With the arrival of Google’s Internet TV service, YouTube TV, a few months ago, the market for people who want to watch popular cable channels without a cable subscription has never been more crowded. But none of the services—which range from Sony’s Playstation Vue to AT&T’s DirecTV Now to Dish Network’s Sling TV—have the same package of channels. That makes it hard to choose among the services, which can cost anywhere from $15 a month to $79.
But new analysis from DVR maker TiVo combined survey data about the most desirable channels with the lineups at all of the major Internet TV services. Asked which channels they would most want in an a la carte package, in addition to the four major networks, the most consumers selected the Discovery Channel, followed by the History Channel and FX. After survey respondents ranked dozens of possible selections, researchers pinpointed a core of 27 channels consumers most wanted in their bundle.
Comparing the dream bundle to the realities on the market, the top rated service was AT&T’s (T) mid-tier DirecTV Now “Just Right” option, which has about 80 channels and costs $50 a month (or $25 for subscribers to AT&T’s unlimited wireless plan). The service covered 85% of the most wanted channels. AT&T’s $15 cheaper “Live a little” 60 channel bundle placed second with 82% coverage, followed by Dish’s (DISH) $40-per-month Sling TV “combined” package at 67%.
Hulu TV, the new $40 offering from the streaming service owned by some of the major broadcast networks, placed fourth with 63% of the most wanted channels. Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation Vue service, which costs $39, was next at 59%. Sling’s slimmer and less expensive blue and orange offerings were next, at 56% and 44% respectively. And in last place, covering just 37% of wanted channels, was Google’s (GOOGL) $35 Youtube TV service.
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The survey also looked at the phenomenon of cord cutting, or people who don’t pay for cable or satellite TV service anymore. Asked if there was a chance of leaving their pay TV provider,
Among the 16% respondents who said they already did not subscribe to pay TV, 85% cited cost as a main reason why, 46% said they used an Internet streaming service like Netflix (NFLX) and 22% said they used an antenna to watch broadcast stations for free, and 16% said they preferred binge-watching an entire TV series all at one time. Respondents could give more than answer.
The survey included 3,069 adults in the United States and Canada, Tivo (TIVO) said.