In this week's collection of recent cord-cutting news items from around the web: YouTube TV is adding networks and raising prices, Facebook is creating an original series, Major League Soccer is moving games from MLS Live to ESPN+, CBS to launch a streaming sports service in time for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, Hulu Lost $920 million in 2017, everything you need to know about Pluto TV, and more!
Meghan O'Keefe, writing for Decider, asks "Is NBC Sabotaging Its Own Winter Olympics 2018 Streaming Options?" after she "was burned by NBC's Winter Olympics 2018 streaming coverage." After relating her own frustration with watching a specific Olympics event, she concludes that "NBC's streaming offerings fall short of what they should be. NBC seems to be dead set on covering the Olympics in a traditional broadcast manner. Sure, they'll cover events live during the day and on cable, but they keep the good stuff for the jam-packed primetime broadcast. While that format suited American viewers stuck with only a handful of channels decades ago, most of us consume TV across multiple devices at all hours of the day. We're used to having TV cater to our preferences rather than be told to hunker down and wait for Mike Terrico to cut to the next event."
YouTube TV is adding CNN, TBS, and other Turner networks, but also raising prices, says FierceCable and other online publications. According to The Verge, "YouTube TV... is expanding its programming with the addition of several Turner networks including TBS, TNT, CNN, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, truTV, and Turner Classic Movies." Along with the additional channels, YouTube TV will go from $35/month to $40/month starting March 13th - but only for new subscribers. Subscribe to YouTube TV before March 13th and you'll lock in the old price but still get all the new channels.
"Streaming will play an ever-growing role at CBS," according to Flixed. In addition to the existing CBS All Access service, a "CBS-branded streaming sports service will launch in time for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Another streaming service built on the company's Entertainment Tonight franchise will land towards the end of the year."
Following the lead of Netflix and Amazon, Facebook is creating an original 'dramedy' series. Deadline reports that the ten-episode series is "a half-hour female-driven dramedy, starring and executive produced by Elizabeth Olsen. The untitled series... will run on streaming platform Facebook Watch."
"Major League Soccer is shutting down its MLS Live streaming product and shifting those games to ESPN+, the new streaming service Walt Disney Co. plans to launch in the next few months," reports Bloomberg. But this will be a cost-saver for soccer fans: "The MLS Live service was priced at $79 a year, while the new ESPN streaming product will be $5 a month, or $60 annually." And subscribers will get much more than soccer, with "thousands of other live events a year, including pro baseball, hockey and tennis, as well as college sports."
GroovyPost reports that Apple has added live news channels to its iOS TV App and Apple TV. "To see it, you will need to be running the most recent version of iOS or tvOS to see the live news content... Currently, it features six different live streams form [sic] CBS News, Fox News, CNN, Cheddar, CNBC, and Bloomberg."
If you're thinking of dropping a lot of cash on an Apple TV just to get AirPlay support, you might want to reconsider. Instead of the pricey Apple TV, BGR recommends the Victony WiFi Display Dongle for AirPlay support. Although their recommended $31 model is currently unavailable, the $35 Victony Screenbeam Mini Wifi Display TV Dongle offers similar features and, like the model in the BGR article, "it also supports Miracast and DLNA, so you can stream from your Android devices and Windows computers as well, not just Apple gadgets."
The best cord cutting tips according to Roku customers can be found in a recent post on the Roku Blog. Among the tips: Take a test drive, get an antenna if you don’t have one, install a Plex server, get a good router and use 5Ghz frequency bands when available, and utilize Ethernet if possible.
Despite the popularity of streaming video and OTT TV services, Variety reports that Hulu Lost $920 million in 2017. "Hulu dropped deeper into the red last year as it boosted spending on originals and launched its live TV service — and the losses are expected to mount in 2018, as it continues to invest in content to fuel growth. In 2017, Hulu lost $920 million, versus a loss of $531 million a year earlier." Hulu is owned by Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Disney, and Time Warner, which invested a combined $1 billion in the company.
Pluto TV is one of the most-watched channels on Roku, and Digital Trends now tells us everything you need to know about Pluto TV. "Pluto TV offers an enticing collection of more than 100 channels and thousands of free movies and TV shows for the low, low price of absolutely nothing." Read the article for a detailed rundown on what's available and the devices you can watch it on.
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