TV has been the major form of entertainment ever since it was released back in the 50s. Although the visual form of entertainment was present way before in the form of cinemas which played silent films in the 1930s. But ever since TV and cable came into the limelight they decimated the competition. As it was a cutting-edge technology of its time through which everyone had a kind of cinema in their own homes. This popularity is reflected in the stats as well according to which there are 183.5 million connected TV users in the USA while there are 285 million TVs in total currently in use. Although this shows the popularity of cable and TV, these stats also reflect that there is a significant amount of TVs that are not hooked up to cable. That is because that chunk uses different services like streaming and over the internet live TV.
Although cable had a long run of services in which it enjoyed technological updates and constant support from the community without any significant competition, this is also a fact that cable TV is past its prime and now many solid alternatives are giving strong competition to cable TV. These alternatives are internet-based streaming platforms that have been gaining momentum since the past decade, this trend was started by Netflix back in 2011 after which the viewership of TV is on a constant decline, although this is also a factor that TV viewership saw a sudden surge in 2020 during COVID during which was a temporary increase due to the lockdowns but the repercussions of it were quite severe. In due time after this surge, the viewership dropped so significantly that wasn’t experienced before, and proportionally the viewers of internet-based platforms increased at an equal pace.
Streaming and Online TV
There are a few substantial reasons behind this switch from traditional cable programming to internet-based alternatives like streaming platforms the most important one is the cost factor. The internet has become quite cheap over the years and Spectrum online discounts are a testament to that. Now users can get high-speed internet at a very minimal cost from not only Spectrum but from other providers as well. The other thing is that the monthly subscription of streaming platforms and live TV is much cheaper as compared to a regular cable which can cost somewhere between $30 to $300 depending on the channel line-up, equipment, and other miscellaneous charges like taxes and fees. While on the flip side the streaming and TV subscriptions can cost anywhere between $10 to $60 max.
So, the biggest factor behind this switch is cost since post-pandemic people are struggling with finances and the buying power has significantly decreased due to economic recession and unemployment which is forcing people towards cost-cutting and getting rid of expensive cable packages which they can no longer afford. Another thing is portability because cable TV restricted people to only a single place where there was a TV set up, in contrast, streaming and Internet TV provided the much-needed option of portability and watching content on the go, as in this fast-paced life nobody has time to remain stuck to their TV screens and since the internet is all around us today and we are constantly connected to it this provided a facility to users to watch anything over the internet through streaming and live TV options.
Best Platforms to Watch Live TV
Now we have established that streaming is a better option in comparison to traditional cable TV but back in the day there were some limitations to this technology as there was a plethora of pre-recorded content like sitcoms and movies to watch but there was no option to watch live TV broadcasting because of which cable TV had a major edge over these internet-based platforms. Now with technological advancements, many platforms allow users to watch live TV and programming including news and sports broadcasting. Since these platforms are in abundance now we have created a list of top platforms on which users can watch live TV.
Hulu+ Live TV
Coming at number one is one of the most popular streaming platforms Hulu, however, this particular platform the Hulu+ Live is dedicated to live TV as the name suggests. Users can watch their favorite content on this Disney-backed platform which allows certain channels to be broadcasted like ABC, ESPN, National Geographic, and all stations from NBC and Fox group on the platform. A wide variety of channel selections for every age group makes Hulu+ Live TV a perfect choice for the whole family. The popularity of Hulu+ Live TV is evident from the fact that in the third quarter of 2019 Hulu toppled Sling TV to become the top streaming station in the country with 2.7 million subscribers.
Sling TV
The number two spot is taken by Sling TV another very popular live TV service that not only offers live TV but also airs sports programming. With networks like NFL Network, Fox News, BET, CNN, and ESPN makes it the top choice of diverse viewers who likes to watch different type of content like Sports and News. The best thing about Sling TV is that it has a free version as well with all basic channels. Plus Sling TV also has the capability of cloud DVR that allows watchers to record 50 hours of live TV and watch it at a later time. With customizable plans and a free plan as well makes it a viable option for anyone who’s looking to make a switch to live TV.
YouTube TV
In third place is the giant of over the internet entertainment platforms, YouTube. It is the single biggest online video streaming platform and YouTube TV is YouTube’s latest by-product. YouTube TV has the single biggest collection of top-tier channels as compared to any of its competitors and also has local PBS stations which most other online streaming services lack. Plus YouTube TV has the best cloud DVR service as compared to any competitors through which users can save unlimited hours of live content which is saved there for nine months while in other services the maximum storage time is somewhere around 30 days. The only drawback is that some users may find it expensive but the service justifies each penny.
Conclusion
It is indeed the fact that the future belongs to streaming and traditional cable TV is well on its way to becoming an obsolete technology. However, the transition from cable to streaming in terms of watching live TV has been rather slow, to say the least, and people are still confused about whether to switch or not. Another thing is that there has been a surge of streaming platforms in the past couple of years, especially during the pandemic. This has made the selection for the best streaming platform to watch live TV an even more difficult task, that is why we have created this list with our best picks of live TV streaming platforms for our readers.