Archived Thread

NFT: Thinking about switching to Sling TV

Vin_Cuccs : 8/22/2019 12:54 pm

I live in Central Jersey, and I’m paying just under $200 per month for Optimum (Altice) bundle internet, phone, and TV (4 boxes). The price is high, and always going up when fake promotions end. I’m fed up with the cost and lack of customer service.

Just internet service and Sling TV would be around $100 or even less. A one-time purchase of an Amazon Firestick would be around $25.

I’m a little nervous about giving up cable because it is all I have ever used, and specifically, because of the sports.

I believe there are no local channels (CBS, NBC, ABC) on Sling,
but I’m hoping you can just buy and use an antenna to use for local sports (NFL).

I also don’t think there is any possible way to get the NFL Red Zone channel, which could be a dealbreaker. I’m not sure about the YES Network either.

Has anyone made the switch? Anyone do any research? I’m looking for any information that anyone can provide about the service before I make a switch.

Thanks in advance!

Or any info about Sling TV vs. Hulu + would be very helpful Â

Vin_Cuccs : 8/22/2019 12:59 pm : link

Thanks!

Look into youtube TV, Â

Svengali : 8/22/2019 1:00 pm : link

It uses your current location and gives you all the local channels.

Fubo seems to be the best if you want sports channels Â

robbieballs2003 : 8/22/2019 1:04 pm : link

but there are issues there. I have heard that there are negatives with Sling TV. I heard it about Fubo as well but not as annoying as Sling. Just what I heard though. I don't have experience with either.

Sling is one of the worst Â

twostepgiants : 8/22/2019 1:17 pm : link

IMO

PSVue has some local channels. Its a little more expensive Â

Brown Recluse : 8/22/2019 1:24 pm : link

than some of the other services but we like it best because most of the channels we watch.

People are going to say one service is better than the other because is the one they use when generally, the more popular services are similar...like choosing between a playstation or an xbox. It really boils down to you doing the research and finding the one that best matches what you're looking for with the channels, DVR options, price, etc.

I love YouTube TV Â

Jints in Carolina : 8/22/2019 1:46 pm : link

I get all the local channels, plus my local sports channel and ACC Network.

They do not as of yet have NFLN or NHLN but I have ways around that.

I've been using it Â

TJ : 8/22/2019 1:48 pm : link

But they recently got in some kind of tangle with YES and I can no longer get the games. Since YES (for me) and TCM (wife) are the only things we use it for I'm ditching it.

I used to have Sling, but it was missing too many channels. Â

Mr. Bungle : 8/22/2019 1:49 pm : link

I switched to Hulu Live TV, which has pretty much all the channels I want except for NFL Network.

Hulu Live TV Â

antdog24 : 8/22/2019 1:54 pm : link

seemed like the best option for me. It had the channel lineup I was looking for plus you get all their on demand content.

Vin, Â

imyrpc66 : 8/22/2019 2:07 pm : link

Sling is by far the cheapest way to get NFL RedZone ($25 for Sling Blue + $10 for the Sports Pack). Only reason I may not go with it come football season is because I want NBC Sports Philadelphia because I'm a Flyers fan (ducks!!!) and I love to watch their commentators cry after the Eagles lose!

As others have said, YouTube TV has locals Â

mgreenie03 : 8/22/2019 2:09 pm : link

All of the ESPN channels, Fox Sports 1&2, NBCSports Network, CBS Sports network and local sports networks and a good wide range of traditional cable networks.

Add in the unlimited DVR, 6 user accounts and 3 concurrent streams and it is a pretty good service for $50 per month. Note YouTube TV does not work with the Amazon Fire Stick, I personally use Roku TVs.

Hulu Live TV Â

imyrpc66 : 8/22/2019 2:12 pm : link

Has a great deal for Live TV and Hulu no ads for 50.99 (that's what I'll probably go with in tandem with Sling if I don't go PSVue). I Liked YouTubeTV until they bumped their price up to $50 from $40.

Fubo looks very interesting. Â

Vin_Cuccs : 8/22/2019 2:30 pm : link

Great channel lineup.

I’ve been happy Â

Dave on the UWS : 8/22/2019 2:32 pm : link

with them until they dropped YES network. Not sure I want to keep them now.

I tried YouTube TV, Sling and PSVue Â

RDJR : 8/22/2019 3:30 pm : link

over the past two months. I settled on PSVue due to the interface and the channel availability. No NFL Network on YouTube and I didn’t like Sling’s two tiered pricing model. I’m a big sports fan of all types of sports and I’ve been pretty happy. I had Directv for 23 years prior to canceling. I also have MLB.tv and ESPN+. I’ve saved about $100 a month. Just make sure your internet stream is robust enough to handle it.

Following..... Â

Fish : 8/22/2019 3:37 pm : link

Have Fios and called them earlier since my contract expired. They took HBO and Showtime away as well. I can't stand paying $10 a month for the box and I have 2 of them. I used to have 7 boxes in my home. Kids use Firestick and Sling. I am about to cut the cord with Fios but worried about losing my sports package (islanders games). Also need to keep the wife happy with her channels. We could care less about HBO and Showtime.

Best Comparison Web Site Â

varco : 8/22/2019 3:46 pm : link

Best method of comparing streaming services for content is : www.suppose.tv You can stipulate your "must haves" and your geographic area and figure out what works best. Really helps if you are in range of antenna based signals --- for example, you can use antenna for PBS, Direct TV Now (streaming) for network and extras (TCM, sports, etc. ) and Amazon Prime for original shows and movies. You can always find something to watch with that combination. No cable ---just internet and Roku on 2 TVs.

I'll keep beating the Fubo drum. It's fantastic. Â

Mike in Long Beach : 8/22/2019 4:00 pm : link

No issues at all with it. I don't need ESPN, so that doesn't bother me, though I get how it would bother other people. One of the best moves I've made. One of my favorite aspects of switching to Fubo has been having literally every channel I get with me at all times. Unlike with cable where you have to often log into an individual channel's app to watch on your phone (if the app offers that at all) with Fubo, I have everything on me at all times via the Fubo App. All 90+ channels... including, most importantly, my sports channels.

Altice just came out with Â

UConn4523 : 8/22/2019 4:29 pm : link

a lifetime rate lock with no contracts. The top package included 400 mbps of whole home wifi internet and every single channel (HBO, Showtime, etc included as well). It also comes with a $100 amazon gift card.

I don't see anything out there that can possibly top this. All in you get everything for under $100 per month and you only use just the 1 box/router combo.

I tried Hulu and Playstation Vue Â

crackerjack465 : 8/22/2019 4:34 pm : link

Both are fine. I switched to Vue because it has a redzone option.

sorry that excludes movie channels Â

UConn4523 : 8/22/2019 4:35 pm : link

RE: Altice just came out with Â

Mr. Bungle : 8/22/2019 4:47 pm : link

In comment 14539643 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

a lifetime rate lock with no contracts. The top package included 400 mbps of whole home wifi internet and every single channel. It also comes with a $100 amazon gift card.

I don't see anything out there that can possibly top this. All in you get everything for under $100 per month and you only use just the 1 box/router combo.

I'm not sure why that's so unbeatable. A lot of garbage channels are included in "everything," and I'd still need to subscribe to the streaming platforms and movie channels I want.

If I did that now, my TV costs would go up $50/month and I'd get very little more than I have now that I'd actually want. The increase in speed is nice, but I'm not really experiencing any speed problems now.

Unless I'm missing something.

RE: sorry that excludes movie channels Â

Mr. Bungle : 8/22/2019 4:55 pm : link

In comment 14539650 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

Wait a second -- Altice's website says that the top package ($95/month) does include HBO, Showtime, Starz/Encore, and "Sports Package."

Hmmm...

YoutubeTV is the best in my opinion. Â

D-Rod : 8/22/2019 5:02 pm : link

But I end up using Fubo half the year since they have MSG so I can watch the Red Bull games.

Really never had an issue with either.

RE: RE: sorry that excludes movie channels Â

UConn4523 : 8/22/2019 5:06 pm : link

In comment 14539664 Mr. Bungle said:

Quote:

In comment 14539650 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

.

Wait a second -- Altice's website says that the top package ($95/month) does include HBO, Showtime, Starz/Encore, and "Sports Package."

Hmmm...

I can't really tell. When I went to the checkout screen it looked like the movie channels were extra. But then I did the better channel package with 200 mbps internet for $75 and added some stuff and was still around $100 for most of what I have now at $166 per month.

Either way, I don't see any of the streaming options topping something like this at the moment. Most of them are in the $50 - $55 per month range (without Internet) and have a fraction of the channels. Add in internet and your YouTube TV now costs $100 per month with Optimums lowest internet package of $45 for 200 mbps.

The added benefit of Altice is a single box so no more clutter or added costs to the hardware rentals. I've got to look into it more but it seems like the route to take until streaming services get better (or some fail/merge).

RE: RE: sorry that excludes movie channels Â

Mr. Bungle : 8/22/2019 5:08 pm : link

In comment 14539664 Mr. Bungle said:

Quote:

In comment 14539650 UConn4523 said:

Quote:

.

Wait a second -- Altice's website says that the top package ($95/month) does include HBO, Showtime, Starz/Encore, and "Sports Package."

Hmmm...

The package prices promoted on Altice's site are for 0 TVs. With each TV you add, the monthly price goes up.

A TV package price for 0 TVs makes 0 sense.

RE: I love YouTube TV Â

81_Great_Dane : 8/22/2019 6:07 pm : link

In comment 14539447 Jints in Carolina said:

Quote:

I get all the local channels, plus my local sports channel and ACC Network.

They do not as of yet have NFLN or NHLN but I have ways around that.

Agree, I like the unlimited cloud DVR and the user interface is generally pretty good. Their native app for Samsung Smart TV gave me trouble but it works great on latest version of AppleTV box. Haven't tried Roku with it, I'm sure it's fine.

Altice is time limited Â

HomerJones45 : 8/22/2019 6:40 pm : link

but may still be a good deal where available. Here is the description from its website:

"Altice One - Optimum Triple Play - Optimum Select 300 Mbps gives you 300/35 Mbps internet, TV and phone for $99.99 a month for 3 years with NO ANNUAL CONTRACT. You'll get an Altice One device for tv, phone & internet service. Whole home WiFi for all rooms and all devices. Voice Activated Remote. 4K Ultra HD. With Optimum TV, you'll get 335 channels with free HD and On Demand. Showtime & Starz is also included for 1 year. With Optimum Voice, get unlimited calling to the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and over 20 calling features, including free 411. Staying connected is easy with Optimum.
Includes: Showtime & Starz"