Board 8 > Anybody here use Hulu + Live TV?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My parents don't want to completely commit to streaming and still like the "cable" experience, but Cox Cable is getting absolutely ridiculous with their price increases. For $77, the channels Hulu + Live TV provides, plus the access to regular Hulu/Disney+/ESPN+, seems kinda like a steal, in comparison. Is there some kind of catch?

My parents use this package and they're very happy with it; as far as I can tell, there really isn't a catch at all. It's exactly as advertised, though the price has gone up over the last two years that they've had it.

I think it's a very "our parents' generation" compromise that is definitely more cost-effective.

scarletspeed7 posted...

My parents use this package and they're very happy with it; as far as I can tell, there really isn't a catch at all. It's exactly as advertised, though the price has gone up over the last two years that they've had it.

I think it's a very "our parents' generation" compromise that is definitely more cost-effective.

This is honestly the kind of answer I was looking for, thanks! Cox tried to raise their bill to $200 this month, and I was hoping to find an alternative for them, since while they've... Sorta embraced streaming, they still like having the option to just throw a channel on that they like, be it History, Bravo, MotorTrend, etc.

I used to use it back in like 2020 or so but stopped as it just kept going up and up. Seems to have flattened out a bit. I remember it went from like $45 to $65 (when I cancelled it) over 3-4 pay increases in like a year. I think it was how frequent they were that pissed me off. The service itself was good.

Oh wait no, I remember exactly why I cancelled it. The price increases was indeed pissing me off but they lost the local channel that showed Orlando Magic and Orlando City Soccer games on which was the only reason I paid for it.

Have they tried SlingTV or similar services? If they want local channels and stuff it's better to not spend $70 per month

If you dont need regional sports networks streaming cable services are fine.

But also try to negotiate with your cable company as they likely can offer a better deal.

GranzonEx posted...

Have they tried SlingTV or similar services? If they want local channels and stuff it's better to not spend $70 per month

Yeah. The issue is the channels they watch most are cable channels, like History, Bravo, SyFy, and so on, and SlingTV has those in different price packages, so by the time they get everything they like, it's pretty much the same price as Hulu. Hulu appeared to be the one that offered everything they want in the $77 dollar package, and also still allows them to use stuff like Disney+ for no additional cost.

Leafeon13N posted...

But also try to negotiate with your cable company as they likely can offer a better deal.

I tried this on their behalf. The lowest Cox would go was $235 for cable, phone, and internet, without going to their lowest channel package which... Eliminates almost all of the channels they like. But then they had to give up things like unlimited data and DVR. I tried to use the go to "Oh well I'll look elsewhere," like used to work 20 years ago to get cable/internet companies to go "...Well, now, hold on," but they just went "Okay, you do that, bye." >_>

It's expensive but it's been extremely reliable and comes with a lot.

Sling used to always crap out for me

StealThisSheen posted...

This is honestly the kind of answer I was looking for, thanks! Cox tried to raise their bill to $200 this month, and I was hoping to find an alternative for them, since while they've... Sorta embraced streaming, they still like having the option to just throw a channel on that they like, be it History, Bravo, MotorTrend, etc.

My parents also have Netflix and Peacock in addition to this to round out what they want - Peacock covers some of the sports they care about. The price overall is under $100 for more than they had with cable, and they're very happy with that.

scarletspeed7 posted...

My parents also have Netflix and Peacock in addition to this to round out what they want - Peacock covers some of the sports they care about. The price overall is under $100 for more than they had with cable, and they're very happy with that.

Good to know, thanks! It sounds like this may be the way to go, since it appears they can round out anything they're missing via streaming services like Netflix/Peacock/Paramount, and still be paying less than what Cox is charging.