With YouTube TV’srecent price hike, I decided to check out Fubo TV, and I enjoy it for the most part. I get the channels I want, and it works on all my devices – all at a cheaper price than YouTube. I imagine a lot of people would have the same experience, but that doesn’t mean everything’s perfect.
If you buy a TV in 2025, or bought one in the past few years, there’s a good chance it has a4K display. This resolution is becoming the norm more and more each day, and while your typical cable network doesn’t broadcast in 4K, many services have the option to opt for a 4K plan that sees certain channels bump up the resolution.
YouTube TV broadcasts in 1080p, and while it’s not 4K, it’s not something that acts as a detriment to the viewing experience. Something that has been tough for me to adjust to, however, is the 720p output onFubo TV. This resolution doesn’t look particularly great on a 65-inch 4K TV, and while Fubo offers a lower price than YouTube TV, this could certainly prove to be a dealbreaker for many people.
224 channels
5 reasons YouTube TV didn’t work for me (and what I learned after canceling it)
YouTube TV didn’t make the cut for me, especially after it went up $10 in December. Here’s why.
Not the best viewing experience on Fubo
Quality takes a big hit
When it comes to cable, I don’t typically worry too much about the picture quality, considering I don’t watch movies there, but even I have limits. Seeing 720p blown up to 65 inches is one thing, but there are even more issues that come with it. Fast-paced programs like sports often lead to a pixelated picture in my experience, and it makes the already low 720p look worse.
It’s not as much of an issue when you’re watching a news station, but the main draw of Fubo for me was getting access to local sports again. It’s also a major selling point of the service, so seeing less-than-stellar quality is a bad feeling. I don’t want to do a ton of comparing, but it’s tough not to considering I went to Fubo directly after YouTube TV, so seeing the drop in quality was apparent right away.
You can mitigate the issues by watching on a small screen like a phone or tablet. I typically watch on my TV unless I’m in bed, so the vast majority of my watching is at the lower 720p resolution, where the problems are more obvious. Even if you get used to watching things in 720p, the blurriness on top of it is hard to avoid, and I can’t imagine many people wouldn’t notice that.
It’s a shame because I really like Fubo a lot, and even though it’s hardly cheaper than YouTube TV at this point, it’s still a difference of a few bucks that can add up over time. I just don’t knowhow much longer I can hangin there with the diminished quality. I hate to say it, but there’s a reason YouTube TV is the most expensive option, and it’s because it’s the best service – at least for what I’m looking for.
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YouTube Premium has more than a couple perks that make paying worth it.
Fubo still has some advantages
While Fubo doesn’t have the greatest quality, there are some areas where it comes ahead of its competition. In myreview of Fubo, I came across a very nice feature for multi-viewing. While YouTube TV offers this, it’s only with sports programs the service picks for you. Fubo lets you pick and choose what to watch, so you’re able to pair an NBA basketball game with a movie if you want. It’s not the ideal viewing, but it lets you easily flip back and forth between channels with ease. It’s cool with sports because a lot of times all you need is the score, so you don’t necessarily need the audio to go with it.
Outside of that, a big advantage Fubo has over its competition is the inclusion of regional sports networks. It’s an extra fee tacked onto the end of your payment process, and it varies by where you live, but it’s still cheaper than paying for the standalone FanDuel Sports Network app. For some people, these two features are well worth the dip in quality, and I thought the same for a little bit. I’m still a Fubo fan, but I’m finding out as time goes on that I appreciate a cleaner picture over everything.
It’s a double-edged sword of having one service fit a better role than another, but I can’t help but feel selfish and wish all the best features were in one place. Competition is good, but I don’t see why YouTube TV can’t just copy the way Fubo’s multi-stream works.
I tried both YouTube TV and Sling TV to see which one is actually worth it
If you’re on the fence about subscribing to either YouTube TV or Pluto TV, here are some of the major differences.
A tough decision
Where to go from here
Thanks to a steep discount, switching to Fubo has been worth it for at least a month, but I’m not sure if I want to stick with it going forward. Being able to watch local sports is nice, but it can only take me so far. As mainly an NBA fan, I won’t need that past April, which would lead me to check out other services. In all likelihood, I’d go back to YouTube TV, and I’m not sure if I’d look back from there.
Since the YouTube TV price hike at the tail end of 2024, I’ve been more willing to check out other platforms. That’s initially what led me to Fubo. I also picked upan indoor antennafor local stations, and it has been cool to try out. The antenna broadcasts a lot of networks at 480p, so the quality runs even lower than Fubo in most scenarios. Before the year is over, I have no doubt I’ll check out both Hulu Live TV and Sling TV just to get a sense of what’s good.
The worry is YouTube TV, the most expensive service, will reign above the others because of it being the most feature-rich and the platform with the highest quality. Ultimately, the service you land on comes down to personal preference, and I’d still recommend any of them over cable. The nice thing about Fubo, YouTube TV, and the other services is you’re not locked into a long subscription. you’re able to bounce around services as you please, and going off my example of staying with Fubo until April, I can cancel or pause the subscription and look at other services without paying a termination fee.
