T-Mobile’s new TVision service is cheaper and more flexible than other live streaming options such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, mainly because keeps most entertainment channels in a separate bundle from news, sports, and local channels. Bundling the former will cost $10 per month, while the latter will start at $40 per month, and you can combine them if you’d rather have it all. While other services like YouTube TV keep adding more mandatory channels, T-Mobile’s approach makes a lot more sense.

T-Mobile’s also launching its own streaming device, called the TVision Hub, whose remote control and interface resemble what you’d get with a cable box. That could make it an inviting gateway to cord-cutting for folks who don’t want to lose familiar cable features.

Does any of this qualify as disruptive? Perhaps not, but it still represents what live TV streaming needs right now. Read the full column on TechHive.

By now, you know the rationale: Netflix keeps spending more money to make sure it has more to watch than nearly all of its competitors—its budget was $17 billion this year—and that money has to come from somewhere other than selling junk bonds. Because of all that content, the company is betting that most people will keep the service year-round instead of cycling in and out for specific shows—and it’s probably right.

The changing world of sports streaming: At the risk of reaching, I’m going to try tying together three recent stories that all share a common thread.

The first is this CNBC story about major media companies reckoning with the decline of pay TV bundles. After losing 25 million customers since 2012, the industry is hoping subscriptions will only lose about 25 million more over the next five years before stabilizing around 50 million households. But that projection, as the story notes, might be overly rosy: “[C]ertain networks, like ESPN, which keep millions of Americans hooked to cable today, may need to pull back on programming costs if too many people cancel. That will only cause more people to cancel.”

The second is this deep dive by Multichannel News into the financial situation for Sinclair and its regional Fox Sports networks. Because of the pandemic and ever-increasing carriage fees, Sinclair has found its sports networks cast out of most live TV streaming services (including Hulu, which dropped the networks last week). Now, that business is falling deeper into debt with no real prospects for growth, especially as overall pay TV subscriptions sink (per above). That could lead to separate reckoning for how sports are packaged for cord-cutters. “At some point, you have to be thinking, ‘how do we offer this on a streaming basis as well,'” one sports executive said.

Finally, there’s this little story on The Streamable about NBC moving its Rugby Pass coverage from NBC Sports Gold (where it cost $70 per season) to Peacock as part of its $5 per month Premium tier. NBC has previously done the same for Premiere League Pass and Figure Skating Pass, which had respectively cost $65 per year and $60 per year as standalone offerings.

It’s no secret that standalone streaming services like Peacock, ESPN+, and CBS All Access are becoming bigger homes for sports. These services combined already have close to 50 million users—the supposed stabilization point for pay TV—and unlike big channel bundles, their audience is actually growing. The big question has always been at what point major sports coverage—like the kind Sinclair offers—will also make the leap. It may not take as long as you think.

I’m still working on my review of these two devices, but in the meantime I’d suggest spending a little more on the regular Fire TV Stick. While both devices have the same processing power and are much faster than older versions, the Lite model doesn’t have volume or power buttons on its remote control, which really are worth the extra $10.

If you need 4K HDR video support, the Fire TV Stick 4K is also on sale, returning to its Prime Day price of $30 at both Amazon and Best Buy.