Which tv package would you choose?

[Mormon Red Death]

Ok.. here's my quandary. Getting sling tv for the fall and here's my options.
Sling orange $20 you get ESPNs and not fs1 for $5 more you get sports extras which doesn't have the red zone but has pac12

Sling blue for $25 has fs1 but not ESPNs sports extra for $10 gets you Pac 12 and red zone.
Granted I can use my parents log in to get ESPN or fs1 or pac12.

What do you think?

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[NorthwestUteFan]

I have DirecTVNow which has all the ESPN channels and FS1/FS2. It is kind of nice because it has all of the Sling channels from both Sling plans, but still doesn't have PAC-12.

I hate to say it, but there is a stable PAC-12 channel on Kodi. I WISH I could pay an extra $5 or whatever for the PAC channel during the season, but that is not an option. Obviously I use a VPN.

[sancho]

Ok.. here's my quandary. Getting sling tv for the fall and here's my options.
Sling orange $20 you get ESPNs and not fs1 for $5 more you get sports extras which doesn't have the red zone but has pac12

Sling blue for $25 has fs1 but not ESPNs sports extra for $10 gets you Pac 12 and red zone.
Granted I can use my parents log in to get ESPN or fs1 or pac12.

What do you think?

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Let me know how it goes. I just cut cable and am currently just using my brother's accounts for ESPN, FS1, and Pac12. I think I'll just pay him some money. Or maybe I'll get Sling or YouTubetv when it comes out.

[sancho]

I dropped cable this summer. I have an Amazon Fire TV stick, and I have apps for watching ESPN and Fox. I can stream Pac-12 too.

I guess that means no social media during games to avoid spoilers, right?

Question: how do streamers change to another game during a commercial? Maybe they don't?

[Mormon Red Death]

Let me know how it goes. I just cut cable and am currently just using my brother's accounts for ESPN, FS1, and Pac12. I think I'll just pay him some money. Or maybe I'll get Sling or YouTubetv when it comes out.

I combined with another utefan and got sling tv with blue and Orange. Only 1 stream at a time for the espns but the pac 12, fs1 can have 3 streams on them. I also get the redzone which is worth it. $30 per month. My friend can use his parents stream for espns so no problem for either of us.

[Applejack]

I dropped cable this summer. I have an Amazon Fire TV stick, and I have apps for watching ESPN and Fox. I can stream Pac-12 too.

I guess that means no social media during games to avoid spoilers, right?

Question: how do streamers change to another game during a commercial? Maybe they don't?

Amazon fire stick ��! You'll never miss paying the cable company for nothing.

[Scratch]

Does it have a good DVR? If not it's just no acceptable.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Does it have a good DVR? If not it's just no acceptable.Sling has s cloud DVR, but I don't know how well it works.

With Plex or other programs you can DVR your streams directly on your computer or cloud drive. If you are handy with computers it can be a good option.

[Mormon Red Death]

Sling has s cloud DVR, but I don't know how well it works.

With Plex or other programs you can DVR your streams directly on your computer or cloud drive. If you are handy with computers it can be a good option.
The dvr is fair. It kept reverting to not letting me fast forward

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[Mormon Red Death]

So i went in with a friend here on slingtv. We got the orange and blue with sports pack and dvr. 60 per month to which my share is $30. I then have an Amazon fire and down loaded the apps:
Nbc sports
Fox sports go
Cbs sports go
Espn3

For those apps i use my parents xfinity log on and i have cbs sports, nbc sport and over the air fox

I get every game. It can be a pain switching from app to app but $30 month ain't half bad

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[chrisrenrut]

So i went in with a friend here on slingtv. We got the orange and blue with sports pack and dvr. 60 per month to which my share is $30. I then have an Amazon fire and down loaded the apps:
Nbc sports
Fox sports go
Cbs sports go
Espn3

For those apps i use my parents xfinity log on and i have cbs sports, nbc sport and over the air fox

I get every game. It can be a pain switching from app to app but $30 month ain't half bad

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Hopefully you and your buddy won't want to watch something on the ESPN channels at the same time. They limit the blue channels to one device at a time per subscription for any blue channel. For instance, I can't even watch ESPN and any another blue channel at the same time on different tv's in my own home. It took us a while to figure that out.

[Rocker Ute]

I was actually surprised at how good the cloud dvr (particularly because o thought it was going to be BAD). But I had no issues with it. Cloud DVR does not work with ESPN tho. I found a promo online that gave me a free roku stick if I paid for two months.


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[Mormon Red Death]

Hopefully you and your buddy won't want to watch something on the ESPN channels at the same time. They limit the blue channels to one device at a time per subscription for any blue channel. For instance, I can't even watch ESPN and any another blue channel at the same time on different tv's in my own home. It took us a while to figure that out.
He uses his parents espn3 for espn games. Espns is on orange... the sling blue can have 3 streams at the same time. For example, we both watched the Utah game (fs1 on sling blue) Friday night.

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[chrisrenrut]

He uses his parents espn3 for espn games. Espns is on orange... the sling blue can have 3 streams at the same time. For example, we both watched the Utah game (fs1 on sling blue) Friday night.

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Right, sorry. It's the orange you can only watch on one device at a time.

[sancho]

So i went in with a friend here on slingtv. We got the orange and blue with sports pack and dvr. 60 per month to which my share is $30. I then have an Amazon fire and down loaded the apps:
Nbc sports
Fox sports go
Cbs sports go
Espn3

For those apps i use my parents xfinity log on and i have cbs sports, nbc sport and over the air fox

I get every game. It can be a pain switching from app to app but $30 month ain't half bad

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

My only complaints with the streaming so far: (1) can't switch games easily and (2) there are only about 3 total commercials that are shown on loop.

All in all, though, it's completely worth it.

Edit: I'm on a Youtube TV free trial right now. So smooth and easy compared to anything else I've used. It only works with chromecast so far, but when it works with Roku and Amazon, I'd really recommend it. $35/month for any channel anyone would want except, of course, the Pac-12 Network. The DVR system appears to be really easy and smooth, but I haven't tried it yet.

[LA Ute]

We use DISH right now and it's fine, but we are moving and I want to take advantage of the new location to cut the clutter and the major services. My current plan, based on advice already received from this thread and from others here (thanks, guys) and from my tech-savvy son:



Internet from Comcast/Xfinity. Us that for internet only.
Use Roku as a streaming platform (I guess that's what it is called.)
Keep using Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Use Sling Blue to get the other streams I want (including PAC-12 Network)
Get any additional news channels (CNN and the rest) using their apps, which I hear are pretty good.
I might actually purchase an antenna to get free local TV.


I don't want Apple TV -- that decision's made.

Anybody see anything wrong with this plan? What has your experience been?

[Rocker Ute]

We use DISH right now and it's fine, but we are moving and I want to take advantage of the new location to cut the clutter and the major services. My current plan, based on advice already received from this thread and from others here (thanks, guys) and from my tech-savvy son:



Internet from Comcast/Xfinity. Us that for internet only.
Use Roku as a streaming platform (I guess that's what it is called.)
Keep using Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Use Sling Blue to get the other streams I want (including PAC-12 Network)
Get any additional news channels (CNN and the rest) using their apps, which I hear are pretty good.
I might actually purchase an antenna to get free local TV.


I don't want Apple TV -- that decision's made.

Anybody see anything wrong with this plan? What has your experience been?


Nope... my only advice is to get one of the nicer Roku players. I have a Roku Express and... some other one I can't remember, and they tend to lag a lot. It'll be an adjustment, but then you'll live in a world of few commercials and then it will feel like it is going to cause you seizures when you see them in the future.

[LA Ute]

Nope... my only advice is to get one of the nicer Roku players. I have a Roku Express and... some other one I can't remember, and they tend to lag a lot. It'll be an adjustment, but then you'll live in a world of few commercials and then it will feel like it is going to cause you seizures when you see them in the future.

I got the Roku Ultra. I'm told it will park my car for me and mow my lawn too.

[chrisrenrut]

I got the Roku Ultra. I'm told it will park my car for me and mow my lawn too.

You may want to look into a universal remote as well. I have used Logitech for a while now, and really like them.

[LA Ute]

You may want to look into a universal remote as well. I have used Logitech for a while now, and really like them.

Thx -- hadn't thought of that. Right now we use up to 4 remotes and it's a pain.

[chrisrenrut]

I got the Roku Ultra. I'm told it will park my car for me and mow my lawn too.

You may want to look into a universal remote as well. I have used Logitech for a while now, and really like them.

[LA Ute]

Has anyone here used an indoor HDTV antenna?

[Mormon Red Death]

Has anyone here used an indoor HDTV antenna?

l
I bought the Mohu leaf several years ago. It didnt work all that well. Hopefully they have improved.

[Two Utes]

I got the Roku Ultra. I'm told it will park my car for me and mow my lawn too.

I'd really like to know your experience with this. I hate Comcast/xfinity because it is so expensive. I can now get Google wireless for $50 a month and it is great.


I'd like to cut that pile a $%*& Comcast completely out of my life. But I do enjoy channel surfing and having access to all the premium channels to catch up on shows I like (Billions has been good. I have started watching Big Little Lies and I surprisingly am enjoying it). Can I still get those? Can I still pay per view order the UFC fights? Will my live sports be delayed because of streaming?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[chrisrenrut]

I'd really like to know your experience with this. I hate Comcast/xfinity because it is so expensive. I can now get Google wireless for $50 a month and it is great.


I'd like to cut that pile a $%*& Comcast completely out of my life. But I do enjoy channel surfing and having access to all the premium channels to catch up on shows I like (Billions has been good. I have started watching Big Little Lies and I surprisingly am enjoying it). Can I still get those? Can I still pay per view order the UFC fights? Will my live sports be delayed because of streaming?

Inquiring minds want to know.

With Sling, you can still channel surf, although you won't have as many channels as Xfinity (good and bad). You can sign up for HBO, Showtime, Stars, etc with Sling for an addition $10-$15 per month. I'm not sure how ppv events work with them though. I imagine they are there, since you can also do ppv movies through Sling.

Live sports are delayed by 5 to 10 seconds. With Sling, you'll have to choose between Blue(includes Fox channels) or Orange (includes ESPN's and Disney channels), or pay to have both. Then you'll want to add on the Sports package for $10 to get the PAC 12 networks. Even with all that, you are around $60 per month. I have been doing that during football and basketball season so I can get all the sports (ESPN, FS1, and PAC 12), and then remove one or more packages during the summer when I don't need access to it all to see the Utes play.

[LA Ute]

I'd really like to know your experience with this. I hate Comcast/xfinity because it is so expensive. I can now get Google wireless for $50 a month and it is great.


I'd like to cut that pile a $%*& Comcast completely out of my life. But I do enjoy channel surfing and having access to all the premium channels to catch up on shows I like (Billions has been good. I have started watching Big Little Lies and I surprisingly am enjoying it). Can I still get those? Can I still pay per view order the UFC fights? Will my live sports be delayed because of streaming?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I've never taken the plunge but in a month or two will know a lot more. Stay tuned!

By doing this I know I will save money, but my primary goal is to be able to watch what I want to watch, without all the clutter (hundreds of channels I will never watch) and the rate games that DISH, DirectTv, Comcast and the rest play.

[Scratch]

My biggest concern for all of this is the DVR functionality. The way I watch a lot of sports, I need to have a good DVR and it needs to be responsive (when I watch a game I'm frequently flying through dead time; if there's a lag or freeze while I'm loading something up it drives me crazy). Does cord cutting have a viable DVR option?

[LA Ute]

My biggest concern for all of this is the DVR functionality. The way I watch a lot of sports, I need to have a good DVR and it needs to be responsive (when I watch a game I'm frequently flying through dead time; if there's a lag or freeze while I'm loading something up it drives me crazy). Does cord cutting have a viable DVR option?

Sling has a DVR Cloud option that I’ve heard good things about. There are many other options online, but they seem to be designed for people who want to devote the time to becoming more technologically inclined. I’m not one of those people. Here’s the skinny on the Sling DVR Cloud:

https://www.cnet.com/news/sling-tv-cloud-dvr-now-on-browsers-chromecast-xbox-and-lg-tvs/

[Rocker Ute]

Sling has a DVR Cloud option that I’ve heard good things about. There are many other options online, but they seem to be designed for people who want to devote the time to becoming more technologically inclined. I’m not one of those people. Here’s the skinny on the Sling DVR Cloud:

https://www.cnet.com/news/sling-tv-cloud-dvr-now-on-browsers-chromecast-xbox-and-lg-tvs/


I tried out Sling DVR last season, ESPN doesn't allow you to record their stuff (or didn't at the time), just FYI. It was okay, not super easy to jump through stuff to where you wanted.

[Scorcho]

Sling has a DVR Cloud option that I’ve heard good things about. There are many other options online, but they seem to be designed for people who want to devote the time to becoming more technologically inclined. I’m not one of those people. Here’s the skinny on the Sling DVR Cloud:

https://www.cnet.com/news/sling-tv-cloud-dvr-now-on-browsers-chromecast-xbox-and-lg-tvs/

Direct TV Now also just came out with a DVR Cloud

[sancho]

I still love YouTubeTV. From what I'm hearing, Sling doesn't have much that YouTubeTV doesn't also have. With a Chromecast (which youtube gave me for free), it's good to go. I do channel surf and fast forward using my laptop. I'm told there is an iphone app for it, but I don't have a smartphone.

[chrisrenrut]

I tried out Sling DVR last season, ESPN doesn't allow you to record their stuff (or didn't at the time), just FYI. It was okay, not super easy to jump through stuff to where you wanted.

ESPN still doesn't allow you to record their programs. And you can only watch those channels on one TV at a time.

[chrisrenrut]

I still love YouTubeTV. From what I'm hearing, Sling doesn't have much that YouTubeTV doesn't also have. With a Chromecast (which youtube gave me for free), it's good to go. I do channel surf and fast forward using my laptop. I'm told there is an iphone app for it, but I don't have a smartphone.

Do you get the PAC 12 networks on YouTubeTV? I haven't kept up.

[sancho]

Do you get the PAC 12 networks on YouTubeTV? I haven't kept up.

Yeah, that's the drawback. Otherwise, I really like it.

[LA Ute]

And you can only watch those channels on one TV at a time.

I think it’s kind of like Amazon Fire. You have a main mini- console and then little “fire sticks“ for other TVs in your house. There is a Roku stick, I am told. Still learning about all of this.

[chrisrenrut]

I think it’s kind of like Amazon Fire. You have a main mini- console and then little “fire sticks“ for other TVs in your house. There is a Roku stick, I am told. Still learning about all of this.

This is specific to he SlingTV Orange package. You can have Sling on multiple devices, including Roku, Fire, AppleTV, iPad, etc. But you can only watch ESPN or other Orange specific channels on one device at a time.

So I can't watch the game on ESPN in the basement while my wife is also watching it upstairs.

Channels on the Blue package can be watched on up to 3 devices at the same time.

[Mormon Red Death]

Direct TV Now also just came out with a DVR Cloud No pac12 network

[LA Ute]

This is specific to he SlingTV Orange package. You can have Sling on multiple devices, including Roku, Fire, AppleTV, iPad, etc. But you can only watch ESPN or other Orange specific channels on one device at a time.

So I can't watch the game on ESPN in the basement while my wife is also watching it upstairs.

Channels on the Blue package can be watched on up to 3 devices at the same time.

So for the first time ever I will say, "Go blue!"

[Diehard Ute]

I think it’s kind of like Amazon Fire. You have a main mini- console and then little “fire sticks“ for other TVs in your house. There is a Roku stick, I am told. Still learning about all of this.

Fire Stick’s are stand alone. We have just a stick on one TV, Apple TV on two others, and XBox One and One X on two as well.

But I keep my cable. Wife and I both enjoy too much stuff on TV to drop it.


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[chrisrenrut]

Fire Stick’s are stand alone. We have just a stick on one TV, Apple TV on two others, and XBox One and One X on two as well.

But I keep my cable. Wife and I both enjoy too much stuff on TV to drop it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used to love to channel surf, and my wife still does (mostly Hallmark and Lifetime movies, blech!). But since cutting the cord, I find that I don't go to Sling to watch much live TV anymore. About the only thing I watch live anymore is sports or local news. Instead, I have built up a queue of things I want to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime. My queue is so big, I don't know if I'll ever catch up, and I hear about good stuff being added all the time.

I usually have a couple of things going at once. So lately, if I have an hour or more, I would watch an episode or two of Sneaky Pete, and next will be the latest season of Bosch. But I also have a sitcom season going if I just want to sit down for some mindless tv time, like the Office or Arrested Development. And then I have a queue of movies to watch when I want.

[LA Ute]

Fire Stick’s are stand alone. We have just a stick on one TV, Apple TV on two others, and XBox One and One X on two as well.

But I keep my cable. Wife and I both enjoy too much stuff on TV to drop it.

I really like Amazon Prime and have a main docking station + Fire Sticks. My plan is to integrate Fire with the new system we are building.

[Diehard Ute]

I used to love to channel surf, and my wife still does (mostly Hallmark and Lifetime movies, blech!). But since cutting the cord, I find that I don't go to Sling to watch much live TV anymore. About the only thing I watch live anymore is sports or local news. Instead, I have built up a queue of things I want to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime. My queue is so big, I don't know if I'll ever catch up, and I hear about good stuff being added all the time.

I usually have a couple of things going at once. So lately, if I have an hour or more, I would watch an episode or two of Sneaky Pete, and next will be the latest season of Bosch. But I also have a sitcom season going if I just want to sit down for some mindless tv time, like the Office or Arrested Development. And then I have a queue of movies to watch when I want.

There’s a few things I like live, most things I DVR.

I looked into things like Sling, in the long run it saved me very little to switch


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[Scorcho]

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/sling-tv-directv-now-youtube-tv-playstation-vue-are-all-raising-prices-we-look-into-why/

[sancho]

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/sling-tv-directv-now-youtube-tv-playstation-vue-are-all-raising-prices-we-look-into-why/

Bound to happen. My YouTubeTV is still cheaper than a comparable cable package, but, like cable, 95% of the channels are not getting watched.

[LA Ute]

We’re now using Roku + Sling + a HDTV antenna ($25). We have access to everything we want to see and don’t need to deal with any cable or satellite provider beyond making sure we have Internet service. I’m especially impressed by the free HDTV that comes through our antenna. The picture is beautiful and all we have is the modern version of a “rabbit ears” set top antenna. It’s the ClearStream Eclipse™ Sure Grip Indoor HDTV Antenna.

[NorthwestUteFan]

We’re now using Roku + Sling + a HDTV antenna ($25). We have access to everything we want to see and don’t need to deal with any cable or satellite provider beyond making sure we have Internet service. I’m especially impressed by the free HDTV that comes through our antenna. The picture is beautiful and all we have is the modern version of a “rabbit ears” set top antenna. It’s the ClearStream Eclipse™ Sure Grip Indoor HDTV Antenna.OTA signals are very high bandwidth, usually far higher than you will see over a typical streaming service. Glad to see this all works for you!

[LA Ute]

OTA signals are very high bandwidth, usually far higher than you will see over a typical streaming service. Glad to see this all works for you!

I wish I had done the antenna sooner.

[LA Ute]

A fascinating article that explains why this thread exists:

Blame Netflix, Disney and the Dodgers for killing Americans’ cable-TV bundle

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-who-killed-cable-tv-bundle-20180816-story.html

[LA Ute]

Does anyone have experience with fubotv, or have you heard anything about it? It looks like a Sling-type service. I’m curious because it seems to have more channels — or at least some channels I want.

EDIT: Hold on, I found a review:

https://www.pcmag.com/review/357278/fubotv

No ESPN is a pretty big drawback. Everything else looks good, however.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I got the trial of FuboTV. It is a very good service, nice interface, excellent stream quality. The Stanford game streamed in 4K and was brilliant.

But ESPN is not available. That kind of kills the deal.

[LA Ute]

I got the trial of FuboTV. It is a very good service, nice interface, excellent stream quality. The Stanford game streamed in 4K and was brilliant.

But ESPN is not available. That kind of kills the deal.

It sure does. I wonder what’s going on behind the scenes that results iin no deal with ESPN?

[sancho]

Just got notified that YouTubeTV is raising prices again, now up to $50/month. I started at $35. They make deals with channels, add them, and raise prices. They just added a bunch of crap I don't want - Discover, Food Network, and HGTV. They are basically just cable now.

I guess this was bound to happen. There will never be an a la carte option because that option earns the providers so much less.

[NorthwestUteFan]

That stinks. I was just looking to switch over and try YouTube TV.

My DirecTVNow is going up $10 next month also, or I can save a few bucks and drop about 40 channels (but get HBO free). That won't really matter anyway, because those channels are all getting phased out by DirecTV anyway.

Truth is, outside of football and March madness games I don't watch TV anyhow. When I finally get time to watch anything, I stream it on Netflix or Hulu. And the kids play video games and don't watch any TV.

Time to really cut the cord again. The streaming options are all as expensive as cable or satellite.

[Rocker Ute]

I really only care about regular TV for football and basketball so I turn on sling for that time. In years past I've done both the orange and blue package plus sports and it was $50/mo. This year I just did blue with sports for $30, but if there was a game on orange I wanted to see I would just switch it. Sling actually will let you switch mid month and credit you so it never cost more than $30 and then I'd switch back.

I know that is the ultimate cheapskate move, but a lot nicer than wasting money on TV I never watch.


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[sancho]

It's actually cheaper now for me to bundle cable and internet with Comcast ($100/month) than to just get internet and a streaming service ($65 for internet and $50 for streaming).

Maybe I'll try Rocker's move. Like everyone else here, I only use TV for sports. There is so little else worth watching.

[U-Ute]

It's actually cheaper now for me to bundle cable and internet with Comcast ($100/month) than to just get internet and a streaming service ($65 for internet and $50 for streaming).

Maybe I'll try Rocker's move. Like everyone else here, I only use TV for sports. There is so little else worth watching.

Disney+ is out now.

It's only a matter of time before ESPN is on there.

[Rocker Ute]

For those keeping score my current "entertainment costs" are:

$40/mo for internet
$16/mo for Netflix (we do premium as teenagers has me frequently running into the device streaming limit)

$30/mo during sports (thanks for the reminder I just canceled sling for the time being).

I have Google Fiber in my area but the truth is 40mbps with really heavy usage including a gamer son and we have no issues. Their cheapest tv/internet package is $140/mo.


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[Rocker Ute]

I'll add that I wish Amazon would step up there content game and I'd drop Netflix. I don't think they are far off and I'm guessing if I just took the plunge I wouldn't notice the difference.


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[chrisrenrut]

Disney+ is out now.

It's only a matter of time before ESPN is on there.

It sounds like they will release ESPN as it's own streaming package. So Disney+ for kind and family content, ESPN+ for sports, and Hulu for more mature/current/mainstream content.

It's a lot closer to ala carte. Disney owns Fox now, so I'm hoping the ESPN package will include Fox sports stations. But if you get all 3, it will add up. And of course it won't be everything everyone wants.

[chrisrenrut]

I'll add that I wish Amazon would step up there content game and I'd drop Netflix. I don't think they are far off and I'm guessing if I just took the plunge I wouldn't notice the difference.


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I rarely watch stuff on Amazon Prime anymore. Some original content is good, and they have a few good tv series and movies. But I find their content selection much less rich than Netflix. But I'll keep paying for my Amazon Prime membership for the free shipping. It pays for itself that way.

[U-Ute]

Disney taking over Hulu.

https://wetradehq.com/blog/Disney-to-take-full-control-over-Hulu,-Comcast-has-option-to-sell-its-stake-in-5-years