Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, and this is Cord Cutter Weekly, my newsletter on how to save money on TV and make the most of streaming. Sign up here if someone shared this newsletter with you.
Amazon’s Fire TV piracy crackdown is a problem for everyone
Jared Newman | 
The dirty secret with Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks is that they’re great for piracy, but maybe not for much longer.
Amazon confirmed this week that it will block Fire TV apps that provide access to pirated content, including apps that users sideload onto their devices from outside Amazon’s Appstore. Amazon is working with Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), an anti-piracy coalition for the entertainment industry, to identify offending apps.
If you’re not using a Fire TV device for anything illicit, you might not see the problem. But the move is also part of a broader push by Amazon to lock down what people can do with their devices, for legitimate purposes or not. Those who bought a Fire TV with the expectation of an open platform may soon wind up with a different kind of device entirely.
A streaming service you control
While I’ve set up all kinds of technology at home over the years, none of it makes me prouder than my personal media server, which streams movies, TV shows, and music from a little Mac Mini in my office.
This week for Advisorator members, I’ve just published an in-depth guide to building your own media server. In this guide you will learn about:
- Why you should consider running a media server (and the trade-offs of doing so).
- My personal media server setup and how it works.
- How to gather content for your own media server.
- Server hardware and software to consider.
- Extra tips to keep things running smoothly.
The guide is part of a growing collection of streaming and cord cutting resources for Advisorator members. Please consider subscribing to support my work and unlock more useful tech advice from me. Thank you!
Weekly rewind
The YouTube-Disney fight drags on: We’re now a full week into the carriage dispute that blacked out ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels on YouTube TV. The only official update we’ve gotten is YouTube’s public rejection of Disney’s request to carry ABC coverage on election night, though an unnamed executive also told Deadline last Friday that Disney is being “unnecessarily aggressive.”
Disney movies have also quietly become unavailable to buy or rent on Google’s platforms, including YouTube and the Google Play Store.
Meanwhile, I’m wondering what happened to the $20 credit YouTube promised if Disney’s channels became unavailable for “an extended period of time.” A Disney spokesperson wouldn’t tell me what that threshold is, but I think a full week without football coverage ought to qualify.
(Some users have reported getting $10 off the next six months by initiating a cancellation process on YouTube TV’s website, though YouTube says that offer is unrelated to the Disney dispute. Still worth trying!)
Google abandons Movies Everywhere: If you bought a movie through YouTube’s video store or the Google Play Store, you can no longer watch it through other apps such as Prime Video, Apple TV, or Fandango. That’s because Google is no longer supporting the Disney-owned Movies Anywhere initiative that consolidates your video purchases from various online stores.
It’s unclear if the move is related to the YouTube carriage dispute, the removal of Disney movies from Google’s purchase and rental storefronts, or both. Either way it makes the concept of purchasing a digital movie feel even less like actual ownership.
Channels DVR update: Speaking of media servers, the Channels app got a hefty update on Apple devices last week, adding rich cover art and bringing its breakthrough multiview feature out of beta. There’s also an experimental feature for skipping intros and credits.
More catch-up
- Spotify’s Apple TV app now supports video podcasts.
- Disney+ adds HDR10+ support.
- Fubo launches its own streaming subscription store, in case you didn’t think there were too many ways to pay for TV already.
Save more money
This section of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up buying or subscribing to something.
So much for that Hulu + Live TV deal ending on November 5. With the YouTube TV blackout still ongoing, Disney has extended the offer on its own live TV service through November 18. You can get three months for $65 per month, down from the usual $90, and it slots in well as a YouTube TV alternative with ESPN+, Disney+, and Hulu’s on-demand catalog included at no extra charge.
Other notable deals:
- DirecTV’s genre packs are still on sale, including two months of MySports for $60 per month or two months of MyEntertainment for $30 per month.
- ICYMI: Get half-off a year of Hallmark+ with promo code SAVE50NOW. (Annual plan only.)
As always, I maintain a full list of active deals on my website.
What about Black Friday? I don’t have any advance notice of any deals that might be offered this year, but consider cancelling some subscriptions now to open yourself up to potential discounts. (I’ve also heard that Peacock is offering deals to folks who cancel in the range of $30 to $40 for the next year.) Once I start hearing about Black Friday deals, I’ll be sure to write about them.
Thanks for reading!
Got questions? Let me know!
Until next week,
Jared