Today, Hulu announced that the cost of its live streaming package will go up by $10/month to $64.99/month beginning on December 18. This summer, YouTube TV also raised its price to $64.99/month. fuboTV did the same and raised the price of its Family plan to $64.99/month. With the prices of these services going up, you may be looking for a less expensive alternative. We have four options for you.
Sling TV
Starting at $30/Month
With Sling TV, you’ll have the option of choosing between two base packages (Sling Orange and Sling Blue) for $30/month or subscribing to a combination of the two for $45/month. For that price, you’ll get over 50 channels and 10 hours of DVR included with your subscription. Looking for more channels? With Sling, you can also add Extras on to your plan, giving you more channels in your favorite categories. Choose from Extras like Kids, Sports, News, and more.
Vidgo
Starting at $40/Month
With other live TV streaming services raising their prices, Vidgo has become one of the most affordable services. Vidgo has a comparable channel lineup to Hulu, YouTube TV, and fuboTV, including ABC and FOX locals in select areas and a lineup of sports channels including ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, NFL Network, and Pac 12. In total, the service has over 60 channels.
Philo
$20/Month
This “skinny bundle” costs $20/month, making it the least expensive option on our list. For that price, you’ll get 60 channels, including channels from Viacom and Discovery. You’ll also get an unlimited DVR. Switching to Philo does mean sacrificing sports channels. Those channels are left out of the lineup to keep prices as low as possible.
TVision Live
Starting at $40/Month
T-Mobile’s new live TV streaming service launched earlier this month for T-Mobile customers and has since opened up to Sprint customers. The basic package includes 34 channels including some locals, along with news and entertainment. Live TV packages start at $40/month, with the option to upgrade for more channels like Big Ten Network, NBC RSNs in available markets, and NFL Redzone. TVision Live packages also include a cloud DVR feature with 100 hours of DVR storage.
What About Locals?
If your streaming service doesn’t carry your local NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX channels, you can likely get those channels for free. Most households across the country will be able to watch their local basic channels and more for free by using an antenna. Check out Antenna Web to find out which channels you can get with an antenna where you live.
Locast is another option for live, local channels. Locast is run by a nonprofit organization and rebroadcasts local stations. The service asks users for monthly donations as low as $5 to help cover operating costs. You can watch on TiVo, Android and iOS, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon, and Roku, as well as with Dish and DirecTV. Visit locast.org to see if your area is covered and to get your full channel lineup.