I might never go back to YouTube TV after trying out Fubo

Summary

Fubo TV is cheaper than YouTube TV, starting at $80/month with access to regional sports networks.
Fubo TV offers multi-streaming options, similar to YouTube TV, allowing viewers to watch multiple shows simultaneously.
While Fubo TV lacks Turner networks and 5.1 surround sound support, it still provides a good value for the price.

If it’s still cheaper to cut the cord and go streaming, it’s not by much. YouTube TV’s price went up again, and it’s $83 a month to watch the same channels that were available before. For a lot of people, that was the final straw. Luckily, there are many services to take a look at instead of YouTube TV, and Fubo TV is what I tried out thanks to a discount from Cyber Monday.

With YouTube TV’s new price, Fubo is cheaper at just $80 a month, but that depends on the tier you go for. I figure for most people that the base tier, or Essential as Fubo calls it, is more than enough with its 200+ channels. The Pro tier, which I tried out for a month, comes with everything included with Essential with the addition of regional sports networks. In case you’ve been out of the loop, YouTube TV lost access to these sports networks a few years ago, so it’s nice to have a streaming service giving access to them again without having to opt for a third-party subscription.

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Fubo TV

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Pros

Cheaper than YouTube TV
Access to regional sports networks
Good multi-stream support

Cons

Missing some important channels
No surround sound support

Price and availability

Fubo TV has four different tiers to pick from. These include Essential, Pro, Elite, and Latino. Essential costs $80 a month, while Pro is available for that price plus the price of the regional sports package in your area. For me, that brings the price to $93 a month, but it varies by where you live.

The Elite tier rises to $90 and includes a 4K package for channels that support it. Your number of channels rises from to 298, and you get access to the regional sports network, but it’s again included as an extra cost on top of that $90. The Latino tier includes 33 Spanish language channels, including sports, TV, news, and entertainment.

Fubo TV

Simultaneous streams: 10
Live TV: Yes
Free trial: Yes, 7 days
Originals: No
Price: Starts at $80
Ad plans: No

What I like about Fubo TV

Very similar to YouTube TV

Upon signing up for Fubo TV, I was met with a very familiar interface. As somebody coming over from YouTube TV, it was intuitive as the two services share quite a bit in common. It was easy for me to install the app on my Apple TV 4K and start watching what I wanted, so I had no issues at all getting set up. Even if you’re not coming from YouTube TV, it’s not difficult to quickly learn and navigate the app.

The big thing for me is the inclusion of regional sports networks. In my eyes, that’s a huge advantage over YouTube TV, even if it comes at an increased price that isn’t shown to you until the end of the checkout process. FanDuel Sports Network costs $20 a month, so bundling it with YouTube TV would end up being costlier for me than getting Fubo’s Pro tier. If you don’t watch sports, the $80 monthly cost for the Essential tier is now cheaper than YouTube TV, and it has largely the same channels.

Another nice feature is multi-streaming. While YouTube TV offers the same functionality, Fubo lets you pick what you multi-stream instead of just being limited to specific sports games. For example, I was able to watch Monday Night RAW, two Monday Night Football games, and the Adam Sandler classic 50 First Dates all at the same time. I mainly use it as a way to easily flip around the channels, but it’s still nice I get to pick my own shows and movies. It seems like it only works on my Apple TV 4K as I can’t replicate it on my desktop or tablet, however. While there’s a lot that I like about the service, it still has its share of downsides.

Why I picked Fubo TV over YouTube TV as an Apple TV 4K owner

As an Apple TV 4K owner, Fubo TV has a big advantage over YouTube TV.

What I don’t like about Fubo TV

Nothing is perfect

Fubo

While there’s a ton I like about Fubo TV, there are still some improvements that can be made. The big thing for me is the lack of Turner networks. This means TBS, TNT, and Tru TV are all missing, and that’s a big hit for sports fans. While you can get the regional networks, losing these three channels means you miss out on quite a bit during the basketball season, and March Madness is impossible to keep up with. This can be fixed with a subscription to Max, but I wish it didn’t come to that.

Another thing is that while the price is lower than YouTube TV, it would’ve been nicer if the price was lower by more than $3. Any amount is nice, but it’s not exactly a huge needle mover if you’re trying to convince somebody to jump ship from one service to another.

Fubo TV doesn’t support 5.1 surround sound, but that’s not necessarily a dealbreaker for a lot of people. I have a surround sound setup at home, and even though YouTube TV supports it, I still force stereo audio in most scenarios. It also might just be me, but I noticed the Fubo feed became noticeably blurry heading into commercials. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s an issue I didn’t have on YouTube TV.

Something that came up in my research for another service is Sling TV. Sling comes in at a much lower price of $55 for largely the same channels, but it’s missing out on local stations like CBS, NBC, and Fox. That problem can be alleviated by picking up an antenna, but that’s an extra cost for a lot of people these days. On the other hand, it’s a one-time purchase that gives you access to local stations and, in turn, makes Sling much more appealing. It all comes down to your situation, and while Fubo represents good value for me, it’s not the best for everyone.

YouTube TV is so expensive now it’s cheaper to un-cut the cord

Streaming is getting too expensive and services need to hear about it.

I think it’s worth a try

Fubo

At the end of the day, I’d give Fubo TV a recommendation. Many services give you a discounted first month, and Fubo TV is no different, so it’s trying for that reason alone. If you’re coming from YouTube TV, you’ll find many similarities between the two services.

It’s best for you to give a look at what’s included with each tier, because you can save a little bit of cash if you don’t care about having the 4K package or regional sports. I don’t think Fubo TV as its regular price is enough to truly convert a YouTube TV user, even with the price hike. Losing the Turner stations is a big deal to sports viewers, and it’s also a big deal if you’re an All Elite Wrestling fan. AEW is going to begin streaming on Max in 2025, but it’s still not a great feeling to have to sign up for another service to watch a show you get automatically with another with no additional cost. Ultimately, I plan to keep Fubo TV, at least until the end of the NBA regular season.

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