Cable and Satellite price increases and blackouts on Dish, DirecTV and Comcast Xfinity happen every few months. While less frequent on streaming providers like YouTube TV, they are not immune to the same rising TV content costs.
The plot thickens when you understand that TV content provider NBC Universal is owned by Comcast Xfinity, isnt that convenient... Comcast being Comcast, is reportedly trying to force content in the form of their new streaming service Peacock to be included in YouTube TV's bundle.
StreamWise Solutions is not a service provider, which is why we do not charge any monthly rate. We do offer annual pay options for personalized Pro Support.
Since YouTube TV is the service provider charging $65 a month, they of course do offer their own YouTube TV Support. StreamWise is just a small business so can't offer 24/7 direct support for everyone that is paying YouTube TV for their service, however we did the next best thing.
Our experts created this blog to highlight the best options to replace NBC Universal content on YouTube TV. Here are the top YouTube TV alternatives along with details and self help resources:
I would especially recommend to wait it out, if you are not techy enough to download an app and sign up for a new streaming service on your own. Dont panic its just TV... Its obviously out of our control, but 90% of these TV disputes are resolved within the first week to a month.
When you originally Cut The Cord you knew there were going to be sacrifices in the name of saving money. YouTube TV is discounting their normal $65 a month price to $55 a month during the blackout. Even with the loss of NBC Universal channels YouTube TV is still the #1 Cable streaming service. You will now get over 80 channels for $55 a month.
It's not like you will be bored with nothing to watch. In 2021, most people have several A La Carte streaming services like Netflix, Prime, Disney+, Hulu, etc that they watch more than Cable TV channels anyway.
We are always a big proponent of installing a whole home TV antenna for free TV. This will get you the most expensive channels (all the local networks) totally free for life, with NO blackouts ever. The most popular NBC Universal channels of NBC and Telemundo are free via an antenna. This allows you to dump YouTube TV forever and only pay for less expensive Cable channels for certain times of the year when you need them - see Sling TV below.
If you are in a apartment or condo and cant install an outdoor antenna, then you will want to keep reading below...
If you need all of the NBC Universal Cable channels Live, On Demand and DVR, the best option is to sign up for Sling TV for a month or two. The nice thing about streaming services is they are all month to month with no long term contracts.
Sling TV will always be less expensive than YouTube TV because it does not have local channels (free via Antenna). Sling offers a great deal of flexible options to get about any Cable channel you want including NBC Universal Cable channels like Bravo, CNBC, E!, Golf Channel, MSNBC, Oxygen, SYFY, The Olympic Channel and USA Network.
If you only want some Live NBC Universal content and are more interested in On Demand, Peacock might be your best bet. Here is a video we put together that shows you how to sign up for Peacock and download the App on your Fire TV.
Some folks might already have Hulu or be sharing it with a friend or family member. If so Hulu will also have a lot of the same NBC Universal TV content On Demand. If you are new to Hulu, you can download the Hulu App and sign up on the Fire TV (similar to the how to video about on Peacock).
If you are in an apartment and really desperate you can also sign up for Hulu Live, which is the closest direct substitute for YouTube TV. However be warned that we dont like the functionality no the DVR as well as YouTube TV.