OT: YouTube tv

[Bald Husky]

Been there, done that. Airplanes flying overhead would disrupt the picture which would roll on occasion for unknown reasons. Back then ALL TV was absolutely free. When talk started about something called "cable" I thought it was ridiculous that someone would actually pay to watch TV. Now look at us. How embarrassing to be led by the nose by all companies getting very rich off of us with nary a complaint.

Well, it is better than the 3 stations that we had long ago, but I did like getting up from the couch to turn the dial whenever I had to change the channel. But then again, it was free.

 

[uconnever]

Had Hulu, switched to YouTube and everything about it is better for me, Hulu buffered often for me while it has never happened with YouTube. Picture quality looks better also, again I’m not sure why but I was mad at myself for waiting as long as I did to switch.

 

[Skeets]

Well, it is better than the 3 stations that we had long ago, but I did like getting up from the couch to turn the dial whenever I had to change the channel. But then again, it was free.

The business model was that commercials provided the revenue stream that supported TV. That worked for years. However, over time this gradually changed. Now we pay truly huge amounts of money, and guess what? There are just as many, perhaps more, commercials than there ever was.

 

[Centerstream]

The business model was that commercials provided the revenue stream that supported TV. That worked for years. However, over time this gradually changed. Now we pay truly huge amounts of money, and guess what? There are just as many, perhaps more, commercials than there ever was.

One thing that really bothers me about Hulu Live, that I don't know if happens on YouTubeTV, is that you can't always Fast Forward through ads. Most times when I pause a program for several minutes then return to the program (now several minutes behind live), when the next ad comes on, Hulu doesn't allow you to skip the ads. Even though I am paying for a subscription service, I am still forced to watch their ads. Sometimes there is a work around by selecting to record the show and then I can FF through some of ads. But I don't think it happens every time if the program is still live.

 

[cabbie191]

The business model was that commercials provided the revenue stream that supported TV. That worked for years. However, over time this gradually changed. Now we pay truly huge amounts of money, and guess what? There are just as many, perhaps more, commercials than there ever was.

It’s annoying for sure but it’s worth considering how much networks are paying out: millions upon millions to broadcast the more popular sports, actors/actresses earning $1 million PER EPISODE, etc.

 

[Skeets]

It’s annoying for sure but it’s worth considering how much networks are paying out: millions upon millions to broadcast the more popular sports, actors/actresses earning $1 million PER EPISODE, etc.

Yeah, everything is a money grab, state of CT, cable companies, streamers, pro sports, even UConn. Is it my imagination or is it worse than it's ever been? It will continue because we keep making the grabbers successful.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Some might want to try this free site. A tech guy I follow on FB mentioned it.

Watch Free Live World TV | Global & Local Channels - Famelack

Watch free live world TV from anywhere. No account, no signup, no ads. Famelack makes discovering global news, sports, and culture simple, fast, and free.

tv.garden

• TV Garden (Unverified) TV Garden is a free streaming platform that offers thousands of live television channels from around the globe. Users can explore a wide range of categories, including news, music, documentaries, and more. The site features an interactive 3D globe interface, allowing viewers to select channels by country or category easily.

Is TV garden a legit streaming service?

• Yes. TV Garden curates and indexes only freely accessible and publicly available streams from legitimate sources. No pirated content, no shady links. Plus, with no login required, you never share personal information or data—privacy-first streaming.

Discover tv.garden: Your gateway to global live TV straight from the map - Free-map.org

TVGarden allows you to discover TV channels using an interactive globe and watch them live. The platform collects a wide range of freely available programs.

free-map.org

Seems like a lot of the USA networks/stations have caught up with this site and have done something to not allow their content to be shown. Some of the local channels are still there, and many of the foreign sites I use are available.
Still can watch my old favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000(at least for now)

 

[Cuango]

Interestingly, I did a similar search in June, when I wanted to dump Comcast and look at streaming services. My two requirements were UConn WBB and, less importantly, the YES Network for the Yankees.

Using some AI, this document is what I finally created. It includes channels and pricing as of June 2025.

P.S. I went with YouTubeTV.

So, you can get all the games you would get on Hulu?

 

[Cuango]

Interestingly, I did a similar search in June, when I wanted to dump Comcast and look at streaming services. My two requirements were UConn WBB and, less importantly, the YES Network for the Yankees.

Using some AI, this document is what I finally created. It includes channels and pricing as of June 2025.

P.S. I went with YouTubeTV.

Thanks for this info.