Will YouTube TV Turn You Into A Cord-Cutter?

The problem still lives in the halls of Congress. Until the internet is treated like a public utility, it will never be resolved.

Anybody here still use antenna? I'm 65 miles from Madison, the capital city, and I get everything EXCEPT PBS. I get CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and 2 regional networks. I probably could get PBS if I put up an antenna high enough or with enough gain. (I notice PBS is not listed on YouTube's list of channels, so I wouldn't get it if I signed up.)
Monthly cost? Zero. You can watch only one thing at a time.
Maybe one of these days I might save enough to buy a computer. Always wanted to try one of those things.

I've begun "cord cutting," but via an HDMI cable from a computer to my TV. For now, this means using that computer as my remote, but it also means that I can watch anything on or through my computer for free, without any of the security risks of WiFi, Google, etc. Total cost? A little research, a little experimentation, and $26 for the HDMI cable, and I also get all the benefits of hard wiring, especially simplicity, reliability, and security.

My local cable provider, Spectrum, offers cable TV, wifi internet and telephone for $29/month EACH. I'm on 'family plan' for cell phone and don't need or want their telephone plan, I've found that I get more watchable Broadcast TV then their heavy on foreign language, sports and so called 'reality' TV. I love Netflix and Amazon which give me choice so I need wifi. Spectrum doesn't offer wifi without tacking on the other two useless, to me, services. So, I'm stuck.

How can I get internet and wifi only?

I was paying Direct TV $160 per month for a lineup of awful channels. Now I am an Amazon Prime member, Netflix, Tubi TV, Pluto TV and YouTube - all streaming. Virtually no ads. I use the Chromebit dongle to connect to the Net and a keyboard and mouse to control it. I can even get all my Internet, mail and anything from the Internet with this device. (About $100 plus keyboard and mouse). I was on Hi speed Internet anyway so that was not a factor for me. HAPPY BOY!

Bob
We can get all USA stations including CNN in the UK.

Have you ever tried YouTube TV?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes. Seems to work fine for me.

We have a $100 antenna on a 20' pole and get about 60-70 channels for free. That includes stations from the capitol and large coastal city of our state. If one is willing to surf while being a couch potato, there's always something to watch. News and sports at the normal times are always available. That's actually more than we need.

I "cut the cord" around 40 years ago. We tried cable TV when it first came to the Phoenix metropolitan area and the cable company never lived up to its promises so we cut it off. Now, with more OTA (Over The Air) programming than I have time to watch, even when recording shows for viewing at a more convenient time, I still don't have time to watch all of the ones I'm interested in. The only thing I use cable for is internet access and I still don't stream any TV shows or movies.

I've been using a Mohu Leaf indoor antenna for a few years. Except during stormy conditions, I get a beautiful picture on more channels than I care to watch. For those times when there's nothing I care to watch from the available channels, I use Amazon Prime's Instant Video.

What concerns me, though, is the likely rate increases for Internet service. At the moment, I don't have a data cap, but fear that will end, or the overall price will go up. The cable/Internet companies will figure out how to make up for lost revenues sooner or later.

@Patricia I have Spectrum Internet Service ONLY. They do offer it, but you have to search to find it and also pay a premium of $59.00 plus fees making the monthly $63.21 for 50 mbs. I had that under Time Warner and kept it when Spectrum took over. I cut out cable TV about 18 years ago. I now stream Netflix and Amazon Prime. I started with Netflix years ago with their CD mailing.

I seemed to have missed the part about resolution. HD? 4K?

What about Canada?

Does anyone know if there is any streaming service in English- in a NON ENGLISH speaking language?
For example in France or Spain, but streaming in English.

5 years ago, TimeWarner Cable and Internet was about $130/month in this Western California city. They are a monopoly here nestled in a valley with mountains blocking OTA reception.
Got my Spectrum bill today, and howled at the "Cable Gods!" Gotta call them (in the Phillipines no less) and complain since I was supposed to be "grandfathered" in at $170/month for Cable, Internet, and Phone.

Greed. Ripoff artists. Would describe them in the more colorful language they deserve, but I won't.

If I ever cut the cord, I will probably switch to Kodi for movies and on-demand TV entertainment. Kodi is a free media player. It supports extensions, and there is a great add-on from the Ares Project that makes Kodi very user friendly. All-in-all, Kodi meets most of my TV streaming needs.

No one is going to watch television - on a phone!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I've been watching the World Series on my phone...

We are seniors and stuck with Comcast for $212.00/month. Alternative, is Verizon FIOS...what's the difference.
We have Amazon Fire TV but most of their offerings are subscriptions. So, if you add up fees for subscriptions, the total cost for TV entertainment is about the same.
FCC needs to do something about the monopolies of the limited services available especially in metropolitan areas.

Hey Bob:
There are expats and retirees living in Mexico and Canadians that read your articles. Your articles are not always relevant for those people, especially when it comes to streaming content.
I see people from outside of the USA are commenting about availability of content.
Can you update this article with the availability of content in foreign countries?

Message to KEN:
Are you using a VPN or DNS to get USA content in the UK?