Streamers are turning streaming into cable

This might hurt some feelings. If so, too bad. I'm not intending to hurt anyone's feelings, but this is how I feel about it, and I'm going to share it. If I step on your toes, take a moment and consider if your toes should have been there.

The recent dustup between Google and NBCUniversal over the latter's channels continuing to be included in the former's YouTube TV service emphasizes that the troubles we, the consumers, had with cable and satellite services and TV channels.

Think about how many times there would be a scroll across the bottom of the screen where the service would tell you to contact the channel or channel's parent company to let them know you want them to keep the channel on your cable or satellite service.

That was how the cable or satellite service conducted a public part of their negotiations with the channel or the channel's parent company.

Sometimes, the channel would be lost for a period fo time, but many times there would be no interruption. It would be a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Only I wonder if we were the idiots.

For those that don't know their Shakespeare, according to the play Macbeth, about the play itself:

It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

The cable, satellite, and TV companies were the ones telling the tale. And we were the ones paying for it, We didn't fight back. We didn't tell them that we would just put up an antenna and watch the channels for free.

No, we let them fight it out, sometimes even taking up their cause and fighting for them, and then paying more in cable and satellite subscription packages.

But, hey, we're streaming now, right? We don't have those issues, right?

Wrong.

The NBCUniversal dispute with YouTube TV shows us that the disputes we left behind ... they have found us. And both sides of that dispute did the same thing the cable, satellite, and TV station companies did. They sent emails, set up Websites, wrote blog posts, and posted on Twitter, urging us, the consumers, to take up their cause. And some did.

I didn't. I blame both of them.

I don't subscribe to YouTube TV, so if the channels were lost, no big deal. I already don't watch them live. And, the only NBCUniversal channels in the lineup that I do watch, I can either watch on Hulu ($6/month) or live via antenna. None of the other channels are on my radar. Neither really matters.

I do like the way Google handled it. They said if the channels were lost, they'd reduce the price. So, props to them for taking that approach. And, for now anyway, it looks like nothing came of it.

A lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Told by an idiot. To a bunch of idiots, who put up with it.

I'm not excluding myself from that, by the way.

You see, the live streaming services have simply brought the cable experience to streaming. That includes the disputes and outages and such. Anyone who subscribes to a live streaming service has contributed to this. And while I am quick to say that I don't subscribe to a live streaming service, right now, during football season, I do. And I'm a part of the problem.

I want to be able to subscribe to sports and not have to finance the rest of the channels. But, that's not what we have. In order to watch the football games I want, I play along with the live streaming services, and help support the system that contains all the problems.

I want a simple Streaming Life. But it's not. Not really. And it's your fault. And mine.

Frndly.TV adds Hallmark Movies Now

I've been a fan of Frndly.TV for a while. I used to subscribe to Feeln, later Hallmark Movies Now, when that was the only streaming way to get Hallmark Channel content. I dropped the service when Frndly.TV came along because the live streaming was more in line with what other family members wanted. It also has more current content, while Hallmark Movies Now/Feeln had older content.

I actually had both for a while, because I subscribed to Hallmark Movies Now on the yearly plan, so when I tried Frndly.TV, I wasn't sure if I wanted it. I did. So, when Hallmark Movies Now reached the end of that year's subscription, I canceled it. I thought about keeping it, since it was different content, though of the same type.

Well, now if I want to get Hallmark Movies Now, it's available as an add-on to Frndly.TV:

Hallmark Movies Now will be accessible to those Frndly TV customers who desire even more of the beloved and famous Hallmark content. The price of Frndly TV’s core live service – including Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama -- will remain the same.  Hallmark Movies Now will be available as a $5.99 per month add-on.

“We are pleased to make Hallmark Movies Now an option for all of our customers just in time for the Holiday season,” said Michael McKenna, Chief Programming Officer of Frndly TV.  “Those customers that want even more Hallmark on-demand content can elect to purchase the add-on service, while we still keep our current affordable price structure in place for everyone.”

If you already subscribe to Frndly.TV and to Hallmark Movies Now, why would you care? You probably wouldn't. Unless the idea of combining the services into a single app makes you happy.

I currently don't subscribe to Frndly.TV. It was trimmed during my most recent review of subscription services, but I will probably subscribe during Christmas season. And, the thought of expanding the catalog with classic Hallmark movies and other content, is one I like.

Perhaps this winter, Frndly.TV, and Hallmark Movies Now, will return to be a part of my Streaming Life.

Trying Fubo. Again

While I've been quite clear that I don't normally use a live streaming service, I've also been clear that during college football season, I will subscribe. When there's something that I want to watch live, a live streaming service is of course the way to go. Most of the year, I don't care. During football season, I do care.

To start the season, I went with Sling TV, which is my go-to service, because of the price. It's a lot cheaper than most of the other live streaming services, because it doesn't have to pay the broadcast fee that local channels require. You don't get local channels, but having an antenna makes that a non-issue. I subscribed for 30 days, and that took me through five weekends. Look at a calendar if that doesn't make sense.

I canceled the service, so it wouldn't automatically renew. That way, I could subscribe again when the games started for the weekend. I didn't watch the game Thursday night because my schedule didn't allow for it, but Friday night was football night. And it was time to resubscribe.

I wasn't sure if I would resubscribe to Sling TV or Fubo. The Google-NBCUniversal dispute and the chance of YouTube TV dropping its price made that another option. So Friday night, it was time to decide and subscribe.

When the extension of NBCUniversal channels on YouTube TV was announced, that meant no price reduction, so YouTube TV was out of the mix. For the same price, Fubo has more sports channels. But Sling TV is still cheaper. So, who would get my money on Friday night?

Nobody.

Oh, I subscribed alright. But something unexpected happened.

A while back, I had subscribed to Fubo TV and gave it a try. I thought it was a good live streaming service, but I didn't need a live streaming service, so after a full month of service, I canceled. That meant I wasn't expecting a free trial for a future subscription. But, for some reason, I got a week free. I fully expected to pay $65 on Friday night, but I didn't. I got a week free.

That gives me another week to change my mind. If, during the next few days, I decide on a different service -- Sling TV most likely, unless YouTube TV ends up dropping NBCUniversal channels and their price -- then I'll subscribe then. Otherwise, I'll let Fubo TV charge my card next week and use them for six weekends, rather than five.

This slight quandary is actually a good thing. It means there are enough options to make me have to think about it. Options are good. That means there's competition, and that keeps prices under control, at least to a degree.

My Streaming Life is good. It's got college football, and that's my focus on weekends until the middle of January.

Streaming a better deal than cable?

I started streaming in 2010 and dropped cable in 2011. I did it because it was cheaper. Also, I thought the technology was fascinating.

There weren't a lot of people that felt that way in 2011, mostly because it was a new thing and people simply weren't aware. Well, more and more are aware, and more and more are cutting the cord. And liking the money their saving.

TVTech reports that a study by Criteo reveals that nearly 70% of streamers think they're getting a better deal than with cable:

A large majority also highlighted how much they value these services, with 69% saying streaming was a better value for their money than cable TV and 64% saying that the content was more entertaining.

"The State of Video & Connected TV Survey” from Criteo found that viewing of streaming services were growing, with 63% of respondents saying they were spending more time streaming since the start of the pandemic and one in three Americans (36%) saying they spent more than 10 hours a week watching streaming services.

Welcome to your Streaming Life, where you save money and are more entertained.