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If you want to watch your local stations without cable, your two main options have been hooking up an antenna or subscribing to a live TV streaming service. But things are changing and I've got all the updates in today's video. Compare live TV streaming options: https://michaelsaves.com/streaming/best-live-tv-streaming/
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0:00
If you wanna watch local stations without cable
0:02
your two main options have been hooking up one of these or subscribing to one of these
0:07
But things are changing and today I've got all the updates. Let's dive in
0:11
Number one is live TV streaming price hikes. And the biggest change since I published this related video
0:17
back in 2022 has definitely been the price increases for live TV streaming services
0:22
the ones that include local stations. Premium live TV services with full local coverage
0:28
well, they now cost around $75 to $80 a month at recording time
0:32
To give you a little context, when I started reviewing live TV services eight years ago
0:37
they cost 35 to $40 a month. So basically the price has doubled
0:42
Your local stations along with sports networks like ESPN, they're the main reasons why these services
0:48
have gotten so expensive. And that's because broadcast TV networks carry a lot of sports, particularly the NFL
0:56
With premium live TV services, the price of the locals, it isn't a separate charge like cable companies
1:01
and that broadcast TV fee, but make no mistake, you're still paying for locals
1:06
with the premium live TV services. And despite annual price increases, pay TV operators, including live TV streaming services
1:13
are still finding themselves in public feuds with owners of local stations
1:18
Fights that have led to weeks long and even months long local channel blackouts
1:23
Sling TV starts at a lower price than premium live TV services like YouTube TV
1:28
And that's because Sling does not have full local coverage, but Sling has added more local stations to its lineup
1:34
And that's number two today. ABC owned and operated stations have been included
1:38
with Sling TV since March, 2023. That's eight markets, New York, Chicago
1:43
Los Angeles, and more. With Sling, you also get Fox and NBC
1:48
but only in cities where the networks own the stations. And Sling doesn't carry CBS at all
1:53
But this is the important part. Most local TV stations, they're not owned by the networks
1:58
Instead, they're owned by corporations like Nexstar, Sinclair, and Gray. Let me give you an example
2:05
Where I live in the Miami market, NBC and CBS are owned by the networks
2:10
ABC and Fox are not. So with Sling TV, my plan only includes the NBC station
2:16
Because of this, Sling TV has always been a better choice for people who can pick up their local stations
2:22
with an antenna. And yes, I'm gonna talk more about antennas a little bit later on
2:27
Here's a bit of good news for your wallet. Streaming your local CBS and NBC stations
2:32
it doesn't require a $75 a month live TV service, not anymore
2:37
You can get Paramount Plus and Peacock instead. These are separate services
2:41
Paramount Plus has CBS and Peacock has NBC. Let me start with Paramount Plus
2:47
Only the Paramount Plus with Showtime plan includes that 24-7 feed of your local CBS station
2:53
Paramount Plus Essential includes only limited live CBS content like NFL games
2:59
Peacock's plans, they're structured in a similar way, but for NBC, not CBS
3:04
So you need Peacock Premium Plus for your local NBC station. Now for the bad news
3:10
With either service, I would expect the price of these premium plans to go up
3:15
And I say that because in addition to carrying your local stations, these more expensive plans don't run advertising
3:21
on most of their on-demand content. And ad-free streaming plans have been increasing
3:26
in price a whole lot lately. Fortunately, Paramount Plus and Peacock, they offer annual plans
3:32
They can save you some money compared to the monthly plans. That would be a good option if you rely
3:37
on these services for your locals. We're up to number four today
3:40
and I wanna talk about a new option for your local ABC and Fox stations
3:45
This is for people who don't wanna pay for a premium live TV service
3:50
I'm talking about the new sports streaming service from Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery
3:55
This one is slated to launch in the fall of 2024. It'll reportedly cost between $40 and $50 a month
4:03
Now, as soon as this was announced, I wanted to know whether subscribers would get national feeds for ABC and Fox
4:09
or whether they would get their local station. And from everything I've read
4:13
it's gonna be the local stations. Unfortunately, this is just another service
4:18
that will offer only partial local coverage. You won't get CBS, and you won't get NBC
4:23
with the new service. So the new sports streaming service, it may work for some people
4:29
I don't think for most people, and the math explains why. There's no official price at recording time
4:35
but let's say that it starts at $40 a month. Remember, that gets you ABC and Fox
4:40
Then to get CBS, you pay $12 a month for Paramount Plus with Showtime
4:45
And then another $12 a month for Peacock Premium Plus to get NBC
4:51
Add it all together, it's about $65 a month for complete local coverage
4:55
Not really a whole lot cheaper than the premium live TV services, the ones like YouTube TV
5:00
Number five today, Hulu extends its partnership to carry Fox shows. Don't care about the live feeds for ABC and Fox
5:08
Well then, you can save a whole lot of money by subscribing to Hulu's on-demand service
5:13
The basic Hulu service includes next day shows from ABC and Fox
5:18
Hulu renewed a multi-year content deal with Fox in early 2023. It includes in-season streaming rights
5:24
for Fox's primetime shows. Next day shows from CBS and NBC, they're not available with Hulu's on-demand plans
5:31
You'll need Paramount Plus and Peacock for those. If you've seen my deal alerts
5:35
you know that Hulu with ads regularly goes on sale during Black Friday
5:39
sometimes as low as 99 cents a month for a year. Broadcast TV network apps are pretty much useless
5:45
for cord cutters, but there are a couple exceptions that I wanna share
5:49
We're up to number six now. The apps for ABC, CBS, and NBC
5:53
are mostly for pay TV customers. If you wanna stream the majority of the content
5:58
including live TV, you need to log in with either a cable, satellite
6:02
or live TV streaming service. Of these apps, I do give ABC some credit
6:07
for how it spotlights unlocked free content. But for the most part
6:11
I rarely open the apps for ABC, CBS, and NBC whenever I'm trying to find something to watch
6:17
And you may have noticed I didn't mention Fox. Well, that's because it shut down the Fox Now app
6:23
back in 2023. The PBS app is one of two network apps
6:26
that I still recommend. I'm able to watch live and on-demand content
6:30
from my local station free of charge. And the CW app, it's also free, no sign-in required
6:37
Number seven, the rise of free ad-supported services. Streaming services like Pluto TV, Tubi
6:43
and the Roku Channel are good options if you're looking for free alternatives to broadcast TV
6:49
These services have massive libraries of shows and movies, much of it a little bit older
6:54
I think they do the best job of replacing local stations when it comes to content
6:59
that's traditionally aired during the daytime. Talk shows, game shows, crime shows, and court shows
7:05
Free streaming services also aggregate a whole lot of news content. This includes live local news
7:11
from stations across the country. Two good options for you, NewsOn and Haystack News
7:16
If you have trouble finding your local station's newscasts, go to their website and stream news directly from them
7:22
That's what I usually do anyway. Number eight today, I'm calling it Locast Replacements
7:27
Comment below if you've been watching my channel since Locast was around
7:30
This was a donation-based live TV streaming service for local channels. It got sued by the TV networks
7:36
and shut down abruptly in September, 2021. Recently, there's been some news coverage
7:41
about a similar service called Local TV Plus. It's being offered in the Boston area
7:46
Now, I don't live in Boston, haven't been able to test it, but I have tried out Puffer
7:51
This service retransmits over-the-air broadcast TV signals from the San Francisco area
7:57
It's all part of a Stanford University research project. After signing up, you can stream ABC, CBS, FOX
8:03
NBC, PBS, as well as the CW. Now, since this is a research project
8:08
and not a paid service, there are some limits, like only 500 people nationwide
8:13
can be watching Puffer at any given time. To me, it's just not a dependable way to watch broadcast TV
8:19
If you made it this far in the video, you're probably not surprised to hear that antenna use is actually on the rise
8:26
That's number nine today. About 18% of households using an antenna. That's according to a 2022 report from Horowitz Research
8:34
And this is by far the most affordable option for locals. For around $50, some people can hook up an indoor antenna
8:42
like the Mohu Leaf, and watch their local stations. I pay for a live TV streaming service for part of the year
8:48
because it carries a few networks that I like to watch, networks that you cannot get with an antenna
8:53
But when I put my live TV service on pause, the first thing I do is hook up my indoor antenna
8:59
and scan for local channels. And I'm lucky, where I live, I can pick up all the major broadcast TV networks
9:05
There are tools online, including this one on Mohu's website. You can enter your zip code and get an estimate
9:11
of the channels that you'll pick up. In some cases, indoor antennas like these just won't do
9:15
So then you may wanna start researching outdoor antennas. And Tyler from the Antenna Man YouTube channel
9:21
he's got a lot of free content to help you look over your options
9:25
Now, if you're holding off on getting an antenna because you're waiting for a low-cost streaming option
9:31
for locals, stop waiting, get the antenna. Despite cord cutting, retransmission fee revenue
9:36
for local TV stations in the US, it's topped $14 billion. And that number keeps rising every year
9:42
Retrans fees are paid by cable, satellite, and live TV services that include local stations
9:48
Depending on the service, these fees are passed on to consumers either in the planned price or as an additional fee
9:55
Cable subscribers, you're familiar with the broadcast TV fee. It's up to $30 a month in some areas
10:01
$30 a month just for your local stations. With an antenna, there are no retransmission fees
10:07
You pay for the cost of the antenna and that's pretty much it. Some people may wanna buy an over-the-air DVR
10:13
Tableau is a good brand for that. With one of these devices, you can record shows
10:17
and then during playback, you'll be able to skip through the commercials. Give this video a like if you found it helpful
10:23
and visit michaelsavesdeals.com for deals on streaming services and more. Thanks for watching today, I'll see you next time
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