Hulu With Live TV
YouTube TV
With cable still slowly withering away in favor of streaming, one last blow towards traditional cable islive TV services. Live TV services are the best of cable with a streaming flair. You get all the channels and available add-ons you expect out of cable, with the added perks of wider availability and an often lower price.
When shopping around for live TV services, there are two that stand out in the field for their quick and easy brand recognition:YouTube TVandHulu + Live TV. Both are titans of the video streaming world, albeit on different sides of the market.
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Channel lineup
Small differences, big impact
One of the most important things to consider when looking into cable plans, traditional or otherwise, is channel lists. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV both come with a heaping list of channels, but YouTube TV does have more channels in total. YouTube TV has roughly 125 channels, though some of them may not be available in some regions, while Hulu has around 110. While these numbers are close, there are some important channels missing from either set-up that bear consideration.
The biggest things that Hulu + Live TV is missing that YouTube TV has are channels such as AMC alongside a handful of sports channels. Additionally, YouTube TV also has quite a few extra companion channels that aren’t on Hulu + Live TV. An easy example are channels like MTV and Nickelodeon. Whereas Hulu + Live TV only has regular MTV and Nickelodeon with Nick Jr., YouTube TV has MTV, MTV2, and MTV Classic as well as Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons, and Teen Nick. While these kinds of extra channels aren’t Earth shattering, it is a factor to keep in mind.
On the flip side, Hulu + Live TV has a sparse few channels that YouTube TV does not. The most obvious channel that Hulu + Live TV has that YouTube TV does not is The CW. For the most part, that isn’t the biggest loss, but to those that do care to have it around, it’s certainly something to consider.
For the broadest coverage, you really can’t choose incorrectly between either service. Neither YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV will leave you with a shortage of channels to flip through. And ultimately, if something like AMC is your sole concern, you’re better off looking into anAMC+subscription than a YouTube TV subscription.
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Overall user experience
The king of streaming UI vs. the clunkiest streaming service
The experience of using both services is wildly different. To understand what makes the user experience so different between YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, you first have to understand what made the original platforms popular to begin with.
There are plenty of other video sharing websites on the internet, such as Vimeo and Dailymotion. What makes YouTube better than alternatives is partially to do with the actual UI. YouTube’s video player is one of the best on the internet. It just feels good to use. It’s responsive, it’s intuitive, and it’s largely been the same for over a decade. This familiarity carries well into YouTube TV.
YouTube TV’s UI feels like YouTube, but it’s cable. And that is a great thing. YouTube’s UI has been slowly fine-tuned into near perfection, and being able to experience cable TV through that interface is incredible. Perhaps the most appealing factor YouTube TV has going for it is how good it feels to use. YouTube TV is insanely easy to use and understand, and that lends to any potential flaws not feeling as bad as they could.
YouTube TV’s UI feels like YouTube, but it’s cable. And that is a great thing.
Hulu became popular in the late 2000s and early 2010s off of the premise of being able to watch TV shows, for free, on the web. It was ad-supported and let users watch a wide variety of TV shows as they came out. Hulu’s primary appeal was the content. And that was its only appeal, because Hulu’s UI was bad. The video player was nowhere near as pleasant to use as YouTube’s, and streaming was in absolute infancy as a whole.
Over a decade later, and Hulu’s UI really hasn’t gotten much better. Compared to 2009, Hulu’s UI is leagues better. However, compared to its streaming peers, Hulu has one of the worst UIs. While YouTube TV’s UI is based on the standard YouTube UI, the Hulu + Live TV UI is the exact same as the standard Hulu UI. So, if you don’t like the user experience of using Hulu, you won’t like using Hulu + Live TV.
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DVR and on-demand content
Limitless DVR space all around
In the not-so-distant past, the question of DVR space was really a one-man show. YouTube TV has always come with unlimited DVR space, the only string attached being that your recordings only last for nine months. However, just last year, Hulu + Live TV started coming with unlimited DVR space as well. Hulu + Live TV’s DVR also comes with the nine-month time limit. So, if your main concern is how much you can record, there’s really not a wrong answer here. Either service will let you record as much as you want, and keep it around for the better part of a year.
But, there is more to this equation than just DVR space. You might not even think twice about it first, but have you ever paused to wonder if setting things up to record could be simpler? Because it can be, and YouTube TV makes it a dream. On both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, you can set shows and movies to record any time they’re on air. But, what YouTube TV offers in addition is many in-depth sporting options. With YouTube TV, you can set your DVR to record every game in a sporting league, or just the games for your preferred teams. Granted, with Hulu + Live TV you can record your favorite team’s games, but YouTube TV has the real sports fanatics a little more well covered. This comes in addition to being able to hide the scores for recorded games, as to avoid any spoilers, as well as being able to watch just the key moments of the game if you’re in a hurry.
So, if your main concern is how much you can record, there’s really not a wrong answer here. Either service will let you record as much as you want, and keep it around for the better part of a year.
Other than recording content, both services offer a library of on-demand content that can readily be streamed. In this area, Hulu + Live TV is the clear winner. While YouTube TV does offer a pretty respectable selection of on-demand content, Hulu + Live TV offers whatever is on Hulu and possiblyDisney+andESPN+if you opt to pay for the bundle. YouTube TV’s revolving selection of on-demand content is admirable and certainly enough to keep you entertained if nothing else is on, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the library of an actual dedicated streaming service.
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Pricing and value
Bang for your buck
There’s a three dollar price difference between the two services, with YouTube TV costing $72.99/month and Hulu + Live TV costing $75.99/month. However, there’s a little more to this than that three dollar difference would initially suggest.
For starters, that $75.99 price for Hulu is for Live TV only. For $75.99, you will only be gaining access to the Live TV service without Hulu’s streaming catalog. While that may seem a little silly, for only one dollar more per month at $76.99, you’ll receive a bundle including the ad-supported tiers of Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. That bundle without Live TV attached costs $14.99/month, which makes the one dollar upgrade a no-brainer.
YouTube TV’s $72.99 monthly cost will only get you YouTube TV. While YouTube TV is a fantastic platform, it’s really hard to not see the value in what those four extra dollars per month gets you with the Hulu bundle.
YouTube TV’s $72.99 monthly cost will only get you YouTube TV. While YouTube TV is a fantastic platform, it’s really hard to not see the value in what those four extra dollars per month gets you with the Hulu bundle. Especially for people that already have the Disney Trio Bundle. There’s almost no good reason to shell out over $87 monthly for something you could get for $76.99/month.
Both services also offer a range of add-ons. These add-ons include adding premium channels and services such asMax, Cinemax, andStarz. You can also add-on extra sports channels and 4k channels. And yes, this is the part where you learn that neither service has 4k channels in their base package. Both services only offer 1080p streaming at most in their base packages. So if you plan to watch cable in 4k, be prepared to shell out a bit of extra money. Overall, neither service has a particular edge in terms of available add-ons, but it’s worth noting that both have plenty of extras to offer.
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Compatibility and number of profiles
Even playing field
You might not think too much about profiles at first when thinking about cable TV plans. After all, traditional cable has never really been a service with resume watching features, and the kind of DVR services offered by YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. But, both services offer profiles. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV offer six and seven total profiles respectively. This comes alongside YouTube TV allowing users to have three simultaneous streams, and Hulu + Live TV offering just two. For users with multiple people in your household that will be wanting to use cable at once, YouTube TV’s three simultaneous streams can be a huge difference maker.
YouTube TV, on the other hand, has a slightly smaller reach. Whereas Hulu + Live TV is just another part of the Hulu app, YouTube TV is an entirely separate app from the base YouTube app. However, this isn’t really that large of a concern. Unless you’re planning to utilize your cable TV alternative of choice exclusively from a Nintendo Switch, this isn’t ultimately too much of an issue.
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Which service should you choose?
A question of priorities
When it comes down to making a decision, your ultimate choice between YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV will come down to your specific wants and priorities. But, it is a pretty binary set of priorities.
If you’re the kind of person that prefers the absolute best experience, you want YouTube TV. It’s an incredibly intuitive app that has lots of great features that don’t just feel like an imitation of cable, but rather what the next step of cable TV ought to be. It’s also worth noting that YouTube TV is particularly great for sports fans, as there’s a wider range of sports channels and DVR options specifically aimed towards sports. And for the super fans, there’s YouTube TV’s multiview which will allow you to watch up to four games at the same time.
Ultimately, neither choice is bad. You genuinely can’t go wrong subscribing to either service. Really, when presented with both of these options, you can only go wrong by purchasing a traditional cable plan.
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