3 Alternatives To YouTube TV As Standoff With Disney & ESPN Drags On
Google and Disney remain embroiled in a contract dispute that is preventing YouTube TV subscribers from accessing a litany of Disney-owned channels, including ABC, ESPN, FX, National Geographic, and several others. In the wake of the ongoing dispute, YouTube TV has begun sending out emails promising a $20 credit within the next few days. But what if you're fed up and want to cancel? Fortunately, there are other streaming options.
YouTube TV To Issue A $20 Credit As Disney/ESPN Dispute Lingers
Before I get to some of them, let me talk about the aforementioned email. In it, the YouTube TV team acknowledges it's been a disappointing situation for subscribers, and will soon make good on the promise to deliver a $20 credit. Here is the email in full...
This is likely a one-time credit and not a monthly thing. That could conceivably change if Google and Disney finally come to an agreement, and it's only a matter of time before they will—both have too much to lose. In the meantime, this is Google's way of trying to retain YouTube TV subscribers who are missing out on sports content airing on ESPN, as well as programming on Disney's various other channels.
It's also disappointing that the $20 credit is something myself and other affected YouTube TV subscribers will have to manually redeem. It should be automatic, given that we're paying for a service that is not being fully delivered, regardless of who is to blame.
3 Streaming TV Alternatives To YouTube TV
As frustrating as it is, I'm sticking it out because I already have the NFL Sunday Ticket package through YouTube TV. If you're ready to try something else, however, there are alternative avenues to streaming TV with Disney channels. Let's look at some.
Fubo
One of the most popular options for sports fan is Fubo. The base package offers access to local NBA, NHL, and MLB games. It comes with several hundred channels (Fubo is showing 408 channels in my area, with 244 available in the base package), including ABC, ESPN, FX, and a whole bunch of others.
Fubu is offering a free 5-day trial for new subscribers, so you can kick the tires without a commitment. You also get a discounted month after the free trial, which works out to $54.99 for Fubu TV Pro (then $84.99/month) and $74.99 for Fubo TV Elite with Sports Plus (then $104.99/month).
The Elite package ups the ante with 4K viewing and NFL Red Zone. Fubu's also gifting Elite subscribers a free Apple TV 4K (valued at $129) if they commit to six months.
Hulu + TV
If you really want to stick it to Google and YouTube TV, you can jump ship to Hulu + Live TV. Hulu is owned by Disney so there are no worries of contract disputes getting in the way of access to ESPN. You also get 95 channels in all, plus access to Hulu's streaming catalog (with ads), Disney+ (also with ads), and ESPN Select and ESPN Unlimited through the ESPN app.
It gets a little confusing because Disney ties Hulu to so many different packages and options. But that mostly applies to the regular Hulu service.
For Hulu + Live TV, you can sign up at a discounted rate of $64.99/month for the first three months, then it goes up to $89.99/month.
Sling TV
The other popular streaming service, especially for sports fans, is Sling TV. The number of channels you get depends on which tier you subscriber to.
For value conscious streamers (which was supposed to be the whole point of cutting the cord, once upon a time), the Select tier runs $19.99/month and includes access to 10+ channels.
Next up is the Blue tier for $45.99/month with access to 40+ channels. Both the Select and Blue tiers support up to 3 simultaneous streams.
The Orange tier runs $45.99/month and is the only one with access to ESPN. You get more channels at 30+, albeit only one simultaneous stream.
You can bundle the Orange and Blue tiers together for $60.99/month and 50+ channels, which Sling TV pitches as its best offer. Additionally, Sling TV offers day, weekend, weeklong, and 3-month plans.
