It goes something like this: Back in the day, all you needed to cut cable TV was a subscription to Netflix, and you could watch a virtually limitless number of shows from all your favorite channels. Now, all those shows are leaving Netflix as networks launch their own steaming services. Cord-cutting is doomed!

To that, I offer a simple counterpoint: Just quit Netflix for Hulu. While the former is pumping out record amounts of original programming, the latter is becoming a haven for many of the network TV shows that people claim to be missing. And while Netflix is raising prices–a price hike announced in January will hit current subscribers on May 1–Hulu just became cheaper than ever at $6 per month. If you weep for what Netflix used to be, perhaps Hulu will fill that hole in your heart. Read the full column on TechHive.

Viacom’s return changes the calculus on the major DirecTV Now plan changes I wrote about last month. While the new stripped-down packages are still a bad deal if you don’t care about Viacom’s offerings, no other live TV streaming service currently offers those channels alongside complete local broadcast coverage in many markets. Families who can’t live without Nick Jr. might want to take another look at DirecTV Now … now.

T-Mobile and Viacom link up: Speaking of Viacom, T-Mobile says it’s reached some sort of streaming video deal with the cable network. It’s unclear exactly what the two companies will offer, but a press release mentions “live linear feeds of Viacom channels as well as a broad range of on-demand content.”

You may recall that T-Mobile recently walked back plans to launch a bundle of live TV channels, suggesting that it would instead sell subscriptions to individual video services. While I’ve been skeptical of what T-Mobile might put together, the ability to purchase Viacom channels on their own would be intriguing, if that is indeed what’s being hinted at here. With no details forthcoming from T-Mobile on timing, pricing, or potential strings attached, I’d still take the carrier’s claims of TV disruption with a grain of salt.

HDHomeRun Premium TV no more: This one slipped past me late last week, but SiliconDust has discontinued its HDHomeRun Premium TV service, which for $35 per month combined streaming cable channels with over-the-air broadcasts from an HDHomeRun tuner. The offering was unique in that it let users record cable channels onto a local hard drive, allowing for DVR without any of the time limits or ad-skipping restrictions you get with other live TV streaming services.

SiliconDust’s partner on Premium TV was an obscure company called Omniverse One World Television, which apparently had been exploiting an unusual old pay TV contract to provide cable channel streams to a bunch of similar-looking services. A consortium of Hollywood studios and tech companies sued Omniverse for copyright infringement in February, and Amazon subsequently pulled HDHomeRun’s app from its store. I’m guessing Amazon’s imposition was the last straw for SiliconDust, as the service had also been going through several outages and technical glitches.

HDHomeRun’s app is now back in Amazon’s store, so you can use it to watch over-the-air channels with an HDHomeRun tuner. The Premium TV add-on always seemed a little too good to be true, but I still hope someone can figure out how to offer local DVR for streaming cable channels in a way that’s on firmer legal footing. Maybe TiVo can get it done.

It looks like Amazon’s “renewed” model comes with a 90-day warranty. If you’re uneasy about that, Newegg is selling the HDHomeRun Quatro in brand-new condition for $120.