Where to Find Your Favorite Channels Now That PlayStation Vue Is Coming to an End
It’s a sad day for gaming TV fans. Sony announced last month that it is plugging in PlayStation Vue , its “slim bundle” of alternative cables for people who are tired of cable bills but not quite cable-tired. Vue won’t shut down permanently until January 30, 2020, but time flies by when you change channels, and it would probably be a good idea to figure out where your next show is coming from instead of waiting for the signal to stop coming in.
Choose another digital “Skinny Bundle”
The easiest and hassle-free transition is to simply select another set of streaming cables like PlayStation Vue. There are several options to choose from, most of which offer a similar set of channels for a similar price – around $ 49.99 per month. It’s important to note that most of them offer ESPN and the major networks, so you have full access to live streams.
Of the plans I’ve reviewed, Sling TV is by far the most flexible. He has three starter packs that range from $ 15-25 in the first month to $ 25-40 after. You can also select individual channels. This can be a good thing if you’ve got Vue for sports: Sling gives you some interesting ways to minimize your reach for soccer or basketball. If you are a football fan, this is the only service on the NFL or NFL Redzone network. Sling also has a large number of NBA team channels.
The Sling has drawbacks, however: it doesn’t support four large networks without a digital antenna, although they’ll give you one if you prepay for two months of service. Plus, depending on which channels you choose, Sling will actually provide you with fewer channels for your money than some of its competitors, but you can spend less, or at least have the range of channels that you really need (in mostly).
If you want to pick a plan and you’re done, YouTube TV is for you . While the actual lineup varies depending on where you live, the basic channel lineup for the $ 49.99 / month service includes over 70 channels, which is more than what you get from the equivalent PS Vue package. It doesn’t have everything, including some of the popular premium options like Fox Soccer Plus and HBO, but it’s pretty close. (Plus, you can always get HBO through Hulu, HBO Now, or the HBO Max WarnerMedia Expanded Platform.)
To provide you with options, I also recommend that you opt for the Hulu Live TV , Hulu + Live TV package. It may have slightly fewer channels – Hulu claims there are over 66 channels – but that includes the ability to add HBO at an additional cost. Plus, it integrates into the larger service Hulu, so if you’re already watching shows there, you might feel like your browsing habits are getting stronger.
Regardless of which service you choose, your cable package will not be identical. You will gain something and you will lose something. Apart from Fox Soccer Plus, which is not available through traditional cable, you should be able to
Play on platforms
Increasingly, no narrow package can give you everything you want. Having lost Vue, it might be time to think about how much you use it and think about better spending that money on a whole constellation of digital platforms with shows you want to watch. (Or, keep your money and rely on the ones you already pay for.)
Aside from local news, most of the content you’ll find on the PlayStation Vue channels is available elsewhere. Plus, more and more shows that seem essential to watch are tied to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. With the launch of the next wave of services including Apple TV + , Disney + and HBO Max , I can’t imagine any number of cable channels that will give you what you want.
Although you will lose the ability to view the channels – which, let’s be clear, is not a trifle. – you can access a decent amount of live sports coverage through ESPN’s digital platform, ESPN + , which costs $ 4.99 per month. ESPN + doesn’t give you full access to ESPN’s cable programming, but it does show you live broadcasts of the NBA, NHL, European and American football leagues, and various NCAA sports.
From there, developing your content library is up to you. Obviously, Netflix offers a huge amount of content. If you want HBO, buy HBO Now . If you want to keep up to date with the current seasons of network and / or cable shows, I would recommend subscribing to Hulu , where most of the shows from NBC, ABC, and Fox are streamed the day after airing, including some daytime TV shows and late-night TV shows. night shows. It also has a large library of on-demand re-launches from major cable channels like Bravo, HGTV, Food Network. In other words, there are many things you don’t like that you can miss if you ditch your channels.