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Sling TV; Fubo TV; DirecTV Stream; Business Insider
'Tis the season for streaming service price hikes, and YouTube TV is the latest service to announce a substantial increase for monthly live TV subscriptions. The app, best known for its channel variety and sports offerings, is bumping up its base plan by $10 per month. If you're thinking of canceling your plan or were considering subscribing but no longer want to, there are a few popular alternatives that might do the trick.
On December 12, YouTube TV announced that monthly base subscription prices would rise to $82.99 starting January 13, 2025, for existing subscribers and immediately for new subscribers. This is a $10 jump from the existing $72.99 per month that subscribers have been charged since March 2023. This is one of the larger jumps we've seen from a live TV streaming service. In October, DirecTV Stream bumped its cheapest plan from $79.99 per month to $86.99 per month. That same month, Hulu + Live TV increased its cheapest plan from $76.99 per month up to $82.99 per month.
Our top recommendations for YouTube TV replacements are Sling TV, Fubo, and DirecTV Stream. Each offers something different, including a variety of price points and channel offerings. All three options offer month-to-month subscriptions like YouTube TV, so you can cancel at any time without being locked into a long-term contract like cable.
We'll break down their merits, prices, and cons below. If you're stuck deciding between two options, you can check out our Sling vs. Fubo guide for a comprehensive analysis of the two live TV streaming services.
If YouTube TV's old price was already a bit out of budget and the new cost is just icing on the cancellation cake, Sling TV might be the way to go. Sling is one of the cheapest live TV streaming services out there, and by far the cheapest service carrying the most popular cable channels. Sling has two base plans that cost $40 per month each, but if you're looking for something on par with YouTube TV, we recommend subscribing to the joint Sling Orange + Blue plan to get the maximum number of channels at a discount.
Sling Orange + Blue costs $55 per month and comes with about 46 live channels, including popular options like CNN, TNT, FX, MSNBC, and the ESPN family of channels. New users can get half-off their first month of service. Sling does offer local channels – including NBC, ABC, and FOX (CBS isn't available with any plan) – but availability varies from region to region, so you might want to take advantage of Sling's free HD antenna deal instead when you prepay for a few months.
A substantial appeal of YouTube TV is its sports offerings. The live TV service offers all of the channels you might need to tune into national broadcasts of your favorite sports team. Fubo offers similar sports perks, initially built for sports streaming and extending to other news, entertainment, and lifestyle channels over the years. Subscriptions start at $79.99 per month and come with 185+ live channels, but new customers can get a seven-day free trial and up to $35 off their first month of service.
The cheapest Essential plan doesn't include regional sports networks, but you can upgrade to the Pro plan and pay additional fees each month to tap into regional games, making it an especially great option for MLB and NHL fans. The only thing to keep in mind when it comes to Fubo is that it's missing some key channels, including Warner Bros. networks, so you'll need to find an alternative (like a Max subscription) if you want to watch CNN, TNT, or TBS programming.
By far, the best part of YouTube TV is the channel selection, which makes it one of the live TV streaming services most akin to cable. Enter DirecTV Stream, a similar-in-selection streaming service that only costs $4 per month more than the new YouTube TV rate. DirecTV Stream's cheapest plan is its Entertainment subscription, which offers 90+ live channels, including everything you'd find in a basic cable, for $86.99 per month.
The service offers access to local networks, popular cable channels, and access to pretty much everything you can find in the depths of cable via add-ons or higher-tiered plans. The service includes a five-day free trial for new subscribers, and some savings in your first two months if you add on the Sports Pack.
Looking for more options for home entertainment and live sports? Check out our picks of the best streaming services and best sports streaming services.
