It hasn’t been that long since the idea of being able to get all of your TV through the internet was still some far-off future. But by now, we get streaming TV news from the oldest of old-school companies, AT&T, and the new giants, like Facebook, all at once. So here’s what’s shaking in the world of streaming TV this week. [More]
playstation vue
Today In Streaming TV: PlayStation Vue Comes To Cable, Facebook TV Coming Soon, DirecTV Now Grows
By 7.26.17
Why Does Hulu Drive More Cord-Cutting Than Netflix Or Amazon Prime?
By 6.23.17
When people think of subscription streaming video services, Hulu is usually part of the discussion but is often treated as secondary to Netflix or Amazon Prime. Yet, despite this third-place image of Hulu, it may be the streaming service that is most likely to contribute to people cutting the cord with their cable provider. [More]
Why Aren’t More Cord-Cutters Flocking To Live-TV Streaming Services?
By 4.28.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Millions of Americans have canceled their cable TV subscriptions in the last decade, choosing instead to get their video entertainment over the internet. A growing number of services have popped up in recent years that offer cable-like live-TV streaming for this audience: Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, with Hulu planning to launch a competitor soon, and Comcast reportedly looking to get into the fray. Yet, despite the multiple options and the large potential market of cord-cutters and cord-nevers, these platforms have yet to win over the masses. [More]
PlayStation Vue Ditches Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, BET, CMT & Many More
By 11.9.16
Sony’s PlayStation Vue live-TV streaming service has been marketed as a true cable-replacement option for cord-cutters, but the company just announced changes to its channel lineup that will see the removal of several big-name cable networks. [More]
Google Starts Shaping Up “Unplugged,” Its YouTube-Based Pay-TV Service
By 10.19.16
People looking to cut the cable TV cord will be getting more options in the months to come, with AT&T still planning to launch its DirecTV Now streaming service by year’s end, and news that Google is signing up broadcasters for the YouTube-based live-TV offering it hopes to launch in early 2017. [More]
PlayStation Vue Adding HBO & Cinemax For $15/Month… Each
By 9.15.16
Since its launch, Sony’s PlayStation Vue live-TV streaming service has provided cord-cutters the closest thing to a replacement for cable. One thing Vue has lacked is premium services, with Showtime currently the marquee add-on offering. Now both HBO and Cinemax are coming to Vue, but not cheaply. [More]
4 Times Apple Shot Itself In The Foot Trying To Reach Streaming TV Deals
By 7.28.16
Apple revolutionized the music market with the iPod and iTunes, then made traditional cellphones and laptops a thing of the past with the iPhone, yet it’s lagging behind Sony, Dish — and soon AT&T/DirecTV — in introducing a cable-replacement live-TV streaming service. Not for lack of trying. In fact, a new report claims that Apple has been trying too hard and has repeatedly talked its way out of giving cord-cutters an Apple video option. [More]
NFL Network, RedZone Joining PlayStation Vue Lineup
By 7.26.16
Conventional wisdom still says that sports are the key to cable: people will stream their comedies and dramas, but will pay for their sports coverage, because Americans sure love their sports. So it is unsurprising, then, that over-the-top cable-alternative streaming services are lining up to add more sports channels to their programming, including PlayStation Vue. [More]
Does Cord-Cutting Always Automatically Save You Money?
By 4.29.16
For the past several months we’ve been working our way through real customers’ pay TV bills one by one, and one piece of reader feedback keeps bubbling up again and again: Why pay for TV at all? This is the age of the cord-cutter, right? Just ditch cable already! [More]
Want To Watch ESPN Without Cable? Buy A PlayStation
By 11.5.15
Live sports — the supposed killer app that keeps people subscribing to cable when otherwise they might cut the cord — is, well, going cordless. Disney today announced a deal with Sony that will bring all of their programming, including ESPN, to a streaming service near you. At least, if you live in the right area. [More]
Comcast’s “Stream” Online TV Service Is Basically Aereo With HBO
By 7.13.15
Comcast is, by far, the biggest cable TV provider in the country, but its pay-TV numbers is sinking while its Internet user base grows. In an effort to sell some sort of TV service to this increasingly large segment of the market, the folks at Kabletown are testing an online-only live-TV service dubbed Stream. [More]
Showtime’s Standalone Streaming Service Is Now Available For Cord-Cutters To Buy
By 7.7.15
After months of waiting, cord-cutters can now get access to Showtime’s streaming service without having to subscribe to basic cable (or use a friend’s login info). [More]
PlayStation Vue Will Sell (Sort Of) A La Carte Pay-TV Channels; Launches In L.A., San Francisco
By 6.15.15
Sony’s PlayStation Vue streaming pay-TV service launched earlier this year in three markets and while it offers up competition for traditional cable and satellite providers, the bundles weren’t that different from what we’ve been getting for decades. Tonight, the company announced vague plans to offer more customizable pay-TV options through Vue starting later this year. [More]
Showtime’s New Streaming Service Will Be Available On Roku, PlayStation Vue
By 6.8.15
With Apple’s big developer conference getting underway this morning, we expect to hear more news of Apple exclusives. But fans of Penny Dreadful and Homeland who aren’t into the whole Apple ecosystem thing get a nice bonus this morning, as we find out that something isn’t actually locked only to Apple’s world. [More]
Why Cord-Cutters Aren’t Getting The Holy Grail TV Of Streaming Services Just Yet
By 5.14.15
As a growing number of consumers drop — or never sign up for — traditional pay-TV services, it’s easy to point to Netflix as a big reason. And yet, Netflix and similar services don’t actually replace the TV experience, especially when it comes to sports. Newer offerings, like Sling TV and PlayStation Vue, replicate the live TV watching experience, but falter compared to traditional pay-TV when it comes to things like DVR functionality. What’s stopping the big players from offering an all-in-one online service now? [More]
Showtime May Soon Announce Standalone Streaming Service
By 4.24.15
Back in Nov. 2014, CBS CEO Les Moonves said that his company’s Showtime network would “fairly definitively” launch some sort of standalone streaming service in 2015. Since then, there hasn’t really been much news about it. But since HBO has launched HBO Now without the world coming to an end, it looks like it might be time for CBS to unveil that service. [More]
Verizon’s ESPN-Not-Included FiOS Base Package Violates Contract, Says Sports Network
By 4.20.15
Last week, Verizon announced a new way to purchase its FiOS pay-TV service: Pay as little as $55/month for a core package of basic channels and then add on niche-targeted bundles of 10-17 channels each for an additional charge. One of the biggest differences between this model and the standard basic/premiumc cable offerings is that ESPN — the most expensive basic cable channel — was not included in the core package. The folks at the Disney-owned sports network say Verizon may be not be allowed. [More]
6 Things To Think About Before Paying $50-$70/Month For PlayStation Vue
By 3.18.15
After months of limited testing without a price tag, Sony’s PlayStation Vue live TV streaming service launched today in only a few markets with packages ranging from $50/month to $70/month. Since I live in Philadelphia, one of the launch cities, I was able to get my hands on Vue to determine how it stacks up against basic cable and Dish’s recently debuted Sling TV service. [More]
