NFL season

A few weeks ago, I wrote about watching NFL games this season. But, some stuff has changed. Not much, but one change that impacts about half the country.

Locast shut down. That was a way that many users -- around half the U.S. -- could watch local channels via a streaming device. That's no longer possible. So, what to do?

Let's start by reviewing the ways the games are available.

• CBS carries AFC games on Sunday afternoon.
• Fox carries NFC games on Sunday afternoon.
• NBC carries games on Sunday night.
• ESPN carries Monday Night games.
• NFL Network carries some Thursday night games.

There are other services that carry games, but those are generally limited to mobile devices, not standard streaming devices.

CBS, Fox, and NBC are available from local network affiliates. With Locast gone, you have two options:

1. A TV antenna, which would be the cheapest way over the long run.
2. A live streaming service that include local channels. Those are
   • Hulu+Live TV
   • YouTube TV
   • Fubo TV
   • DirecTV Stream

CBS is also available as part of Paramount+.

NBC games are available on Peacock TV Premium. That's $5/month, free for Xfinity Internet subscribers.

ESPN requires a live streaming service. That means:

• Sling TV Orange
• Hulu+Live TV
• YouTube TV
• Fubo TV
• DirecTV Stream

Note that Sling TV doesn't include live local TV, but the others do. An antenna makes Sling TV more feasible.

So, are you ready for some football? Oh, yeah, college football is already underway.

Are you ready for some pro football? Oh, right. CFL is well underway.

Are you ready for some NFL football? If so, well, the season started last night. Get ready to include that in your Streaming Life, if the NFL is your thing.

Sometimes it's okay to keep cable

Yes, I'm a proponent of cutting the cord. Make no mistake about that. But, the reality is that sometimes it may be okay to keep cable.

Can you keep cable and still be a cord cutter? Yes. And no.

If you have cable TV service, you really aren't a cord cutter, are you? No, you're not. But, what if you think about it like going to the barber, or hair salon. Sometimes you get a trim, right? Well, if you cut back on your cable TV package, that's like a trim.

So, no, cutting back on cable TV service isn't cutting the cord, but it is trimming it, which may be what you need to do. Let me give you an example.

I manage more than household when it comes to Internet, TV, and the like. And one in particular is located where it's nearly impossible to put up a TV antenna. This house is located far from the major TV affiliates, so an indoor antenna won't work. So, what are the options in that case?

Well, there's do without local channels. I didn't like that option at this one location.

There's subscribe to a live streaming service. Right now, that means a $65/month service. When I first set up that location for streaming, it was less, but still more than I wanted. I wanted local channels year-round, and certain other channels during certain times of the year (ESPN during the fall). This was a solution, but an expensive one.

Then there's that other option: keeping cable, sort of. This is the one I chose.

The TV provider was Comcast/Xfinity, and I had to ask about a local channels only package. They didn't advertise one, so I had to hunt for it. And, I found it.

The local channels package was pretty cheap, at around $10/month. It was actually more, but having it and Internet service meant qualifying for a two service discount. Figured in, it worked out to $10/month. But, of course, there was a catch. Fees. All kind of silly little fees.

There was a broadcast fee that goes to the local stations, or so it indicated. And, I don't recall all the details, but there were other fees. So, it worked out to more than $10/month, but still less than a live streaming service.

So, if you are in a situation where an antenna isn't feasible, if your ISP is also the local cable company, you may find that getting a locals only TV package will get you what you need, and cheaper than a live streaming service.

It's not ideal, but sometimes a compromise like that is the best option in your Streaming Life.

Hulu price increase

Last night, I got a surprise. I saw that Hulu was increasing their price. "Hmm," I said. Not out loud. And if I had, no one would have heard it. I was by myself when I saw the notice.

I had logged in to Hulu, because I've notice I've not watched Hulu for a bit. Nothing new has aired that I really felt like watching. So, I wondered if I should pause my Hulu subscription and resume it when a show I want starts up again. And when I logged in, I saw the notice.

Am I upset about it? No. I wish the price wasn't going up, but I've been with Hulu for a long time, and I remember when it was more. It actually went down in price a couple of years back, or so. That surprised and delighted me when it happened. And while I'm not all that happy with a new price increase, it's okay, and Hulu is still a good deal.

So, yeah, I'm okay with it. Like I said, I've been a Hulu subscriber for year, and will likely be one for years to come, assuming I don't get hit by a bus or something. Hulu is a great deal, in my mind, and even with the price increase, it'll still be a great deal.

Hulu has been a part of my Streaming Life for years, and will continue to be for years to come.

Did I pick the wrong live streaming service?

Now that football season is underway, I subscribed to Sling TV with the Sports Extra. But now I'm wondering if I did the right thing.

I watched a lot of football this weekend. And, like my calculations showed, Sling TV Orange with Sports Extra, along with ESPN+, got me all the content I wanted to watch. That is to say, everything I tried to watch, I was successful.

Well, not exactly. I accidentally clicked on the wrong game in the ESPN app once when switching between games. One gave me an error, stating I wasn't authorized to watch it. I don't recall which game it was, but it wasn't one I cared to watch, as my clicking on it was an error. So, it's true that everything I wanted to watch, I was able to watch. But will that always be the case? Maybe not.

During my research into a post I wrote about watching the games this past weekend, I concluded that to watch everything, Fubo Elite ($80/month) and ESPN+ ($7/month) would allow someone to watch any nationally broadcast game.

Why didn't I go with that package? Well, looking over the games I thought I'd like to watch, Sling Orange with Sports Extra ($46) and ESPN+ ($7) got me what I wanted for $53. And $53 is less than $87.

So, why am I second-guessing myself? The easy answer is, that's what I do. I always check, double check, then after the fact, check again. This is that part of the process. I'm checking again.

For this past weekend, Sling Orange with Sports Extra and ESPN+ got me every game I tried to watch. But will that be the case for next weekend? I don't know.

I've looked at the schedule for next weekend, and a couple of games that I'm interested in, enough to watch at least part of the game, don't show a network, meaning it either isn't available streaming, or the network hasn't been finalized.

I'm hoping it's the latter, and when it's finalized, I'll be able to watch with the services I've chosen. If not, well, I'll either do without those games this weekend, or I'll subscribe to a different service. Yes, that would mean paying for two services for a period of time. And I don't like the thought of that.

My Streaming Life is complicated, and it's of my own doing.

Local news via streaming

Cutting off cable service meant -- and still means -- losing local channels. And that means no local news. Unless...

If you have a TV antenna, you can watch TV that way. Just hook it up to your TV and watch. It's that simple.

Now, if you have multiple TVs, and want to watch local channels via antenna on more than just one TV, then you have a couple of options. One is to run antenna leads to the TVs you want. Another is to use a networking device that has a TV tuner, such as (for all major platforms) Tablo, Air TV, or (for Fire TV only) Fire TV Recast. Then, you just use your Roku, Apple TV, Google/Android TV, or Fire TV to watch local channels from your antenna.

If a TV antenna isn't possible, or isn't feasible, then you'll want to find a streaming solution. One is a live streaming service such as Hulu+Live TV ($65/month), YouTube TV ($65/month), Fubo ($65), and DirecTV Stream ($70/month), which carry all four major network stations,:ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Vidgo ($55/month) carries local ABC, and Paramount+ ($10/month) carries local CBS.

All of those services get you more than just local TV, so you may find one a better selection than another.

For CBS, you do have the $10/month plan from Paramount+, which skips commercials from on-demand content, as well as getting you a live feed of your local CBS station.

For ABC, Fox, and NBC, you have to subscribe to a more expensive live streaming service. ABC can be viewed with Vidgo ($55/month), while ABC, Fox, and NBC can be viewed with Hulu+Live TV ($65), YouTube TV ($65), Fubo ($65), and DirecTV Stream ($70).

If it's just local news you want, there are some free options that might work for you.

NewsON carries clips from local news stations. It will try to automatically detect your location and present you with options from where it thinks you are. It will let you edit that, so if it gets it wrong, you'll still be okay.

Haystack News is another option for local news clips. I found that it didn't have as many local options for me as NewsON, but it still offered local content. The app also has many news categories apart from local news, if you are interested in that.

Local Now is more focused on local weather, but does have some local news mixed in. Local Now also has some on-demand ad-supported movies and TV, giving it a distinct difference from the other apps mentioned.

And, finally, you may find that your local news station has an app. Search your device for the specific local station, or look at the local station's Website and see if an app is listed there.

If you've been missing local news and weather from your Streaming Life, you have options. Perhaps one will fill the bill for you.