Widening Range of TV Streaming Sources
Viewing television programs via the Internet instead of cable or dish is a fast-growing trend now.
It has proven to be a good money-saving option for a lot of households on limited incomes. It offers more flexible terms than cable or dish accounts and contracts afford.
Plus if you have DSL or cable internet access already then you can drop your existing TV provide and the setup for internet streaming does not involve getting a cable TV or dish crew appointment.
Smart televisions equipment with ample connection ports have come down in price enormously as well.
Here in the 34481, many of us get a basic set of channels automatically as part of our maintenance service package. Most people in our neighborhood subscribe to additional channels, but many of us don't really want or need the whole big package, and may come to find it more costly than it's worth.
Over time the cable costs have gone up considerably while the amount of time we watch TV has not changed much. All of us are limited to just 24 hours in a day! So none of us ever view but a certain number of preferred channels anyway.
Internet streaming refers to a variety of different types of content and services. If you search online for companies that provide TV streaming, the results will include a mix of companies that differ in many ways.
These streaming services and packages consistently pop up in such search results:
Sling TV
Philo TV
Pluto TV
Fubo TV
YouTube TV
Hulu with Live TV
PlayStation Vue
Vimeo
Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
DirecTV Now
In this piece, let's look at two of these services particularly - and Philo TV and Sling TV. Philo and Sling TV both fall into the “skinny bundle” category of internet TV providers.
See their websites for channels available - Philo website is https://try.philo.com/ , and Sling website is https://www.sling.com/ .
Instead of forcing you to buy channels you don’t need, skinny bundles let you buy small packs of channels, according to Alex Munkachy on Flixed (flixed.io). Here are a few highlights Munkachy offers concerning Philo and Sling:
Philo TV:
"Philo’s extremely low prices are its main selling point. No other internet TV service is cheaper than Philo."
"If you’re a fan of reality TV, how-to shows and “edu-tainment” programs that you might find on History Channel, Discovery, HGTV and other similar channels, Philo is worth a look. Philo’s ultra-cheap $16 subscription comes with 43 lifestyle and general entertainment channels. For $4 more, you can add twelve more special interest networks to your account, bringing the total to $20 for 55 channels. That’s quite a bargain."
"Even though Philo is super inexpensive, it has all the next-gen TV features that competing internet TV services offer."
"With Philo, you can record as much TV as you want and access your recordings for up to 30 days, and you can also stream on 3 devices at once. Also, Philo learns what you like to watch and serves up show recommendations based on your viewing habits."
Sling TV (Orange and Blue packages):
"Sling TV’s $25 Orange subscription is one of the most well-rounded deals for cord-cutters on the market. Sling Orange doesn’t have any of the “big four” broadcast networks, but it does have ESPN and some other popular cable channels. If you use a TV antenna to fill in the missing channels, you can cut the cord without missing a beat."
"Sling also shines when it comes to app support. Because Sling TV has been around longer than any other internet TV provider, it works with more next-gen TV devices than any other TV service of its kind."
"You can also only stream on 1 device at a time with Sling Orange, though that increases to 3 devices with Sling Blue."
A few key points:
In making comparisons, he points out the both have similar prices. Philo has better "Next-gen" TV Features. Sling has better sports channels (Philo has none) and has a stronger selection of apps. Philo unlocks more Cable TV apps and websites. Sling has more on-demand content. Both have free 7-day trial periods.
Either of these two streaming services may be just the ticket if you'd like to enjoy some good variety in TV viewing but prefer to the limit the time and money you spend on it. A "skinny" service like one of these, plus free content available on the Internet, plus the TV channels we get with our maintenance fee provide most of us more than enough programs and channels to stay informed and enjoy what these media have to offer.
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