I was mad when YouTube TV raised my price by $5 again a few months ago, justifying it by adding a few channels that were useless to me. I usually cancel my TV provider to fully cut the cord for a few months between March Madness and football season. I planned to go to another streaming provider this Fall. After thoroughly researching my options and trying a few providers and setups, I signed back on with YouTube TV yesterday.

Here's my experience looking around the streaming market, in case it helps anyone else. The opinions are mine. Other's may value other things and like other providers:

My Setup - Two fairly recent TVs with Roku's attached. Chromecasts on both as well. I have a Tivo system on mothballs (more on that later).

Criteria - Here's what I wanted from my streaming provider:
- Compatible with my setup
- Local channels included
- DVR with so much space I never have to think about it
- The channels I watch regularly - ESPN and subsidiaries, Foxnews, CNBC, good selection of other channels to record movies, etc. I would love the Weather Channel for hurricane season here in South Carolina, but none of the big providers have it. BYUtv, but no streaming providers carry it either, so I use the Roku app but dearly miss the DVR.
- Ability to watch obscure sports channels when BYU plays at a non-p5 opponent sites
- Best $ deal possible

Playstation Vue - Tried the 5-day trial. Good selection of channels, DVR interface similar to YouTube TV
Deal killers - *expensive*, multiple service disruptions, DVR - either the interface was terrible or they just don't have the functionality. Example, I couldn't get it to record the BYU game, without recording every college football game that weekend. Also, it did not have the rights to record the BYU Washington game on ESPN 2. (Yes, I am on the East Coast.) Found out when I went to watch it on the DVR. Turns out it was an OK game to miss, again. 🙁

SlingTV - popular, good pricing, good options to keep bill low, with different channel packages,
I was ready to sign up for their discounted first month twice, but each time found deal killers that made me go elsewhere: No DVR capability for ESPN and no Foxnews (though they carry CNN) were deal killers for me.

Hulu Live- Tried the trial - decent channel selection, integrated with Hulu's Netflix-like service
Downsides - DVR was weak, more expensive that YouTube TV, missing some sports and other channels I use occasionally.

AT&T TV Now-DirectTV - too expensive and lacking channels, didn't try it

2nd tier providers like FuboTV, Philo, etc. These are created for a specific audience (like soccer fans) or meant to be a *really* skinny bundle, with no ESPN. Researched, but did not find one that met my criteria.

Other options:

Tivo - I have a Tivo set up with with over-the-air (OTA) tuners, lifetime service, a digital antenna, and a couple of Tivos (Roamio and mini). Unfortunately, Tivo's user experience and updates have steadily gone downhill the past few years, as they clung to the cable TV providers and users. I pull this out for an OTA DVR when I fully cut the cord. Their app selection is weak, so it does not have all the streaming providers I want/need during football season and it is cumbersome to watch via the apps, like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube TV, etc. It's too bad. Tivo used to be the disruptive innovator. They should have kept that up and been what Roku has become. I ditched Tivo for a couple of Rokus last year. Tried it again recently. No need for it with Roku + YouTube TV. Tivo going back on mothballs.

AirTV - curious on this option. I may try one with a built in DVR next time I cancel my streaming service. If you have not heard of them, it is an OTA tuner with an internet connection. It feeds your local signal to an app, so you can watch on your phone, computer, or Roku app. (I heard their Roku app had a disruption a couple of weeks ago.)

So, I am swallowing my anger at the price increases and going back to YouTube TV. It has just about everything I need and they are the cheapest alternative that meets my criteria. They have the best DVR by far. Though I have had multiple issues where it refuses to fast forward or rewind while watching a time-shifted sporting event. I have to restart the app to fix it and then find my spot again. Sometimes I have to just jump to live. A couple of times I lost the recording altogether. Worked with their support staff, but they have never fully resolved it. Still better than other streaming DVRs.

I still dream of a day when I can only pay for the few channels I want to watch. Pay a little more when I want to watch an event or something on an obscure channel for a day or two. But I know the content providers cannot envision a new business model that gives us this option and still makes them as much money. So I will be stuck sorting through and paying for a ton of channels I don't want and never use. But it won't change for the foreseeable future, so I won't focus on things I can't change . . . Serenity now!