60% canceled cables

A new report indicates that most U.S. families are cutting cable.

Comscore released a report recently that said over 60% U.S. households had cut cable, and increase from 37% as recorded earlier this year, as reported by Cord Cutters News:

The report says the amount we stream is also going up as we now watch over 11.5 billion hours of streaming media in a year. That is up from 9.6B during the same period the year before. It is also reported that ad-supported streaming captured the bulk of new viewing as cord cutters look to ad-supported services to save money.

"While the top US streaming services are keeping up with the demand for subscriptions, new growth can be observed in FAST streaming platforms like Roku, Pluto and Tubi which are increasingly consolidating their position in the household mix," said James Muldrow, Vice President, Product Management, Comscore. "At the same time, cable/satellite subscribers remain some of the most engaged users in the streaming landscape. With three cable/satellite providers in the Top 10 ranking of video services based on hours watched per household, these findings highlight the success of these providers in offering advertisers consistently engaged streaming audiences."

That is a large increase in a short period of time. If this report is accurate, this bodes poorly for cable TV companies.

Of course, some of us cut the cord and dropped cable over a dozen years ago. Still, seeing the number of cord cutters increase this much this quickly is surprising to me.

My Streaming Life is being joined by so many others. I enjoy mine. I hope everyone else is enjoying theirs.

YouTube TV Tips

I don't normally use services such as YouTube TV. The only time I ever use a live streaming service such as YouTube TV is during college football season, and then I choose Sling TV. It's cheaper and has what I want.

Still, YouTube TV is a good live streaming service. If you're into that sort of thing. As you can tell, I'm not, except under certain circumstances. I don't use such a service year-round.

Despite my feeling that YouTube TV isn't worth the cost, I so acknowledge that it is a quality service. If I needed such a service, this would be a good one. I don't need one.

If you need one -- you don't, but you may want one really bad and that's okay; I'm not criticizing -- YouTube TV is top notch. Depending on what you needed (wanted) it would either be number 1 or 2 on my list. It's a good choice because it's a good service.

But, like most things, there are some things you can do to make the experience better. Luke Bouma at Cord Cutters News had a few tips about using YouTube TV. I agree with them. I'm not going to try to duplicate what he wrote. I couldn't do a better job, so I'm going to suggest you read his. Hit top tip would be my top tip as well:

YouTube TV’s live guide will allow you to custom channels to show the favorite channels you want at the top and hide other ones. This means you can have a live guide that only shows the channels you want and hides the rest. The only downside is that you need to do it on the app or on the desktop you can’t do it on your TV.

He goes through the steps to do that, then goes on to four other tips, all good ones. Especially #2. Give it a read.

My Streaming Life doesn't normally involve YouTube TV. I don't use live streaming cable-like services, except on rare occasions. One will come up this weekend, and I'm deciding between Sling TV and YouTube TV. Sling is cheapest, and would likely be the one I choose. But I may go with YouTube TV. As I said, it's a really good service.

Nothing On but the Radio

I read an article on Cord Cutters News this week that I found interesting.

According to the article by Kayla Wassell, more people are using TV as radio.

The article by Miss Wassell references a report from Hub Research entitled "Evolution of the TV Set" and refers to many users listening to music:

More people are using their smart TVs to stream music and audio services than any other non-TV feature. This year, 49% of people surveyed reported using their televisions for streaming music, up from 27% in 2020. Hub reports that 90% of people between 16 and 34 use at least one non-TV feature, compared to 55% of people in the 55 to 74 age range.

The report shows people strongly prefer listening to music through their televisions over smartphones or a speaker like Amazon’s Alexa. Usually, televisions have the best speakers or are connected to a home theater system, making them a popular choice. Even adding a soundbar can drastically improve the sound, giving the television a considerable boost above smaller smartphone speakers, which can sound tinny.

Apps for streaming services like Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music are easy to download on smart televisions like Roku or Fire TV. Users can listen to live radio by downloading apps like Radio by myTuner, which hosts more than 50,000 radio stations from 200+ countries.

I was doing that in 2010. Well, my wife at the time was. I helped set it up, so I'm claiming some of the credit.

She told me that year that she wanted a speaker bar for her laptop for Christmas. I researched and found some, but was curious about what she was really wanting. It seemed she wanted better sound out of her laptop, but why?

That's when I found out she was wanting to play her music from iTunes through the computer, and the speakers weren't delivering the sound she wanted. She wanted more sound, better sound, so she thought a sound bar for her laptop would be the way to go.

I looked over at the TV, a Sony, and the attached sound system, also a Sony, and thought that would be good sound. Better than sound from a laptop.

And she was playing her iTunes music? Apple TV would do that.

I found I could purchase a compatible sound bar that could be easily returned. Why would returning it be a good idea? Because that would be Plan B. My idea for Plan A would be an Apple TV device hooked up to the Sony television, playing sound through that really nice sound system we had. If she didn't like it, I could break out the sound bar. I had my bases covered.

On Christmas, she was intrigued by the Apple TV. When I showed her how to play her iTunes music through it, she was thrilled. The sound bar never came into play.

To this day, she still plays her music through the TV. My Streaming Life, and hers, have been ahead of the curve for a while.

Rumors of $35 for ESPN

I read with interest an article last week about the price of the upcoming ESPN streaming service.

Let's clarify a few things first.

ESPN streaming isn't actually a thing. Disney, which owns ESPN, is planning to launch a streaming service, but has made no official announcements about it. Little is known other than Disney wants to do it.

ESPN+ is NOT simply ESPN streaming. It is a supplement to ESPN. The standard ESPN live stream is not available on ESPN+. Some content is streamed on both ESPN and ESPN+, but most is not.

Nobody really knows anything (see the first thing) and everything about when it may launch and any pricing is conjecture. Some are educated guesses, others are "pull it out of thin air" guesses.

So, what are the rumors? Well, according to The Information, ESPN would cost almost as much as Sling TV:

ESPN is considering charging between $20 and $35 a month for its new streaming service, The Information reported Thursday. Such a price range could make it the most expensive streaming service in the U.S.

The new service would show the same marquee programming as ESPN’s cable channel, unlike the existing ESPN+ streaming service ...

Sling TV Orange carries ESPN, and is $40/month, only $5 more than the rumored price. Sling TV also has other programming that might be of interest.

A downside to Sling TV is the limit of a single stream. Accounts cannot have multiple streams at the same time, making this not as attractive as most other services.

Would ESPN have multiple streams? That isn't known. If it does, this may be a better option because it saves $5 and allows multiple games to be played by a family.

My Streaming Life involves ESPN via Sling TV every football season. I don't know if I'd switch to a standalone ESPN service, but I might.

They're selling your data

You probably knew this. Those companies that get your data are selling your data.

No, not all are doing it. But most are.

[YouTube]

Privacy should be a concern to everyone. Unfortunately, it's not. I know many people that I consider rather savvy in many ways who are absolutely terrible when it comes to the topic of privacy.

My Streaming Life involves other companies, who have data on me. And yes, I'm sure they sell it. (Watch the video again.) But it's a trade-off I make, but I don't like it.

Watching College Football in 2023

College football is underway. The first games of the season are today. There are only seven games on the schedule, but two involve ranked teams.

Today's seven games will be broadcast over six networks:

• CBS Sports Network
• ESPN
• Fox Sports 1
• NBC
• Pac 12 Network
• SEC Network

Between today and next Saturday, there are 17 games involving Division 1-A/FBS teams. Those will air on three additional networks:

• ACC Network
• ESPN+
• Fox

Over the season, there are other networks broadcasting games as well:

• ABC
• Big Ten Network
• CBS
• CW
• ESPN2
• ESPNU
• Longhorn Network
• NFL Network
• Peacock

There may even be another network or two that carries games, but these are the ones that are confirmed as the season begins.

So, how to watch those networks? I'm glad you asked.

ABC

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (8 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ACC Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Big Ten Network

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

CBS

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) $10/month
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

CBS Sports Network

• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Ultimate) ($139/month)

CW

• Antenna (free)
• Not available streaming.

ESPN, ESPN2

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

ESPN+

• ESPN+ (standalone) ($10/month)
• Disney Bundle ($15/month)

ESPNU

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)
• Fubo (Pro + Fubo Extra) ($83/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Fox

• Antenna (free)
• Sling TV (18 markets only) ($45/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Fox Sports 1

• Sling TV (Blue + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

Longhorn Network

• Sling TV (Orange + Sports Extra) ($51/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

NBC

• Antenna (free)
• Peacock (Plus) ($12/month)
• Sling TV (11 markets only) ($45/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($80/month)

NFL Network

• Sling TV (Blue) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

Pac 12 Network

• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

Peacock

• Peacock is its own service, and can be used to watch NBC live programming with the $12/month plan.

SEC Network

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month, $77/month after October 12, 2023)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)
• DirecTV (Choice) ($114/month)

That covers this weekend in college football, and covers all the networks -- so far -- that are carrying college football games in 2023. My Streaming Life revolves around college football during this time of year. I'm not saying college football is a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that.

More free, easy to find content II: Google TV

Recently, we mentioned the new Fire TV Channels that put free content all in one place on Fire TV devices.

Google TV, which is Google's interface on Android TV devices, added a bunch of new content recently. The latest addition wasn't a big one, but it did drive home the fact that Google has over 800 channels of free live content:

...offer over 800 live channels for free built into Google TV. With this move, Google TV is becoming a major player in the work of free ad-supported live TV streaming. Now Google TV has partnered with NBCUniversal to add four new channels for free on Google TV devices and Android TV devices.

These channels will be powered by Xumo Enterprise Comcast’s free TV service.

Think about that for a minute. Over 800 channels of content.

That's not to say it's all quality content, but you just might find something in the mix that is to your liking.

My Streaming Life is more and more made up of free content, with subscriptions dropping all the time. Google helps make it easy to do that.

More free, easy to find content I: Fire TV

Amazon has improved the way you can find free content on a Fire TV device. Amazon has grouped their free as-supported television (FAST) content into the "Channels" app, making it a one-stop place for free content on your Fire TV device.

What makes it different from other FAST apps is that this pulls from multiple sources. This actually makes it a lot like Roku Channel in this regard. They even took the name "Channels", but that's giving Roku too much credit. The layout is like you would see on cable, where your channels are listed, so this naming makes sense.

Credit: AFTVNews.

Anything that makes it easier to find free content is a good thing. Amazon did a good thing.

My Streaming Life is more Roku focuses, but things such as this are why I still use Fire TV on occasion. This is a good feature, and I suspect that Fire TV users will appreciate it.

More with fewer streaming services

A survey conducted by Cord Cutters News recently shows that nearly 60% of respondents are using three or fewer streaming services.

I've been advocating the cutting back of paid streaming services for some time. Now, I'm not at all suggesting that others are following my lead. Rather, I'm suggesting that others are seeing the same thing I saw: there is plenty of free content out there.

The driving force for the cutbacks is the same: saving money. As streaming services continue to up their prices, more and more subscribers are finding they can drop the services and find plenty of other content by subscribing to fewer services, and watching more free content.

Free ad-supported television (FAST) services carry a lot of good content. Sometimes, even original content (think Roku Channel, Freevee, and similar services). And more people are cutting subscriptions.

According to the survey, 58% of streamers subscribe to three or fewer services:

One type of streaming hit hardest by cord cutters cutting back has been live TV streaming services. Recently multiple live Tv streaming services have lost subscribers, including Hulu + Live TV losing 100,000 subscribers, Sling TV losing 97,000, and Fubo losing 118,000 subscribers during the 2nd quarter of 2023.

On-demand services have also been reporting drops in subscribers, including Max and Disney+. These drops are coming as some of our readers are telling us they are willing to rotate streaming services to save money. Instead of paying for a service all year, they are more willing got subscribe for just a month or two to a service so they can binge-watch everything. After that month is done, they switch to a new service to save money.

We have also recently seen free streaming services like Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, according to a report from Nielsen. Some of our readers said they are using free ad-supported services to save money.

That sounds a lot like me. I pay for three services. Well, two. Or maybe nine.

I pay for two: Frndly TV ($9/month) and Pub-D-Hub ($5/year). I get a third with a subscription that I have unrelated to streaming, so the streaming is a bonus (Prime Video, $120/year). I get three as part of bonuses with other services (Paramount Plus with Walmart Plus, Peacock TV with Xfinity Internet, Apple TV+ with an Apple device). I had other subscriptions for family members that are no longer needed, and have canceled and am waiting for the actual subscription term to end (Starz, AMC Plus, Curiosity Stream). So nine services, but three yearly subscriptions have already been canceled, and four that come with other services that I would have anyway, leaving just two to which I actually subscribe.

My Streaming Life has both more services than most, and fewer services than most. I'm complicated that way.

A new antenna, or streaming local channels?

I no longer have a TV antenna.

Well, I do, but I don't. It's complicated.

I sold my portion of my mother's house. Two of my sisters and I owned it, and another piece of property. I've traded by portion of the house for their portions of the nearby property. They own the house. And that's where the antenna was.

I don't have an antenna at my house. I bought an antenna and installed it at my mother's, and using Tablo Connect, was able to watch TV via the antenna that way. But now, I no longer own the house (or a portion of it) and I'm not going to take the antenna with me. They can have it.

But that does leave me with no TV antenna. So, what do I do about it?

Well, I have a few options:

1. One is simply do without. I could go that route. I don't watch a lot of local (Savannah is the closest market) TV. Well, not live. I watch some broadcast TV content via Hulu. That's next day viewing, which is fine most of the time. Heck, all of the time. Unless it's a live sporting event (that means college football).
2. Another option is to get an antenna. I actually have one. It's an okay one, not a really good one like I got for my mother's house. When I put up the antenna at my mother's house, I bought an Air TV device that included an antenna. Not an indoor antenna, but an actual outdoor antenna. And it worked pretty well. I got most of the channels. Most is not all. The really good one I bought and had installed picked up everything. I don't have one of those. Still, the one I have is pretty good. And according to AntennaWeb, I should be able to pick things up a little better at home than at my mother's house, because of the terrain. I'm about two miles closer to the towers, but the elevation and terrain makes enough of a difference.
3. Another option is to get a live streaming service. I'm not doing that. The cheapest platform that picks up ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC is Hulu+Live TV, and that's $70/month. And it's about to go up 10%. The next cheapest is YouTube TV at $73/month. So no, I'm not doing that.
4. A final option is to mix the first and third. Paramount Plus $12/month plan would get me live local CBS. Peacock TV $12/month plan would get me live local NBC. And $24 is less than $70. It gets me two of the four local stations, along with some other content that is pretty good.

What will I do? Well, I just don't know. Right now, I'm doing the first option: I'm doing without. And that's what I'll do until I decide. I really have until football season (a couple of weeks, maybe) to decide.

My Streaming Life has been just fine with an antenna, but now I need to decide about putting up another. I'm kind of leaning that way, meaning I may go with option four (CBS has SEC football) until I get around to option two. Hulu gets me everything except sports, and if I have to spend a little bit of money to get the sports I want, I'm saving enough money by streaming other content that it won't be that much of a problem.

Watching local news

Does this sound familiar? Having dropped cable, you start streaming everything. Then you hear about a local news story that someone says is covered by the local TV station. The question: how do you watch it?

Well, honestly, the answer is that you might not be able to.

You see, there's no guarantee you'll be able to watch local news streaming. Oh, you'll be able to watch some, but it may be that only some local news is available. And that some is not.

I don't live in a big city. I live a little away from Savannah, and have always watched the Savannah stations as the "local" stations. And many of my family members today have Savannah stations as their local. However, some family has Jacksonville as their local stations. So, extending things out, I have two "local" markets from which to choose, though for me, Savannah is the primary.

I read an article on Cord Cutters News recently about streaming local news for free. And, in some places, people will be able to do that. However, for me, it's not quite as rosy as Luke Bouma's article makes it seem.

NewsON offers live news from all over the United States. In total, they have over 275 local news stations streaming on its website through its app on the most popular devices. You can learn more on their website HERE.

Haystack News also offers both live and on-demand news streaming for free online from a ton of news stations, including local Nexstar stations. You can learn more on their website HERE.

Local Now is one more free option that includes a ton of local news stations plus curated local news programs from The Weather Channels’ parent company. You can learn more on their website HERE.

First, the suggestion of using an antenna is a good one. If you can't use an antenna to get the stations -- and yes, there are places where an antenna just won't work -- then streaming is your only option.

So, for the four local news outlets -- Savannah's WSAV (NBC), WTOC (CBS), WJCL (ABC), and WTGS (Fox) -- I can stream local news from only two of those.

• NewsOn gets me WJCL (ABC) local news only.
• Local Now also only gets WJCL local news.
• Haystack provides WSAV (NBC) local news, along with WJCL local news.

The other options listed in the Cord Cutters News article don't get me any local news.

In none of these do the CBS or Fox affiliate local news streams occur. Those aren't available for me. For free, that is.

Live streaming services such as YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu+Live TV, DirecTV streaming, and such do offer local news, because they offer the entire local stations in the lineup. Not just news, but the entire broadcast stream.

Those services are expensive, running $65/month or more. For $10, I can get local CBS as part of Paramount Plus. For $10, I can get local NBC as part of Peacock TV. But that's it.

My Streaming Life has had to deal with limited local news, when not using an antenna. It's one of the drawbacks of streaming. I wish it was different, but this is the way it is. I hope that changes soon.

Helping the parents cut the cord

How do you help your parents cut the cord?

Well, in all honesty, maybe they shouldn't. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to streaming television. But that's part of the beauty of it. TV your way. What you want to watch, when you want to watch it. No scheduling your life around that big picture box in the living room.

Of course, for me, that was a benefit. The reason I cut the cord in 2011 was to save money. I did, and continue to, despite the price increases.

But, let's suppose your parents know about your saving money and want a little bit of that saving money action. How do you make that happen? Well, from personal experience, it's not easy.

My mother loved her Roku device and used it all the time during the last years of her life. But she never did drop cable entirely. It was her security blanket. She didn't watch it, but it was there if she needed it.

This is coming up because I read an article by one of the staff at Cord Cutters News, Roger Cheng, who just went through helping his parents cut the cord.

The first step was to get my parents out of their triple play bundle of internet, TV and phone, which had steadily gone up in price over time. We were fortunate that AT&T Fiber launched right around when we were considering making the shift, so changing internet service providers offered a good excuse to break out of the triple play. The service would cost $70 a month.

This isn’t a situation that would apply to anyone, so I would suggest having a conversation and calling either the existing provider or a competing ISP and exploring the broadband-only options. Just be sure to not fall for the triple play pitch all over again.

I found the article interesting, and a little familiar, as a lot of it mirrors what I ran into when helping my mother convert to streaming.

My Streaming Life has been enjoyable. My mother enjoyed hers. Perhaps the article can help your family members enjoy theirs.

Live streaming exodus

It seems more people are dropping live streaming services. In fact, a couple of news reports this week were on the topic of how all the live streaming services, except for YouTube TV, are losing customers.

Oh, and not just live streaming services. All of the major pay TV services -- cable, satellite, and streaming -- lost subscribers, except for YouTube TV.

According to a report by Leichtman Research Group, around 1,730,000 subscribers left the various services in the second quarter of the year. That's up from 1,725,000 in the same quarter the year before.

The report showed that streaming overall is losing subscribers, as the other major live streaming services lost over half again as many as YouTube TV gained:

Internet-Delivered (vMVPD)	Subscribers at end of 2Q 2023	Net Adds in 2Q 2023
YouTube TV	5,900,000	200,000
Hulu + Live TV	4,300,000	(100,000)
Sling TV	2,003,000	(97,000)
Fubo	1,167,000	(118,000)
Total	13,370,000	(115,000)

I noticed that Vidgo, Frndly TV, and Philo, were not included. I don't know why they were excluded. Vidgo only carries two of the four big broadcast networks, while Frndly TV and Philo don't carry any of the four, so that may be the reason.

Bottom line is that many are dropping the services. Some are moving to YouTube TV, but overall, there are fewer subscribers.

I cut the cord before any of those services existed. I didn't cut the cord to watch cable another way. I cut the cord to get away from cable and watch what I wanted when I wanted. Well, not really. All that was true, but I really cut the cord to save money. The rest of it is a bonus.

I haven't dropped those services. I can't drop what I don't have. I will subscribe a total of four 30-day periods during college football season, but the other 2/3 of the year, I don't use, nor want those services. My Streaming Life is just fine without them. And apparently more people are discovering that as well.

Looking at cheap live streaming services

There are two really cheap live streaming services: Philo and Frndly TV.

Well, there were two. Comcast has launched one called Now TV.

Frndly TV is one of my favorites. It's $7/month (though I opt for the $9/month plan) and has a lot of family friendly content.

Philo is a great service if you don't care about sports and major news services, and is $25/month.

Now TV is the new kid on the block, and I haven't tried it. Nor will I. While it's only $20/month, it isn't supported on three of the four major streaming platforms. Only Fire TV has an app, while Apple TV, Android/Google TV, and Roku (!) are all without apps for Now TV. Yes, I have a Fire TV device, but I'm not inclined to subscribe to anything that isn't also available on Roku. Until they're on Roku, they're not worth my dealing with.

But, if you are interested in finding out about how the services stack up, Cord Cutters News recently did a review of the three services:

All are budget-friendly options that carry a lot of bang for your buck, with options for $25 and less. All three options are monthly subscription based, which means you do not have to sign a contract to watch your favorite movies and shows on live channels.

Recently a lot has changed with these services, so we are going to dive down deep and take a look at which services could be the right one for you.

A little bit of a warning. This looks like an update from an earlier comparison of Frndly TV and Philo, with some edits to include Now TV. They missed some edits, and you can tell in a couple of places that they were only comparing the two, initially.

The other thing is they're really easy on Now TV. There's nothing wrong with being positive about things, but the negatives of Now TV are almost entirely overlooked. But, again, I've not used the service. However, the DVR limits (which I really don't care about) and the platform availability (which I do care about) are some major things to consider.

My Streaming Life includes Frndly TV. It has included Philo, and I like that service. But I won't be picking up Now TV any time soon.

Prices up, subscriptions down

The trend over the last 2-3 years of price increases continues to hit streamers. Recently, YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, Fubo, and DirecTV Stream (now just DirecTV) have gone up in price. The cheapest of these is $65/month, which a few years ago was the highest price.

With these increases, there is the chance of people canceling subscriptions. I don't think that will be a wide-spread thing, though.

You see, none of those services are really necessary. New streamers are used to cable TV, and are looking for streaming versions of cable TV. That's what these services are.

Long-time streamers figured out a while back that these services aren't needed. There is plenty of content available for much cheaper, if you're willing to plan things out.

Most people don't want that. They want the same thing they had. Some large company spoon-feeding them content, making it easy to consume the content, and paying large sums of money for that convenience.

To me, saving money is convenient. So I rarely use these live streaming services. I will subscribe to Sling TV when college football kicks off, because that's how I can get ESPN. As soon as ESPN launches a stand alone service, though, I'll be going that route.

An antenna is the way to get live local channels. Most people can pick up major broadcast networks with an antenna, and that's cheap. Free is really cheap.

There are people that can't pick up content with an antenna. Paramount Plus gets live local CBS for $10/month. Peacock TV gets live local NBC for $10/month. Fox and ABC aren't available except through an expense live streaming service.

There are many free ad-supported television (FAST) services -- Pluto TV, Tubi, Xumo Play, Roku Channel, etc. -- that offer much of the same types of content, and in a few cases, the same actual content, as the pay services. And there are commercials on the pay services.

To me, it's either pay and watch commercial-laden content, or freely watch commercial-laden content. I'm gonna save me some money! My Streaming Life doesn't cost a lot, and I enjoy it. No, it's not the same as watching cable, but to me, that's the whole point.

More streaming, less ... not streaming

Reports continue to show the growth of streaming, and the decline of traditional TV viewing, such as cable or satellite.

A report from the Wall Street Journal (there may be a paywall, so I'll quote some key points) indicates that streaming is the top way people are watching TV.

The report broke out TV viewing into four categories:

• Cable TV (which I'm assuming includes satellite)
• Broadcast TV (which indicates over the air antenna)
• Streaming (that explains itself)
• Other (DVDs, games, etc.)

The report shows streaming with the largest share of the viewing.

What does this mean? Well, streaming is growing. We knew that. Cable TV is dropping. We knew that. So did we learn anything? Well, yes. We learned that the trend continues. This appears to be a long term thing.

The report also says that the cable companies have noticed:

The milestone is the latest sign of the rapid erosion of the cable-TV bundle, which has lost about a quarter of its subscribers over the past decade, as more Americans cut the cord in favor of streaming services like Netflix, Google’s YouTube and Disney’s Hulu.

Cable television accounted for 29.6% of total U.S. viewing time in July, while broadcast attracted 20%, Nielsen said in a release published Tuesday. Streaming services, meanwhile, captured 38.7% of Americans’ viewing time, while a category labeled “Other”—which Nielsen says includes usage such as DVD playback and gaming—accounted for the remaining 11.6%.

The growth of streaming platforms at the expense of cable and broadcast TV networks has accelerated in recent years, as most entertainment conglomerates introduced their own direct-to-consumer services to take on industry leader Netflix. As they sought to rapidly grow their subscriber bases, many of them chose to make their highest-profile and costliest content available exclusively on streaming.

I've been streaming for over a dozen years. I don't need cable. I can do without antenna (though I kinda like it).

It does not indicate that people are simply using streaming versions of cable -- YouTube TV, Sling TV, Fubo, Vidgo, DirecTV streaming, etc. -- although there's nothing to indicate otherwise. The report focuses on non-linear streaming such as Netflix, Peacock, Apple TV+, Prime Video, and other such services. That's good news, in that it shows people are realizing that linear services such as YouTube TV, Sling TV, and the like, which are simply streaming cable services, are not necessary.

I have nothing against those services. However, I don't like cable, whether in tradition form or disguised as streaming.

My Streaming Life has saved me a lot of money, although I did have to learn a new way of watching TV. But it's cheaper, and I have a huge selection of content. I'm happy.

YouTube TV password sharing

Right up front, I want to say that I don't share passwords. I don't give my streaming service logins to others, and I don't accept logins from others. I don't do it, I don't advocate it, and I don't give tips on how to accomplish it.

Most streaming service Terms of Service (ToS) prohibit the activity, and I'm not going to agree to someone's terms then turn around and violate them. If I don't like their terms, I'm not going to use the service.

However, I have friends and family members who have no qualms about sharing passwords. Whether it's because they don't know it's a ToS violation, or if they don't care, I don't know. I'm not the Internet Police, so I'm not going to be nagging them about stuff. They're grown and can make their own decisions.

I need to get to the point of all this don't I? Well, here goes.

Some family members have been talking about subscribing to YouTube TV in order to get ESPN and local channels to watch college football. Oh, they live in an area where there is no good antenna reception for the major broadcast networks. Most people in the U.S. can pick up some local stations. They can't.

Oh, and they didn't ask me about any of this, so I haven't offered my take on their plan. But I have this little Website where I write things, and now I'm going to write about that.

First, it is a violation of the ToS to share passwords as they're planning. Do they know? I don't know if they do. But suppose that doesn't enter into the decision. Then what?

Well, YouTube has been cracking down on password sharing:

YouTube TV has always put limits on its account-sharing feature. YouTube TV clearly says it is only for people living in the home. So your family that live outside of the primary account location are not allowed to use the account-sharing feature of YouTube TV. You can use YouTube TV outside your home, but you are supposed to bring that device back to your home location every 90 days.

Now YouTube TV has started to crack down on people sharing their YouTube TV account with people living outside of their home. Over the last few weeks a growing number of people have reported their friends and family have woken up to error messages on YouTube TV. These messages inform them that they need to buy their own YouTube TV subscription or return to their home location to continue using YouTube TV.

YouTube TV has always had these rules, but in the past, they very loosely enforced them. Now though, they are more aggressively enforcing their rules. They are doing this by tracking users’ IP addresses and seeing what devices are outside of the home location for over 90 days.

If YouTube catches them sharing passwords, then what'll likely happen is that one of them will end up with access to the service, and the other will be locked out.

If, on the other hand, YouTube doesn't detect that they are different households, they'll probably get away with it. So, $73/month split between the two households would be about $37/month to get ESPN and local channels. They'll be happy and YouTube will be none the wiser.

But what if YouTube does stop them? There are other options. Hulu+Live TV is $70/month, but going up to $77/month in October. And, based on my experience, they've been restricting multiple locations for some time. It'll stop them right off the bat, so that's a no-go.

Vidgo is an option for $70/month. They only carry ABC and Fox local channels, so no CBS (sorry SEC game of the week) or NBC (sorry Notre Dame). CBS and NBC local channels can be picked up streaming by subscribing to the $10/month packages for Paramount Plus and Peacock TV. So, add $10/month to that price for each of those two networks.

DirecTV streaming is $65/month for ESPN and local channels, but SEC Network isn't included. The Website has conflicting information regarding what package is required for SEC Network. One place says the $85/month Choice package has it, but another place says the $110/month Ultimate package is required. Both are more expensive if SEC Network is needed, and knowing them, SEC Network is needed.

Fubo TV has a $75/month plan that includes ESPN (with SEC Network) and local channels. That may seem like an option, but Fubo restricts to one location streaming at a time to a TV/streamer. That means that a Roku, Fire TV, or other smart TV or streaming device can be used at any location, but all streams would have to be from that same location. In other words, they couldn't both watch the Georgia game at the same time. Well, one could use a phone to watch it, as mobile devices aren't restricted like that.

I've not mentioned the cheapest way to get ESPN: Sling TV. Here's why: Sling TV doesn't carry local channels. They could pay $40/month for ESPN, but there is only one stream. Both couldn't watch ESPN at the same time.

So, if YouTube TV stops them from sharing their passwords, the only real option is to get separate Sling TV accounts. That's $40 for Sling TV, plus $10 for Paramount Plus. For $50/month each, they can watch college football.

Now, that's what I'm going to do. At least, I'll do the Sling TV thing. I live in an area where I can pick up CBS local with an antenna. If I needed CBS streaming, I would do Paramount Plus.

Maybe what they're planning will work. Maybe they'll be able to share a YouTube TV account and both watch the Georgia games. If so, they'll be happy. If not, they may have to do what I do. My Streaming Life is saving me enough money that I don't worry about paying a little more when football season starts. But I'm always looking for a cheaper way. Because I'm cheap.

Another price increase: Fubo

Fubo advertises itself as the top service for sports. It's hard to argue with that. However, there are some areas where Fubo falls short of other services. TBS and TNT carry some NBA games and some NHL games, and Fubo does not carry those channels. Still, it does carry a lot of sports.

It also costs a lot of money. And it is going to cost some people even more.

Fubo's lowest English language service is $75/month. The most expensive is now $100/month. And that's the price increase.

Fubo removed the $95/month Premiere plan and replaced it with the $100/month Ultimate plan. It does add NFL Red Zone, which the Premiere plan didn't have, so there's that. Still, $100/month is a lot of money.

My Streaming Life doesn't include Fubo TV. I've tried it, and found it to be a reliable service with a lot of channels, and a lot of sports. However, it's not for me. I'm not getting $100 worth of entertainment from it. You might, but I don't.

Tubi free streaming service

Tubi, owned by Fox, is one of the top free ad-supported television (FAST) service. It has grown and changed over the years.

Pluto TV has been the big daddy of the FAST services for years, being older and setting the standard for FAST services.

Tubi has become some people's favorite FAST service. While I still go to Pluto TV before I go to Tubi, some family members prefer Tubi. And that makes sense.

Cord Cutters News had a recent article on Tubi, and give some numbers about the increase in viewership and content:

Tubi hitting almost 60,000 on-demand movies and TV shows streaming free with ads makes Tubi one of the largest free streaming services for cord cutters.

This news comes as Tubi has been reaching multiple deals recently to add more content. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. Discovery announced deals with Tubi to bring their content to the free streaming service. This deal will bring a huge catalog of content to both services.

My Streaming Life has included Tubi since the service launched. I'm happy to see it continuing to grow and improve, and agree that it's one of the best, if not the best, FAST service.

Hulu price increase and lost subscribers

We posted recently about the latest Hulu and Disney price increases. However, we didn't get too deep into the other news about the services. It turns out that Hulu lost a lot of subscribers last quarter.

A report this week said that Hulu lost 100,000 subscribers to its live streaming service. Not the $7/month service I use, but the expensive Hulu+Live TV service that is going up from $70/month to $77/month.

Maybe they figure they need to increase the price 10% to offset a 2-3% drop in subscribers. Let's do the math real quick.

They had 4.4 million subscribers, and lost 100,000, meaning they lost $7-million in subscriptions. If they go up $7 and keep 4.3 million, that's an increase of over 30-million. That's a net gain of over $23-million. They could afford to lose another 300,000 subscribers at the higher price and not lose income.

It's all about the money, isn't it? Of course it is. It's always about money. They have to find a way to keep the money coming in as subscribers continue to leave:

The media giant said on Wednesday that Hulu lost 100,000 live TV subscribers to a total of 4.3 million. The total number of streaming video on demand customers rose by 300,000 to 44 million.

It’s the second quarter in a row in which Hulu lost that amount of subscribers.

My Streaming Life doesn't include Hulu+Live TV, or any live streaming service. I use standard Hulu, about 3-5 months out of the year. I can get by just fine without paying an outrageous amount of money for a service I wouldn't watch.

Hulu price increases (and Disney+) (and ESPN+)

The trend of the last 2-3 years continues. Now it's the Disney services that are going up. This means Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu (in various forms).

Now, Hulu both is and is not going up in price. The basic Hulu service, which is my service of choice, is staying at the current $8/month price. That means I won't be impacted by this price increase. Hurray for being a cheapskate, amirite?

Effective October 12, 2023, the price for Hulu (No Ads) -- that's the name of the Hulu service without ads -- is going up from $15/month to $18/month.

Hulu+Live TV jumps from $70/month to $77/month. The no-ads version goes up from $83/month to $90/month.

Similar price changes will impact the Disney+ and ESPN+ services as well.

Hulu is my service. Basic Hulu. I don't mind the ads, and I'll save a few bucks by sitting through them.

The thing is, football season is coming up. There will be some games I want to watch on ESPN+. So, come September 2, there are games that I might want to watch on ESPN+. So, how much is that?

By itself, ESPN+ is $10/month. That's going up to $11/month.

I would consider having both Hulu (standard) and ESPN+ bundled. However, the pricing isn't that great. In fact, it's the same as subscribing separately. There is no Hulu/ESPN+ bundle. So, for the two services, it's currently $17/month, going up to $18/month.

The Disney Bundle of all three services -- Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+ -- is currently $13/month. That means I can get the two I want for $17, but the price goes down $4 if I get all three. Under the new pricing, it will be $15/month, a $3 savings over the price for the two. So, I'll go from Hulu to the Disney Bundle when it's football season.

Of course, in the meantime, I'll subscribe to Hulu for $7/month, pausing the subscription for up to 12 weeks at a time. I've got a pause happening soon, and will decide during September whether to resume and do the Disney Bundle, or simply leave it paused and subscribe to ESPN+ for $10/month (soon to be $11/month).

My Streaming Life gets a little complicated in football season. I'll deal with the rest of ESPN separately. I don't think I'll do the Hulu+Live TV, particularly at the prices they are, and certainly not will be. I'll look at Sling TV then. For now, it's Hulu on pause, and something to be determined by kickoff.

Why I cut the cord

I started streaming some content in 2010. Maybe even earlier. I had a TiVo device that allowed me to watch some online content. Thinking back, most of it was downloaded to the TiVo then played. However, it seems there was some content that was actually streamed.

In late 2010, I bought my first Roku device, as well as a 2nd generation Apple TV device. Those allowed me to actually stream content.

In early 2011, right after the BCS championship game, I cut cable. Perhaps that Tuesday. It's hard to remember, since that was over 12 years ago.

So, why? Why did I cut the cord and go to streaming? The answer is simple: money. It's always about money.

I spent a year keeping up with everything I watched on TV, mostly by using the TiVo recording settings. Then I looked up how to watch that content without cable. Some meant buying the TV episodes, and some meant watching streaming. There was also TV antenna possible, but I didn't figure that into it. I assumed no antenna, and wanted to see how to watch everything online.

My numbers showed it was cheaper to subscribe to cable. Of course, that was in 2009. I did the same thing for 2010, and before the end of the year, I knew that it was now cheaper to drop cable and stream and buy content. So, that's what I did.

My Streaming Life became a reality because of money. I'm sure others have reasons, but that was THE reason I cut the cord. I've been saving money ever since.

How many ads can you stand?

A report from Hub Research indicates that many streamers will put up with ads to a point.

I've not seen all the details of the report -- I don't subscribe -- but a review of the report indicates that five ads in a half-hour segment is acceptable for most streamers.

For every 30 minutes of streaming video, five ads or fewer seemed to be the key number, according to a study conducted by Hub Entertainment Research. Its survey, which asked more than 3,000 US customers between 4 and 74 years old, found that half of the respondents found it reasonable to see 5 or fewer ads. That figure dropped to 38% when the number was upped to six to 10 ads.

That would be fine with me. I don't mind ads, as long as it's not too many ads.

If the ads are too much, I'll consider paying for an ad-free service, if it's available, but more likely I'll go elsewhere. My Streaming Life doesn't cost much, and I'll keep costs down by using ad-supported services. As long as the ads aren't too much.

Top free apps for Roku

Cord Cutters News has a good rundown on what it calls the top ten free apps for Roku.

[YouTube]

This is a good list. What would I suggest that is different? Let's look at Luke's list:

1. Roku Channel
2. Freevee
3. Tubi
4. Crunchyroll
5. Kanopy
6. Filmrise
7. Pluto TV
8. Xumo Play
9. Local Now
10. Plex

The only one I would omit is Crunchyroll, but that's because I don't watch Anime. Also, I may omit Kanopy, as it is only recently available to me, and I haven't used it as much as I have the others. However, everyone that has it says good things about it.

The others? Sure. Those are eight good choices. To round it out, I'd put Sling/Freestream (Freestream is the service, through the Sling TV app) on the list. I'd also put Peacock TV on the list. While it is a paid service, there is a free tier that has around half of the total library.

The order is pretty good, though I'd put Plex higher. Oh, and Pluto TV would be higher. Other than that, it's a good list. My Streaming Life includes the eight I said, with Kanopy recently added, along with the two suggestions I made. There are plenty of free options. Save some money and check them out.

The best streaming services?

There was an article recently about what it called the "best streaming services."

I'm not really going to take exception to it, apart from saying that "best" is subjective. What one thinks is best might not be what another thinks is best.

Having said that, I'll tell you what I think about the choices of Tom's Guide.

Best overall: Max

This is a good choice. But so is just about anything else, if the service has what you want. It's something I'll subscribe to one month out of the year. Maybe.

Best for TV: Hulu

Okay, I actually agree with this. For years, Hulu has been my "cable" service. It gets me current TV shows from NBC, ABC, and Fox on a delayed basis. Kinda like a DVR. And it's still pretty cheap.

Tom's Guide says a drawback is "frequent commercials." That's not really true, since Hulu uses the existing ad breaks that you'd get if you watched the shows on cable. And fewer commercials during the ad break.

Best variety: Netflix

Again, sure if it has what you want. It has nothing I want. I subscribe less often than one month out of a year. Heck, I've gone multiple years without watching it.

Best family: Disney Plus

I can't argue this. It's not the stuff I watch, but I'm not Disney's target audience anyway. There is plenty of kid-oriented content on Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi, and other free services.

Best live TV: Sling TV

First, I don't have any use for an expensive live TV package. Philo is just over half the cost of Sling TV, and Frndly TV is a third the cost of Philo. There are cheaper options. Again, it depends on what you want. I use Frndly TV. If I wanted more than that, I'd use Philo.

Best cheap: Peacock

Cheap is correct. However, as it's only $1/month cheaper than Frndly TV, I'd pick Frndly TV as my best cheap service.

Again, this is all subjective. What's best for one may not be -- probably won't be -- best for everyone.

My Streaming Life does include Peacock, but only because it's included with something else. I subscribe to Frndly TV and Hulu (though I pause Hulu a lot). And that's it. Other services are free or cheaper, and that's how I stream.

Removing Google from an Android Phone

If you are interested in privacy, and want to stop Google from spying on you via your phone, can you just remove Google from your Android phone?

No. Not and keep the same operating system.

Rob Braxman tells why.

[YouTube]

I have used Apple phones, standard Android phones, and other Android OS phones. That last group are the most private, then Apple (surprise!), then standard Android (the least private).

My Streaming Life doesn't normally involve using a mobile device. But I am interested in privacy, and so should you.

Disney to crack down on password sharing?

A report out of India indicates that Disney may be beginning the process of cracking down on password sharing.

Okay, that's India. That's not the US. Why is this a concern here?

Think back for a minute. Netflix cracked down on password sharing. They started small, in other countries. Then expanded, finally cracking down on the US.

Disney's plan comes just as streaming rival Netflix in May started telling subscribers in more than 100 countries they will need to pay more to share the service with people outside their household.

In India, a premium account of Disney+ Hotstar streaming service still allows logins on as many as 10 devices, even though its website currently says "number of devices that can be logged in" is four.

Disney+ Hotstar has internally tested enforcement of the policy and has plans to start implementing it later this year to limit logins at four for such accounts, said the first person.

"Some people will be incentivised to buy" their own subscriptions with new restrictions in place, said the person.

Disney declined to comment.

Now, I don't have a problem with what Disney is doing. If that's how they want to do it, fine. I won't impact me one way or the other.

My Streaming Life does not include Disney+. For those that do, this may be bad news coming down the pike for some Disney+ customers.

How long does a Roku last?

Luke Bouma at Cord Cutters News tried to answer a difficult question recently. The question was along the line of "how long does a Roku or Roku TV last?"

That's not easy to answer. One reason is that the quality of the devices vary. On overage, the cheapest Roku devices won't last as long as the most expensive ones. However, there are exceptions.

Luke said, in general, that he's not had a problem using one over five years, except for one he thinks he damaged.

In our experience, Roku Players and Roku TVs have good lifespans. Of the over 30 streaming players I have had, only one stopped working, and that was the Roku Stick I used to travel with. As best I can tell, I damaged the power cord one day when I took it out of a TV. That power cord had the WiFi antenna attached to it, and one day the WiFi stopped working. All my other Roku devices have continued to work as the should without issues.

For Roku TVs, we have had 6 of them without issues. Our main TV in the living room that has worked now for over five years without issues.

I agree with his overall assessment. My Roku devices have lasted a good long time.

I do disagree with one area, however. I have found that cheaper Roku TVs, built by third parties, don't last as long. By that I mean that the interface becomes sluggish. Generally, that's because they're underpowered devices that are fine for the current software, but as time passes and the software is updated and requires more horsepower, the older devices perform worse.

The good news is that there is an easy fix to the Roku TV devices that perform poorly: Add a Roku device.

What? Yep, add a Roku to your Roku. The Roku TVs have HDMI ports, and you can plug in a Roku (or Fire TV Stick, Chromecase, or other streaming device) to a port. You would then use it like any other TV. You would use the Roku interface of the new device (Roku Stick, or whatever) and use the beter streaming device.

This is one of the things I don't like about smart TVs. The "smarts" may eventually require more power than the hardware can do. Adding a Roku to a Roku TV is sometimes how you deal with it.

My Streaming Life has included older Roku TVs, and I've run into this very thing. That's how I deal with it.

More price increases: Shudder

The Shudder streaming service is raising its prices.

In the past two plus years, a lot of streaming services have increased prices, some more than once. Shudder was $5/month ($4/month if paid annually) when it launched, and went up a couple of years ago to $6/month. The new price is $7/month, starting August 28.

Shudder isn't my cup of tea (or hemlock), so I've not used the service. However, it is a popular service, for its content. I haven't seen a lot of blow back to the upcoming price increase, so fans may tolerate it. People have fussed about other increases, and then went along with it. Shudder, being more of a niche streaming service, may have an even more loyal following.

My Streaming Life won't be impacted, as I subscribe to very few services, and nothing in the horror genre. However, I do feel for those being impacted. I'm glad they are able to find the content they want, just not glad about them having to pay more.

Cable companies losing subscribers

A new report shows how a couple of cable companies are losing subscribers. Cord Cutters News reports that Comcast and Spectrum have lost nearly three-quarter of a million TV subscribers in the second quarter.

According to Comcast, it lost 543,000 video customers during the second quarter of 2023. That works out to almost 6,000 Subscribers Every Day. The company lost 19,000 broadband customers for the quarter. Comcast now has 32 million total broadband customers. Revenue from domestic broadband was up 4.4% in the 2nd quarter.

That's on the heels of a an announcement by Spectrum of cable subscriber losses:

Last week we learned that Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum, has once again lost 200,000 TV customers in the 2nd quarter of 2023. Spectrum also reported that they lost over 221,000 voice customers as many Americans turned away from traditional phone lines and TV services. Spectrum did add 77,000 internet customers during that time for both residential and business customers.

More and more people are finding out they don't need cable. You and I have known this for some time. My Streaming Life replaced cable TV watching over a dozen years ago. I haven't looked back since. And more and more people are doing the same.

Looking for more

I wonder sometimes if I'm the type of person that will never be satisfied. I have two ex-wives that would probably agree with that assessment.

About streaming, though. I've been a fan of Roku for years. I bought a Roku device in 2010, and have been streaming ever since.

Roku wasn't my first streaming device though. I had actually purchased an Apple TV device the same month as the Roku, but the Apple TV was for my wife (see first paragraph). It was for her to play her music she purchased from iTunes. The TV had a really good sound system, and the Apple TV was the best way to play through the system.

When Fire TV devices were released a few years later, I bought one and didn't really like it. However, I wanted to get something that was a little more than what I had. It wasn't, and Roku remained the streamer of choice.

I bought new Apple TV devices when the redesign gave it access to the App Store. I used the new Apple TV for a bit, but went back to Roku.

When Google TV devices came out (the interface for Android TV) I tried those. But Roku remained my go to device.

Why am I trying out these other devices if I'm happy with Roku? I'm not sure. I want the best, and maybe I'm missing out on something.

If I was like that in my relationships, I'd be running around with other women but going home at night to a wife. That's not what happened, and my multiple divorces were not due to infidelity; I'm simply a jerk and hard to get along with.

With a streaming device, there is no life-long commitment such as in a marriage (ideally). I want better. I like what I have, but want more.

My Streaming Life is mainly with Roku, but I will try out the other devices from time to time. Maybe I need to be more faithful to Roku. Or maybe Roku needs to do better. I have to say that overall, it does fine. Maybe it's me. I know a couple of women who would agree with that.