Next on our list of streaming service showdowns is YouTube TV and Sling TV. After posting about the YouTube price increase and asking if Sling TV is the best current deal in cord cutting, we want to find out how these two compare.
For this comparison post, we’ll be looking at YouTube TV and the Sling Orange + Blue combination.
Plans and Pricing
YouTube TV recently raised its price to $49.99/month. YouTube doesn’t have multiple plan options to choose from. Before starting your monthly subscription, you can try it out with a 5-day free trial.
For a limited time, Sling is offering a deal on Sling Orange, Sling Blue, and the combo of the two. You can subscribe to either Orange or Blue for $15 each, or you can get the combination of Sling Blue and Sling Orange for $25/month. After this limited time deal, the price will go back up to $40/month for Sling Orange + Sling Blue.
Channel and Price Comparison
If you’re looking for the best value in a streaming service, it can be helpful to look at how much you’re paying per channel.
With the recent YouTube TV price hike, you’ll now pay $49.99/month for a subscription. You can give it a try before subscribing with a 5 day free trial. Along with the rise in price, YouTube TV added some new channels. Now that there are 82 channels, that brings it to about 61 cents per channel.
With the limited time deal, you can get 56 channels for $25 with the Sling Orange + Blue combo, bringing your total to 45 cents per channel. When the limited time offer ends, you’ll get 56 channels for $40, raising it to 71 cents per channel.
Channels
While comparing cost per channel can be helpful, it won’t do much good if you aren’t getting the channels you watch most often. Below are the full channel lineups for YouTube TV and Sling Orange + Blue.
When reviewing the lists, keep in mind that channels will vary slightly based on your location, so local channels will depend on where you live.
Here’s what you’ll get with your YouTube TV subscription:
- AMC
- ABC
- Animal Planet
- BBC America
- BBC World News
- Bravo
- Big Ten Network
- CBS
- CBS Sports
- Cartoon Network
- Cheddar Business
- Cheddar News
- CNBC
- CNN
- Comet
- CW
- Discovery
- Disney
- Disney XD
- Disney Junior
- E!
- ESPN
- ESPN 2
- ESPN U
- ESPN News
- ESPN SEC
- Food Network
- Fox
- Fox Business
- Fox News
- Fox Sports
- Freeform
- FS1
- FS2
- FX
- FXM
- FXX
- HGTV
- HLN
- IFC
- ID
- Local Now
- Los Angeles Football Club
- MLB Network
- Motor Trend
- MSNBC
- My TV
- National Geographic
- Nat Geo Wild
- NBA TV
- NBC
- NBC Golf
- NBC Sports
- NBC SN
- Neon
- NESN
- Newsy
- Olympic Channel
- Orlando City SC
- Pop
- Seattle Sounders
- Smithsonian Channel
- SNY
- Start TV
- Sundance TV
- SyFy
- Tastemade
- TBS
- Telemundo
- Tennis Channel
- TLC
- TNT
- Turner Classic Movies
- Travel Channel
- Tru TV
- Universal Kids
- Universo
- USA
- WE TV
- YES
- TYT
- Youtube Originals
These are the channels you’ll get with your combination of Sling Blue and Sling Orange:
- A&E
- ACC Network Extra
- AMC
- AXS
- BBC America
- BET
- Bloomberg TV
- Bravo
- CNN
- Cartoon Network
- Cheddar Business
- Cheddar News
- Comedy Central
- Comet
- Discovery
- Disney
- E!
- ESPN
- ESPN 2
- ESPN 3
- Epix
- FS1
- FS2
- FX
- FXX
- Food Network
- Fox (select markets)
- Fox Sports (select markets)
- Freeform
- Fuse
- HGTV
- History
- ID
- IFC
- Lifetime
- Local Now
- Motor Trend
- NBC (select markets)
- NBC Sports (select markets)
- NBC Sports Network
- NFL Network
- Nat Geo Wild
- National Geographic
- Newsy
- Nick Jr
- Stadium
- SyFy
- TBS
- TLC
- TNT
- Travel Channel
- Tribeca Shortlist
- TruTV
- USA
- Viceland
Simultaneous Viewing
YouTube TV allows you to stream simultaneously on up to 3 devices. You’ll also have the option to set up 6 profiles for each account, so everyone in the family can personalize their profile with their favorite content.
With the combination of Sling Blue and Sling Orange, you can watch 4 streams simultaneously. However, you can only have 1 Sling Orange stream and up to 3 Sling Blue streams playing at the same time.
Cloud DVR
Your YouTube TV subscription comes with a Cloud DVR with unlimited storage. You can record shows simultaneously and watch from any of your devices.
With Sling TV, Cloud DVR can be added on as an extra for an additional $5/month. When you add Cloud DVR on, you’ll be able to record and watch live TV, fast forward through commercials, keep your recordings for as long as you’re a customer, and record multiple shows at once. With the add on, your monthly cost (after the limited time offer) will be $45/month.
Which of these two streaming services do you prefer? Let us know in the comments!
Did you know we have a YouTube Channel? Every week we have a live Cord Cutting Q&A, and weekly Cord Cutting recap shows exclusively on our YouTube Channel!
Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.