Up next in 10
Are live TV streaming services like YouTube TV in trouble? This month, they’re launching aggressive August promos as new sports apps roll out. Plus: I track Peacock’s ad changes and break down the local impact of the Paramount–Skydance merger.
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MENTIONED IN VIDEO:
Is 5G Home Internet Still the Best Deal? https://youtu.be/vyJurEb_1Lg
Variety reporting on Paramount-Skydance: https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/paramount-layoffs-skydance-merger-deal-close-1236470192/
Deadline article on HGTV: https://deadline.com/2025/07/hgtv-analysis-1236467830/
CHAPTERS:
0:00 August Streaming Changes
0:12 Is YouTube TV Really in Trouble?
2:52 Fubo-Disney Deal Update
3:11 Streaming Satisfaction Check
3:38 Peacock Price Changes and Ad Test
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Hey everyone, it's Michael and I'm back
0:02
with your streaming TV news and updates
0:05
this time for August 2025. And today I'm
0:09
covering the big changes from these
0:10
brands and more. Welcome in. And I know
0:12
a lot of you are thinking this month
0:14
about either signing up for or switching
0:17
live TV streaming services in time for
0:19
fall sports. It's actually more than
0:22
half of the people who responded to my
0:23
recent poll. And look at this, the
0:26
results. They're nearly identical as
0:28
last year when I asked the same question
0:31
about live TV plans. But with so much
0:34
changing this year, there's been a lot
0:35
of talk about whether services like
0:37
YouTube TV are in trouble. I thought I'd
0:41
share my thoughts on the topic. First,
0:43
here is a look at the full bundle
0:45
pricing. This is for live TV streaming
0:48
services at the start of the month, but
0:50
it only tells part of the story. You
0:52
see, the regular price for YouTube TV,
0:55
$82.99 a month. Yep, pretty high. But
0:58
there's this a new deal for the month of
1:00
August. New customers don't pay anywhere
1:03
near that price. $49.99 a month for the
1:06
first 3 months. And even some existing
1:09
customers, they're still paying the old
1:11
price, $72.99 a month after redeeming
1:14
back-toback six-month retention offers.
1:18
So, a lot of customers, both new and
1:20
existing, just aren't paying full price
1:22
for services like YouTube TV. Things are
1:26
highly competitive right now, especially
1:28
this time of year, and they're about to
1:30
get even more competitive. Of course,
1:33
I'm talking about the new ESPN and Fox
1:36
One apps. But the reason I'm not showing
1:39
you these apps, they haven't launched at
1:41
the start of the month, still coming
1:44
soon. I've already shared that these new
1:46
apps, they're not targeting people with
1:47
big bundles like YouTube TV, but I'm
1:50
still curious about them, and I know
1:52
some of you may be, too. Because of the
1:54
timing of all this, here's what I'm
1:56
thinking may be the best move for fall.
1:59
Start with one of the live TV services
2:01
that you already know. Keep that for a
2:04
month or two and grab a deal if you can.
2:07
Then after the new apps launch, you can
2:09
always switch to them mid-season if it
2:11
makes sense for you. Now, I don't think
2:13
either the ESPN or Fox One apps are
2:16
going to lead to mass cancellations at
2:18
YouTube TV. Not this fall, and
2:21
especially since YouTube TV still has
2:24
NFL Sunday Ticket. I do think the
2:26
changes could lead to more deals, and
2:28
that's something I'll be tracking this
2:30
month and into next month. But what
2:32
happens after football season, though?
2:34
This is where I think the new options
2:36
are going to lead to more seasonal
2:38
YouTube TV subscribers, not year round
2:41
customers. It's something I know a lot
2:43
of you are already doing. My number one
2:46
live TV savings tip this fall and every
2:48
fall is to become a new customer. And
2:51
pretty soon we'll have even more
2:53
choices. Let's keep it moving. And while
2:55
we're talking about live TV, that deal
2:58
to combine Fubo with Disney's Hulu Live,
3:01
well, it could happen sooner than
3:03
expected. A new filing says it could
3:06
close at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
3:11
Now to a quick streaming satisfaction
3:13
check. Check it out. There's a three-way
3:15
tie at the top. Paramount Plus, Peacock,
3:19
and YouTube Premium. What do you think
3:21
about that? This is from the American
3:23
Customer Satisfaction Index. Hulu Live
3:26
and YouTube TV. They're the highest
3:28
rated live TV services. And there's a
3:30
big satisfaction loss for ESPN Plus,
3:34
which is being folded into the new ESPN
3:37
app. You may have heard about Peacock's
3:38
price hike by now, but there's something
3:40
else I'm watching with this service.
3:43
First, those pricing details. Peacock
3:46
raised the price of its premium and
3:48
premium plus plans by $3 a month, so now
3:52
11 and $17. Annual plans, they went up
3:56
to 30 bucks. There's also this new
3:59
select tier being tested for $8 a month
4:02
with NBC, Bravo, and library content
4:05
only. So, no sports. And this price
4:08
increase comes as Peacock leans more
4:10
heavily into live sports, including NBA,
4:13
that starts this fall. One of my viewers
4:16
was right to flag this. The question is,
4:18
will Peacock start running more ads?
4:21
Even after raising the price, $3 a
4:24
month. So, here's what we know. Live
4:26
Sports, no matter what plan you're on,
4:28
will include some ads. And when Peacock
4:31
launched back in 2020, it said the ad
4:34
supported plan would have no more than 5
4:37
minutes of ads per hour. That was a long
4:40
time ago. So, I put it to the test
4:42
watching an hour of a dine episode. And
4:45
there were a lot of ads. When I added it
4:47
all up, the total ad time came out to 8
4:50
and 1/2 minutes. One pre-show ad, then
4:53
seven breaks, 19 different ads. No
4:57
repeats, though. and ads that range
4:59
between 15 and 75 seconds long. And when
5:02
I stopped the timer at 1 hour, another
5:05
break was just starting. I know it's
5:08
just a 1-hour test, but this did
5:10
surprise me. The level of ads, it's more
5:12
in line with Hulu and Paramount Plus,
5:15
two of the most adheavy streaming
5:17
services. So, comment below. Let me know
5:20
your experience with Peacock's ads. Now,
5:23
to this, the Paramount Skyance merger
5:25
gained FCC approval. and finally closes
5:28
this month with more cost cutting
5:30
expected to follow. Leading up to the
5:33
merger, CBS cancelled the late show and
5:36
since then there have been questions
5:38
about Late Night in general with ratings
5:40
and profits both down. I'm not here to
5:43
talk about the politics of it all, but I
5:45
do want to focus on the one group that
5:47
nobody seems to be talking about.
5:49
They're the big losers in all this, and
5:51
that's the local TV stations serving
5:53
your community. And you probably already
5:55
know most local TV stations are not
5:58
owned by the broadcast TV networks.
6:00
They're affiliates and they've got
6:02
business deals with the networks to
6:04
provide programming. Everyone's noticed
6:07
the network programming has declined in
6:09
recent years. Just look at prime time
6:12
reality and game shows. They've replaced
6:14
dramas and sitcoms. The best shows have
6:17
now moved to streaming. And whatever
6:20
replaces the late show, we don't know
6:22
what that is yet. It's unlikely to be
6:24
better for the affiliates. I spent a
6:27
decade producing local news, so I know
6:30
stations rely on strong network
6:32
programming to drive viewers to their
6:34
newscasts. And the bottom line, the
6:37
erosion of the network lineup, it's
6:39
giving people fewer reasons to tune in
6:41
at all. The broadcast TV networks are
6:44
cutting back everywhere. Well, except
6:46
for sports. They're still spending big
6:49
on NFL rights and other live events.
6:52
It's their survival strategy, but it
6:54
doesn't solve the bigger problem for
6:56
local stations. Just this month, two
6:59
major market local stations are going
7:01
independent, ending long-term
7:04
relationships with networks. One in
7:06
Miami, another in Atlanta, and likely
7:09
more to come. Give me a minute and I'll
7:12
get you caught up on three stories that
7:13
you may have missed. First up, Exfinity
7:16
has launched a new hub to manage all
7:18
your streaming apps in one place. Sounds
7:21
good. It's called Stream Store and it
7:23
gives customers access to over 450 apps
7:27
and channels. Plus, bundles are there,
7:29
too. Like Streamsaver. That one's
7:32
already pretty popular. Apple TV,
7:34
Netflix, and Peacock. $15 a month. You
7:37
can say goodbye to Freebie if you
7:39
haven't already. Amazon is officially
7:42
shutting down the standalone app, but
7:44
the content is not going away. You can
7:46
still watch it free inside Prime Video,
7:50
even without a Prime membership. There's
7:53
a push toward premium with Verizon 5G
7:55
home internet's new plans. You may think
7:57
features like 4K video and unlimited
8:00
premium data should be standard, but
8:02
they are not included with the base
8:04
plan. You'll have to pay more for them,
8:06
as well as streaming perks. I've got a
8:09
separate video that digs deeper into
8:11
this trend and whether 5G home internet
8:13
plans are the best value. The other day,
8:16
a friend sent me this article about
8:18
HGTV. Thought I'd share it with you
8:21
here. This one is from Deadline. I'll
8:23
have a link to it below. And it says
8:25
HGTV is trying to reinvent itself after
8:29
losing nearly half of its audience in
8:32
the last 8 years. The network's problems
8:34
are not just about ratings, though. This
8:36
report says some HGTV renovation shows
8:39
cost half a million dollars per episode
8:42
to produce. HGTV has been cancelling a
8:45
lot of shows lately. This article sheds
8:47
light on some of the reasons why HGTV is
8:51
still a top cable network and it's
8:53
included in a lot of the must-have
8:55
channel list that I see from viewers. If
8:57
you're one of them, I'm working on a
8:59
video for later this month that is just
9:01
for you. This is the original monthly
9:04
streaming update. I help you save money
9:06
without wasting your time.
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