While you might not need an antenna to cut the cable cord, using one can provide additional channels, more expansive DVR options, and better video quality than what you’d get with streaming alone.
The problem is that an antenna, on its own, doesn’t integrate with the other streaming services you’re using. That means you’ll need to do a lot of switching between inputs or apps to watch everything.
With the right hardware and software, however, you can achieve the same kind of interface unity you once had with cable or satellite TV. If you long for the simplicity of having all your channels in one guide, I’ve put together a list of options over on TechHive. |
Sling’s Fox Sports net blackouts: In last week’s newsletter, I noted that Dish and Sling TV had temporarily avoided a blackout on regional Fox Sports networks (and the YES Network in New York). Those blackouts ended up kicking in a few hours later, leaving customers without regional sports in more than a dozen markets. And this week, Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen said it “doesn’t look good that the regional sports will ever be on Dish again.”
That could just be bluster, but as Sports Business Daily notes, Dish has a reputation for playing hardball in carriage negotiations, and still isn’t carrying HBO after failing to reach an agreement with the network last fall. In the meantime, cord-cutters have plenty of other ways to watch those regional sports networks–they’re available on YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, FuboTV, and DirecTV Now–but none are as cheap as Sling’s $25 per month Blue plan.
DirecTV Now name change: Later this summer, AT&T will rebrand DirecTV Now as AT&T TV Now. The name change will coincide with a new (and separate) streaming service called AT&T TV, which will use the same app as AT&T TV Now, but will only be available through an Android-based set-top box that AT&T plans to sell. All of which means AT&T’s streaming lineup will soon look like this:
- AT&T TV Now: Bundle of cable channels available on a range of streaming devices
- AT&T TV: Larger bundle of channels only available on a streaming box made by AT&T
- AT&T Watch TV: Small bundle of channels for $15 per month, or free to certain AT&T wireless subscribers
- HBO Max: Separate streaming service with HBO and other WarnerMedia content, coming next year
Still unclear, however, is why AT&T is going through all this confusing rebranding in the first place. DirecTV may not be a beloved consumer brand at this point, but it’s not like AT&T is much better.
Locast gets sued: After a year and a half of streaming local broadcast channels for free in major U.S. cities, Locast is getting sued by ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. Locast claims that it can legally retransmit local channels by operating as a non-profit, and the networks seemed to be letting that argument slide while the group was only serving individuals.
Lately, though, Locast has been cozying up with AT&T and Dish Network, accepting a $500,000 donation from the former and getting its app onto both companies’ set-top boxes. AT&T and Dish, in turn, have used Locast as leverage in their negotiations with the networks, knowing that customers can still get local channels for free (at least in some markets) if retransmission talks derail. Instead of just serving the occasional cord-cutter, Locast has become a threat to the $10 billion retransmission fee business. The networks argue that Locast isn’t really a non-profit because it’s serving commercial interests.
I can’t say whether that argument will hold up in court, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens either way. In January, Locast founder David Goodfriend told the New York Times that he’d welcome a legal challenge, presumably because it might help set a legal precedent for streaming free broadcast channels. Now, he’s getting what he wished for. |