for the past couple of years youtube tv has been my number one pick for first time streamers who
want the best of cable at a lower price but is youtube tv still the best live tv service
in 2022 keep watching and the answer is just not as simple as before and that's because of
changes that hulu live and directv stream have made to their services so today i've got five
factors to help you choose from one of these services and let's get started first cloud dvr
storage and up until recently this was youtube tv's secret weapon in the streaming tv wars
unlimited cloud dvr storage recording saved for up to nine months but hulu live recently announced it
will match youtube tv's dvr for all subscribers starting on april 13 2022 a major shift for hulu
live and here's why up until the change it offered only 50 hours of cloud dvr storage
with the base plan and you had to upgrade to skip through the ads ouch meanwhile though directv
stream has also started offering unlimited cloud dvr storage but there is some fine print involved
like making it available only if you sign up online as of this recording directv stream
allows you to save your recordings for only 90 days but it has tested 9 months
for some customers it probably won't be long until it matches the other two services still because of
that fine print with directv stream the advantage here goes to youtube tv and hulu live now let's
move on number two i want to address the channel lineups and content and we start with directv
stream because it is the only service of these three with the valley regional sports networks
those rsns are not in the base plan though and when you compare the base plans for these three
services there are a lot more similarities than differences but there are differences a lot of
people have requested that youtube tv add a and e networks so that includes a e history and lifetime
as of recording they are not on the service hulu live does have a e networks but not amc networks
which youtube tv has meanwhile directv stream carries channels from both of those content
partners one gap in directv stream's base plan nfl network included with the other two so you'll want
to review the channel lineups before you sign up to confirm your must-have channels including
your locals and you can do that by visiting the respective websites of these services directly
links below and while we're talking about content i gotta mention that hulu live now includes the
entire on-demand disney bundle with the base plan so that is hulu basic disney plus as well as espn
plus more on that in the next section and i think this is where we should talk about the pricing
that is number three let's begin with youtube tv the base plan 65 a month at recording time
but that price has not moved since june 2020 so be mindful of the date this video was published
this information may change at recording time youtube tv is offering 10 off a month for the
first three months a pretty typical offer for them that is 55 a month plus there is regularly a free
trial sometimes two weeks or more now in comparison directv stream and hulu live
have recently increased their prices both start at 70 a month now but directv streams cheapest plan
with regional sports well that'll cost you ninety dollars a month and the fact that hulu
live includes the on-demand disney bundle it does add value as long as you actually use it purchased
separately the disney bundle is fourteen dollars a month at least for now youtube tv's price
advantage over these other services it's minimal and it may not last long after i upload this video
but i will say that once youtube tv does raise its prices i think it really has to add some sort of a
sweetener the most obvious perk that youtube tv could include is youtube premium which provides
an ad free experience on regular youtube as well as youtube music doing this would make youtube
tv unique again after the other services have now matched its unlimited dvr the next section ties in
with pricing i'll cover it quickly before we get to user experience number four is multiple streams
and let me give credit to directv stream it now offers unlimited in-home streams three on the go
with all plans youtube tv limits you to three streams at a time and two with hulu live now
both of these services do offer the option to get unlimited simultaneous streams but it'll cost you
more and for most households youtube tv's three streams will do just fine but if you live in a
larger household with people streaming on separate devices all at once you may prefer directv stream
since you know you get all the streams you need in the base plan we're moving on to number five now
the user experience and i might as well start with directv stream again to make the point
that it is probably the most cable-like of these three services and specifically the layout and
functionality of the live tv guide that you see here i personally like youtube tv's navigation
but the live guide and library are undergoing changes in 2022 based on feedback from users so
if you're watching this video in the future expect improvements over the current interface hulu live
is much different because it's part of the regular hulu app it wasn't designed to be just like cable
so the learning curve is a bit steeper and finding your way around hulu live tends to take an extra
click or two from my experience you'll find more details on the user experience and my full reviews
of these services but to keep it simple youtube tv and directv stream are the winners here hulu live
lags behind in several areas don't click away yet because i've got one more thing that may factor
into your decision and what i'm about to talk about here is why youtube tv remains my number
one pick for a premium live tv service and this has to do with how companies treat their customers
over time many cord cutters want to get away from companies like directv so they may eliminate
directv stream from consideration right off the bat and the service has not been consistent
with its streaming product over the years hulu live has provided a pretty good service but it
has been hard to avoid the upselling in the past that is changing to a degree with the free
unlimited dvr being added for a while this may be a great service to test out instead of youtube tv
but hulu live is known for regular annual price hikes so let's see how long the current pricing
and offering lasts youtube tv just like the others has raised its prices since launch but for the
past two years the price has remained steady and they've gone to battle with content providers to
keep it that way something that shows me that they get it now unless you want regional sports
networks most people are going to narrow it down to youtube tv and hulu live and both of them may
be worth trying out for a month before you pick a favorite but as i've put together this video
i must acknowledge that all three services have priced themselves too high for many cord cutters
and some may rather sign up for sling tv and hook up an indoor antenna big savings there i rotate
all of these services to update my reviews for you but if i had to choose just one at this point
it would still be youtube tv of course i'll let you know if that changes and information in this
video is always subject to change find updated comparisons of the major live tv services on
michaelsaves.com and i've left another video for you to check out right here see you there
you