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YouTube TV has been my #1 live TV service for several years. Here's why I just canceled it for good.
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If you've watched any of my cord cutting videos, you probably already know that YouTube TV
0:05
has been my favorite live TV service for a while now. I covered it since it launched in 2017
0:12
and I've created helpful reviews and tutorials all along the way. My YouTube TV subscription is already on pause right now
0:20
something I do to save money during the summertime. But today, I want to explain why
0:25
I may never go back. There's not just one reason, there are actually five
0:30
And if you're a returning viewer, I hope you will watch this video until the very end
0:35
Let's get started. Number one today, I'm using other streaming apps. I mentioned in a recent video that when I sit down
0:41
to watch TV these days, I'm more likely to open up regular YouTube than YouTube TV. And this is
0:47
a change in behavior that I've noticed over the past maybe year or so. It's not just YouTube that
0:52
I'm watching more often. I rotate paid services like Max, Hulu, and Peacock, and I've got plenty
0:58
to watch, including a long list of recommendations, some of them from people who watch this channel
1:04
I also feel like I should be spending a lot more time with free apps like Tubi. According to this
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LA Times report, May was Tubi's best month ever, an average audience of a million viewers. That's
1:17
more than paid services like Disney+, Peacock, Max, and Paramount+. So with the limited time that
1:23
I have to watch TV, and so many new apps competing for my attention, YouTube TV is starting to lose
1:30
out. And every month that I pause YouTube TV, there's an instant benefit, a savings of $75
1:37
every month. Number two today, I found better deals on other live TV services. Now YouTube TV typically has
1:44
a great introductory offer. That's for new customers, but longtime subscribers like myself
1:50
we don't get that savings. Recently, I shared a limited time deal from Direct TV Stream
1:55
It was $49.99 for three months. I got that deal, and I'm in the process of updating my review
2:01
Other services like Sling TV often have discounts for new customers, and I've received targeted
2:07
offers to come back to that service and others as well. So that's one reason to keep an eye on your
2:12
inbox and all those emails from streaming companies. The third reason why I may never go back to YouTube TV is because of a promising new
2:21
live TV option. You've heard me talk about Venue Sports in my monthly news updates
2:26
It's an upcoming live TV streaming service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery
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The service is expected to launch in the fall. It's pending regulatory approval
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Now Venue Sports is going to target people who don't pay for a big bundle
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but I actually think it could steal away customers from live TV streaming services
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including YouTube TV. Let's say Venue Sports is $50 a month. That's an estimate
2:53
pricing not confirmed at recording time. With the service, you get popular cable TV sports networks
2:58
as well as broadcast TV networks, two of them, ABC and Fox. For some people
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this channel lineup right here is going to be enough. But if it's not enough
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you can get NBC and CBS content from Peacock and Paramount Plus, respectively
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The cheaper plans with ads, they have some live sports content. But if you're looking for a 24-7
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stream of your local NBC and CBS station, you need the more expensive ad-free plans
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Number four today, I want strong competition. I shared this chart from Endscreen Media in
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a recent video. YouTube TV now has more than 8 million subscribers. That's impressive on its own
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but the service now has more subscribers than several of its competitors combined
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And now YouTube TV is the fourth largest pay TV service, right behind companies that many
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cord cutters have broken up with, Charter, Comcast, and DirecTV. I think YouTube TV deserves
3:55
to be in the top spot among live TV services, and mostly because it's been more innovative than its
4:00
competitors. But I do want healthy competition in the space to hopefully keep pricing down
4:06
When I started reviewing streaming services back in 2016, I rotated through them for several years
4:12
before sticking with YouTube TV long-term. Going forward, I see myself going back to
4:16
more frequent switching. It works for me, but I know it doesn't work for all households
4:22
Reason number five today is more personal, and it's got nothing to do with the YouTube TV app
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itself. Instead, it's got everything to do with things that are happening at Google and YouTube
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Let me explain. This summer marks my 20th year of creating content full-time. Not long ago
4:39
I shared this clip on my Facebook page. It's from my internship station, where I produced
4:44
my first local newscast. Eight years and several jobs later, I was living in Atlanta and had the
4:50
opportunity to help launch a talk show for a cable TV network. This is where I met Clark Howard and
4:56
began producing his consumer reports. That show didn't last. I moved on from HLN, and so did
5:02
Clark, but I later spent five years working for his website, Clark.com. When I left the site in
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January 2021 to focus on Michael Saves, I was fortunate to be able to support myself, in part
5:15
thanks to this YouTube channel, which I spend a lot of time on. Three years later, that is just
5:20
no longer the case. Despite steady growth in views and subscribers, I'm earning about 80
5:27
less from YouTube's ad revenue since November 2022. The reason? Invalid traffic. I've done
5:34
nothing wrong, but my library of work has largely been demonetized. YouTube has provided creators
5:40
with very little support. Mainly, they refer to this help document with common sense tips
5:46
Things like, don't click on your own ads. And to be clear, I don't. Tyler, the antenna man
5:51
recently spoke out about this issue shortly after it affected him, and his case was quickly
5:57
resolved. I've been waiting a year and a half. No resolution. And it's not for lack of effort
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This is YouTube's creator liaison, Rene Ritchie. I've communicated with him directly and provided
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lots of information. Multiple times, he's assured me it's been passed along to the team
6:14
but I've never heard from this team, and nothing has changed. On top of that, in September 2023
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Google, which owns YouTube, penalized small independent websites like michaelsaves.com, which I've run for the past 10 years. This has made it harder, almost impossible
6:30
for searchers to find my money-saving tips. Instead of my website, people are being served
6:34
with AI overviews, Reddit threads, and in some cases, pure spam. Somehow, large websites
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they seem to be doing okay. I realize that many people first heard about
6:45
Michael Saves from either a Google search or a YouTube recommendation. These platforms have
6:50
connected us, and for that, I am grateful. I mentioned in a recent video that I understood
6:55
why some people would never go back to DirecTV or Comcast, even if those companies offered them
7:01
new and better deals. For me, with YouTube TV, I don't think I can give the service another dollar
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until creators get better answers from Google and YouTube. No matter what, I still plan to
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update my YouTube TV content. Friends and family have offered to let me come over with my recording
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equipment and use their accounts, but for now, I need more than a pause from YouTube TV. It's
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canceled. If my videos have helped you and you want to support this channel, consider sharing
7:29
this video and visiting my website, michaelsavesdeals.com. That's where I update deals on
7:35
streaming services and more. I'm also sharing content on other platforms, FacebookX, and my
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free weekly newsletter links are down below. Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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