YouTube TV

[2/22/18] I'm going to try out YouTube TV (there's a free seven-day trial).  While I'm happy with PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV has a couple of advantages.  One is that it carries the local NBC and Fox stations in addition to CBS (which is the only local that PlayStation Vue carries).  Neither YouTube TV and Playstation Vue carry ABC live, they both offer the programs on Demand.  The other advantage is that it's cheaper.  It's currently $35 a month (to be raised to $40 for new subscribers starting March 13), while PlayStation Vue is $45 (for the package I selected because of the sports).

They also have a no-limit DVR which hold programs for 9 months (vs. 28 days for PlayStation Vue).

As far as channels they carry that I don't have on Playstation Vue: NatGeo Wild (it's on PS Vue but on a higher tier), Tennis Channel.  Among the channels the Playstation Vue has that they don't have: HGTV, diy, Animal Planet, Hallmark.  Neither have A&E or History (which Sling and DirectTV Now carry).

As far as sports, they both carry Prime Ticket (Clippers), NBC Sports Bay Area (Golden State Warriors), NBC Sports California (Sacramento Kings).  I don't see NBA TV on the list but they're supposed to be adding it "soon".  OK, maybe I'll try it later when NBA TV becomes available.

[In the meantime, I'll update my spreadsheet with the channels.]

Another disadvantage is that doesn't work yet on Fire TV.  It may be a while as Google has removed their YouTube app from the Fire TV.

[3/1/17] By popularizing video watching over the internet, YouTube, which Google bought in 2006, started the ball rolling on so-called cord-cutting, the practice of consumers’ abandoning cable and satellite television subscriptions for web-based video services. YouTube’s latest move, announced Tuesday, highlights how far it has come as well as the challenges in trying to replace cable and satellite TV.

The company said it planned to introduce a new subscription service called YouTube TV in the next “few months,” offering more than 40 channels including all four major networks, Disney Channel, FX and ESPN, for $35 a month. The subscription includes the ability to store an unlimited number of programs on a cloud-based digital video recorder for up to six accounts.

“YouTube TV represents an effort to evolve television,” said Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s chief executive.

Once vilified by media companies as a magnet for pirated video, YouTube is now embraced by Hollywood and other content creators. Almost every movie trailer or music video is released onto YouTube; all major sports leagues upload highlights there; and networks supplement traditional programming with videos that can be shared, like the talk show host James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” series.

But YouTube is now wading into the complex web of broadcast television, which has tripped up other technology companies seeking to break the grip of pay TV providers.

It’s an arduous and tedious process that demands securing deals with media conglomerates hoping to bundle its popular channels with less attractive offerings. It also requires ironing out agreements with the big four networks — NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox — and local affiliates that carry that network programming.

It appears that YouTube is grappling with both of those issues. It did not announce a specific start date, and the company said it would roll out the service first in markets where it had secured rights from local affiliates. It also did not identify those markets. And YouTube TV is missing some popular channels, like Time Warner’s HBO, CNN, TBS and TNT; Viacom’s Comedy Central and MTV; and Scripps Networks Interactive’s HGTV and Food Network.

YouTube’s incomplete lineup demonstrates how difficult it is to offer consumers what they want in a TV service while undercutting the prices offered by cable and satellite companies, said Jan Dawson, who runs the technology research firm Jackdaw.

“It highlights how resistant to disruption the TV broadcast industry is,” he said.

YouTube is joining a range of services targeting consumers who want to give up cable or satellite TV without losing access to live television. In the last few years, companies have unveiled competing services like Sony’s PlayStation Vue, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and Dish Network’s Sling TV. That does not include monthly subscription offerings like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.com or video services from premium TV networks like HBO and Showtime.

One appeal of so-called over-the-top services is that they theoretically offer consumers choice in selecting the channels they watch at a more affordable price than the traditional bundles offered by pay TV services.

One advantage for YouTube is that it is already the place where many young consumers who have never paid for a cable or satellite TV subscription get their content. On Monday, YouTube announced in a blog post that its viewers were watching more than one billion hours of videos a day.

Best Buy to stop selling CDs

Best Buy, formerly one of the biggest music merchandisers in the United States, has plans to pull CDs from all of its stores by July 1, Billboard reported.

Target could be the next retailer to do so, as it's now demanding that music suppliers sell them inventory on a consignment basis and pay for unsold inventory. One music manufacturer is leaning towards saying no to this deal, according to Billboard.


This should come as no big surprise — between streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify taking over and vinyl returning to popularity, there doesn't seem to be much of a place for CDs anymore. Over 800 million CDs were sold in the United States in 2001, but that number has since dropped down to 89 million, according to Consequence of Sound.

***

[OK, when's the clearance sale?]