A closer look at Fubo TV

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that.

For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services: Fubo TV.

Fubo TV promotes itself as a sports focused service. The page banner even says "LIVE SPORTS & TV WITHOUT CABLE" listing sports before anything else. And they are a sports focused service.

Now, Fubo TV doesn't carry Bally Sports networks, so that is a gaping hole in their sports coverage. But, Fubo TV does have a lot of other options. Of course they have the ESPN networks and the Fox Sports networks. Be In sports, NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and lots of soccer (futbol) channels.

The interface looks good -- there's not a lot of difference between the interfaces of the major live streaming platforms -- as does the guide, which is a standard cable-like guide.

Since they focus on sports, the setup covers things like your favorite teams from a variety of leagues. I'm a college football fan, but there wasn't a way for me to pick my college team. For professional leagues, however, you do have that option, and your team's events do show up on the main page.

So, while they don't have all the sports channels, they have more than any other live streaming service. If you love sports, and missing out on Bally Sports networks, then Fubo TV may be right up your alley.

For $70/month you get a lot of channels.

A closer look at Vidgo TV

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that.

For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services: Vidgo TV.

Vidgo doesn't get a lot of love from the Internet. Many reviews of live streaming services completely leave Vidgo out. There's not even a Wikipedia page for Vidgo. Yet, it's a legitimate live streaming service that offers a decent package, compared to some other services.

The pricing is $15 cheaper than YouTube TV, and $10 cheaper than Hulu+Live TV or DirecTV Stream. It is more than Sling TV, but it has more than Sling TV.

I counted 113 channels in the Vidgo Plus package, which runs $60/month.

A closer look at Hulu+Live TV

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that.

For now, I'm taking a look at one of the popular live streaming services: Hulu+Live TV.

I've been a Hulu user for years, over 10 years in fact. However, I use the standard Hulu on-demand service. What I'm looking at today is the live streaming service.

Hulu+Live TV is not just the name of the service, it's a description of the service. You have Hulu, which is a very good on-demand TV service that carries current season content from many of the networks. Not all the networks, mind you, but many. It's $7/month and you can watch new content within hours of it airing live. Think of it like a DVR service for, well, everything.

Some content goes away after 30 days, but some stays around longer. A lot longer.

The other thing that Hulu+Live TV has is ... live TV.

Not only can you watch on-demand content from Hulu, but you can watch live TV from a bunch of channels. That bumps the price up by $63/month. While Hulu is $7/month, Hulu+Live TV is $70/month. But, you do also get Hulu along with it. And you get Disney+ along with it. And you get ESPN+ along with it.

So, it's not really Hulu+Live TV, it's Disney Bundle+Live TV. Which means the $14/month Disney Bundle is included in the $70/month price. Which means you're actually paying $56/month for the live TV part. And that's a better price than most of the live streaming services. If you would otherwise have the Disney Bundle, that is. However you look at it, it's one of the better pricings on a premium live streaming service.

So, what channels do you get? A lot.

A closer look at YouTube TV

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that.

For now, I'm taking a look at one of the most popular live streaming services: YouTube TV.

The service is $65/month. That's a lot of money. Even so, it's not the most expensive service.

So, what do you get for the money? A lot actually.

What's the best live streaming service?

I've been streaming since for a decade and a half. I dropped cable in January 2011, and have relied on streaming as my primary source of TV content ever since.

The options in the early days of streaming were a lot slimmer than the options today. And, because of that, I learned that I didn't need a live streaming service.

First of all, the first live streaming service, Sling TV didn't launch until early 2015. I had already been doing without cable for four years by that time. I tried out Sling TV, and thought it was a fine service. But, I didn't keep it around, because I had learned that I didn't need it.

As a TiVo user, I was previously recording content, so I was used to watching shows after they aired. That means it was on-demand, with my TiVo recordings being the source. So, early on, I got used to on-demand content.

Hulu was around, and it was free. I was watching it on TV via a Microsoft Windows Media Server setup. On my Roku device, I watched the pay service Hulu Plus, which at the time was a separate catalog of content. Eventually, Hulu's free plan went away, and Hulu Plus became just plain Hulu. And I continued to watch it, as it was on-demand content, and how I was used to watching stuff already.

I would still use my TiVo to record shows over the air, or to watch live local channels through TiVo with an antenna. I never found a use for Sling TV, or any other live streaming service, until football season rolled around. Then, I'd subscribe, watch the games, then cancel. I still do that.

So, what's the best live streaming service? For me, for most of the year, it's none of them. I don't have the need for one. I watch on-demand from Hulu, unless it's a show I purchase from Amazon or Apple, then it's on-demand from my personal library.

But, that's because my watching habits, wants, and needs lean to not having a live streaming service. So, I don't spend the money on something I don't need. But you aren't me. You may feel you need a live streaming service. Or, at least watch live TV.

If you want live TV, put up an antenna if you can. If you can't, there are some live streaming services that carry local channels. And even if you do have an antenna for local channels, if you really want to watch other channels, there are live streaming services that carry a lot of cable channels.

Over the next several days, maybe weeks, I'll look at the major live streaming services, and give my thoughts on them. But, I want you to know up front that none of them are my choice. But maybe one will be your choice. If it improves your Streaming Life, and you're happy with the cost, then you've done what's good for you.