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.

Disney might kill the best streaming idea in years

Jared Newman   |   August 29, 2025

The best way to watch Monday Night Football without paying for a full TV package or ESPN subscription could be short-lived if Disney gets its way.

Disney is suing Sling TV over its Day Passes, which provide access to Sling’s Orange bundle (including Disney-owned ESPN and more than 30 other channels) for $5, with weekend and weeklong passes also available for $10 and $15, respectively. By comparison, a full month of Sling Orange costs $46, and ESPN’s new streaming service costs $30 per month on its own.

With Day Passes, Sling is solving a real problem with sports streaming: Even if you’re only interested in a single game, you still have to pay for an entire month of service. Programmers like Disney should be embracing this approach to reach audiences who otherwise might not pay anything, but they’re too shortsighted to realize it.

Read the full column →

Streaming DVR guide and more

This week, I’ve got a few new and updated guides for Advisorator members, including one directly related to cord cutting:

Streaming DVR explained: After a decade of writing about streaming and cord cutting, DVR is still the thing people ask me about the most. This guide explains every available way to record shows for later and skip the commercials—and how to approximate that experience with services that don’t do DVR directly. Read it here →

(You’ll notice I’ve also added a “Streaming and Cord Cutting” section to my list of guides. I’ll continue to fill out this section for Advisorator members as a complement to Cord Cutter Weekly.)

Two-factor authentication done right: This one is all about how to protect your online accounts with an extra layer of security, why the verification codes you might get via text message aren’t ideal, and what you can do instead.

What to look for in a laptop: I wrote this one last year, but just made some updates for clarity and concision. “What laptop should I buy?” is a complicated question, and this guide gives you the knowledge to answer it with confidence.

An Advisorator membership gets you access to all the guides and tutorials I’ve ever written. You can even sign up for a month and read everything. I’d really appreciate your support!

Weekly rewind

Fubo’s cheaper sports bundle: Fubo’s long-awaited sports and broadcast package is launching on September 2. For $56 per month (with $10 off the first month), Fubo Sports will include ABC, CBS, Fox, ESPN channels, Fox’s sports and news channels (including Big Ten Network), NFL Network, Tennis Channel, ION, and Fubo Sports Network. ESPN+ is included as well.

The notable omissions are NBC and Warner-owned channels, which seems fine with me. You could always subscribe separately to Peacock and/or HBO Max in the months where they had something worth watching, or wait for the inevitable Black Friday deals.

YouTube TV’s Fox fight: Earlier this week, YouTube TV started warning users that it would lose Fox channels on Thursday if the two companies couldn’t reach a new carriage agreement. Instead, the companies agreed to a short-term extension to avert a blackout, then inked a deal early Friday.

There’s no mention of it, but I wonder if YouTube is negotiating for the kinds of slimmer packages we’re seeing from DirecTV, Sling, and now Fubo. Without any cheaper alternatives to its main $83 per month package, YouTube TV is starting to seem behind the times.

Monthly Sunday Ticket: YouTube has decided to sell a true monthly option for NFL Sunday Ticket this year, not just a full season split into monthly installments. The flexibility will cost you, though. Here’s the breakdown:

  • New users: $85 per month, or $278 for the season, with or without YouTube TV.
  • Returning users, just Sunday Ticket: $145 per month, or $480 for the season.
  • Returning users, bundled with YouTube TV: $115 per month, or $378 for the season. (YouTube TV is $83 per month extra.)

The monthly plan only works out if you subscribe to Sunday Ticket for three months or less. Otherwise, you’ll wind up paying more.

More catch-up

Save more money

This part of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up buying or signing up for something.

Paramount+: Okay, I have a new Paramount+ code for you, but with two caveats: It’s for new subscribers only, and only on the “Essential” ad-supported plan. If you’re willing to make a new account, you can use the code TIVA to extend the usual seven-day trial to 30 days instead. Better than nothing, I guess.

Disney streaming: Earlier this month I mentioned that you can get a $10 monthly credit on Disney+, Hulu, and/or ESPN with an AmEx Blue Cash Preferred card, which has a $95 annual fee after the first year. If that card’s benefits aren’t worth the cost to you, the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday card gives you a $7 monthly credit toward Disney’s services with no annual fee. Thanks to everyone who pointed this out!

Other notable deals:

As always, I keep a full list of updated deals on the Cord Cutter Weekly website.

Thanks for reading!

Got cord cutting questions for me? Just reply to this email to get in touch. Advisorator members can also discuss this newsletter and other cord cutting topics in the Tech Buds forum.

Until next week,
Jared