (122692)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan
I don't subscribe to YouTube TV, but I stayed at an AirBnB recently that had YouTube TV, and I was pretty impressed with the variety and content it offered. So I would say go for it.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (122692)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jan
@porwest That’s awesome. Streaming/TV services has become like auto insurance; you have to shop around for the best service at the best price.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (122692)
• Gainesville, Florida
25 Jan
@porwest Unfortunately, in the insurance industry, you have to play the game. Each company is incentivized for brining in new customers, not keeping loyal ones. So every few years you have to shop around, find the best rate, and switch companies. I can usually go 2-3 years before whatever current company I am with starts jacking up rates. There is no reward for loyalty in the auto insurance business.
1 person likes this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
19 Jan
Yep. Pulled the trigger today. It offers an almost identical package to what we had from our cable TV service, and we get 10 days free, then it goes to $72.99 a month for 6 months, then jumps to $82,99 a month. Much better than the $175 we were paying for our TV portion, and we are getting everything we want.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (45514)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Jan
Does YouTube TV allow you to watch live TV?
We have FIOS now for TV + Internet. The bill is 200$ monthly, if it didn’t go up. That’s a lot.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (45514)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jan
@porwest can you watch YouTube TV on your TV or is it only through a laptop?
That price is not that bad. My mom pays for Internet, phone, and IP streaming I think $127. That’s with spectrum.
1 person likes this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
19 Jan
Just signed up for YouTube TV. We get all of the live local channels, and the total package is 139 channels. It is almost identical to what we were getting with our cable service. 10 days free, then we pay $72.99 a month for six months, and it becomes $82.99 a month. I am satisfied so far. And it's still going to save us around $100 a month.
2 people like this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
2 Feb
We have Netflix already, and have for years. It didn't offer anything remotely close to cable with live channels and especially the local ones. We went with YouTube TV that offers 139 channels and is as close to what we had with cable as anything I have found, and it only costs $83 a month.
1 person likes this
@Dena91 (16827)
• United States
18 Jan
When we cut the cord in 2017 we went with SlingTV on our ROKU and an over the air antenna for local channels. We are satisfied with the service. We pay $45/month for sling. They have different packages to choose from. We went with the orange line up. Plenty to choose from that lineup for us. Hope you like YouTube Tv
We have 60 apps downloaded on the Roku to watch. Our main viewing ones are Sling, Roku, Tubi, Pluto, FreeVee and YouTube apps
2 people like this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
19 Jan
Thanks. Yeah, we took the plunge today and went with the YouTube TV option. It has all of the live, local channels, and the package with 139 channels is almost identical to what we had with our cable service, so I think we will be happy with it.
We got 10 days free, then it goes to $72.99 a month for the first six months, then $82.99 a month thereafter. So long as the price doesn't go up, we should be saving about $100 a month, which I am happy about.
2 people like this
@NJChicaa (121422)
• United States
18 Jan
I'm one of those who recommended it. I've had it for several years. My dad had the account but you can have up to 6 people on it so I was on it the whole time. My sister has taken over the account but I'm still on it.
There truly isn't anything missing from YouTubeTV that I would want to see aside from Cooking Channel. I would pay the $$ myself to have the TV access.
1 person likes this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
19 Jan
Yeah. I looked at it and my first thought was, this is almost identical to what we had with our cable service. We get all the local channels, and the total package has 139 channels. So, I took the plunge today and got it started. 10 days free, then it's $72.99 a month for the first six months, then $82.99 a month thereafter, and we're still saving $100 a month, so I am satisfied.
1 person likes this
@2ndchances24 (9900)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
18 Jan
That's basically all we watch these days since we cut the cord
from cable tv & we get our you tube t v from the internet -fiber optics
from our phone company that has to have a smart tv to get all
the channels we want for a 100 $ a month, I just bought me a
43 in smart tv for 150$ today at Walmart with all my favorite channels.
1 person likes this
@lilacskies (4653)
• United States
16 Feb
I just use the free YouTube. I don't subscribe to any streaming sites or cable. My family doesn't watch TV.
1 person likes this
@porwest (96285)
• United States
16 Feb
@lilacskies Yes. It most certainly does. I have decided to still pay the $100 savings, just not to the cable company. It will go into our investments.
1 person likes this
@lilacskies (4653)
• United States
16 Feb
@porwest That's a great deal since you are saving $100 a month. That money adds up fast. Good job!
1 person likes this
