My Streaming Life

College football is in week 12 of the 2025 season with a massive Saturday schedule. The slate consists of 51 total games. There are 18 games that feature at least one ranked opponent, with four of them being matchups between two ranked teams. Ranked Team Matchups #9 Notre Dame @ #22 Pittsburgh (ABC) #11 Oklahoma @ #4 Alabama (ABC) #21 Iowa @ #17 USC (BTN) #10 Texas @ #5 Georgia (ABC) How to Watch Most of the games are available for viewing live by streaming, or with an antenna. Here are the networks carrying the games this season: ABC Antenna (Free over-the-air, where available) ESPN Unlimited ($30/month) ESPN Unlimited/Fox One Bundle ($40/month) Sling TV Orange ($46/month) DirecTV Stream MySports (in select markets) ($70/month) YouTube TV ($83/month)* DirecTV Stream ($85/month) Fubo ($85/month) Hulu+Live TV ($90/month) ACC Network ESPN Unlimited ($30/month) ESPN Unlimited/Fox One Bundle ($40/month) Sling TV Orange + Sports Extra ($57/month) DirecTV Stream M...

Back in September 2023, I decided to run a short experiment: I wanted to try using Google TV exclusively for 30 days to get a feel for the platform's recent changes. As a long-time devoted Roku user, I felt it was necessary to give Google’s content-forward interface a proper test. That 30-day trial ended up lasting 26 months. Sticking with Google TV for that long speaks volumes about how compelling its interface is -- it actually pulled me away from my original, preferred streaming platform for over two years. However, I recently realized that this singular focus, while comfortable, has meant I have been remiss in keeping up with the industry. For a cord-cutting blogger who advises others on all the "Big Four" platforms, getting left behind is not an option. It was time for a necessary shift. The 26-Month Google TV Experience My commitment to Google TV was entirely driven by its interface. Unlike the Roku home screen, which is essentially just a grid of apps, Google T...

College football enters Week 12 with eight early-week games ahead of the full slate this weekend. Five games are in the books, including two played Tuesday and three last night. The remaining schedule, which features three matchups, features one tonight and two games tomorrow night, each featuring a ranked team. There are no matchups where both teams are ranked. How to Watch Most of the games are available for viewing live by streaming, or with an antenna. Here are the networks carrying the games this season: ESPN ESPN Unlimited ($30/month) ESPN Unlimited/Fox One Bundle ($40/month) Sling TV Orange ($46/month) DirecTV Stream MySports ($70/month) YouTube TV ($83/month)* Fubo ($85/month) Hulu+Live TV ($90/month) FOX Antenna (Free over-the-air, where available) Fox One ($20/month) ESPN Unlimited/Fox One Bundle ($40/month) Sling TV Blue ($46/month) DirecTV Stream MySports (in select markets) ($70/month) YouTube TV ($83/month) Fubo ($85/month) Hulu+Live TV ($90/month) ...

The media consolidation war has reached its most critical stage yet, and the outcome will directly determine the cost and complexity of our streaming lives. The company at the center of the fight is Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) , and every potential buyer is forcing cord-cutters to choose the "best of a bad lot" when it comes to the future of our monthly bills. In the last few days, WBD has rejected a third offer from Paramount Global and Skydance Media to buy the entire company, reportedly holding out for a price closer to $30 per share (Paramount's rejected offers were near $24 per share). Meanwhile, Comcast has officially hired major investment banks and gained access to WBD's financial data, confirming its serious interest in a partial purchase. WBD is now stuck between a rock and a hard place: sell the entire company for less than they want, or sell off the best parts and watch the rest collapse. The Core Conflict: Full Sale vs. Partial Sale The bidding...

Today is Veterans Day. We have observed it since the end of the first World War, and it became a U.S. holiday in 1954. The president issued a proclamation that year . Proclamation 3071—Veteran's Day, 1954 October 08, 1954 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Whereas it has long been our custom to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and Whereas in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351), that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday...

I saw a helpful video from Michael Timmermann on his Michael Saves YouTube channel that clearly explains the steps YouTube TV subscribers must take to claim their $20 credit following the recent Disney content blackout. While I do not typically subscribe to vMVPDs ("streaming cable" services), this information is critical because YouTube TV is one of the largest television providers in the country, rivaling traditional giants like Comcast and Spectrum, meaning the blackout affects millions of cord-cutters. [ YouTube ] The key takeaway from Michael Timmermann's video is that the $20 credit is not automatically applied to most accounts and must be manually claimed by the user. He provides a simple, four-step process: you must sign in from a web browser (not the mobile app), click your profile icon, go to Settings, look for the Updates section at the bottom of the page, and select the option to claim the credit. Once claimed, the credit will be applied to your next bill,...

In this video, Lon Seidman, from the YouTube channel Lon.TV, breaks down the escalating carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Disney, explaining how the conflict has expanded from blacking out live channels to impacting digital movie purchases and ownership. [ YouTube ] Video Summary The contract dispute between YouTube TV and Disney (owner of ABC, ESPN, and more) expired on October 30, 2025, leading to the immediate removal of over 20 channels from the vMVPD. Lon Seidman explains that the impact goes beyond the loss of live TV, as users also lost access to their recorded shows on YouTube TV's DVR. The situation worsened when Disney pulled all its movies from Google TV and YouTube for purchase or rental, and Google retaliated by pulling its platforms out of Movies Anywhere. This move is a blow to consumer-friendly services, as it threatens the ability of users to sync new Disney movie purchases across different platforms like Apple TV and Prime Video. The Unending Cycle of...

The season is quickly accelerating as we head toward Selection Day, and Week 11 is packed with significant matchups that will shape the College Football Playoff picture. This weekend features a total of 32 Division 1-A/FBS games, with 14 of those contests involving at least one team from the CFP Top 25. Crucially, the slate includes three games where both participants are currently ranked. Ranked Team Matchups #7 BYU at #8 Texas Tech (12:00 PM, ABC) #3 Texas A&M at #22 Missouri (3:30 PM, ABC) #9 Oregon at #20 Iowa (3:30 PM, CBS) How to Watch Most of the games are available for viewing live by streaming, or with an antenna. Here are the networks carrying the games this season ABC Antenna: Free ESPN Unlimited ($30/month) ESPN Unlimited/Fox One Bundle ($40/month) Sling TV Orange ($46/month) DirecTV Stream MySports (in select markets) ($70/month) YouTube TV ($83/month) DirecTV Stream ($85/month) Fubo ($85/month) Hulu+Live TV ($90/month) ACC Network ESPN Unlimite...

I'm the first to admit it: as a long-time cord-cutter, I'm guilty of slipping into a stream of confusing acronyms. It's tricky sometimes. For those of us who have been in the streaming world for years, terms like vMVPDs and FAST channels roll right off the tongue, but I realize that for someone just thinking about cutting cable, it can sound like I'm speaking Latin. I never want to talk down to my experienced readers, but I especially don't want to lose the newcomers who need this information most. This post is for the curious, the newcomers, and anyone who wants to understand the essential terms that matter most to your wallet and your TV experience. We are going to demystify the key terms, making sure you know the difference between a TVOD and an SVOD , and what a Connected TV actually is. If you are wondering that the words mean, keep reading. Cost and Content Models: How You Pay This category contains the essential terminology that defines the pricing st...