Editor’s note: In April 2019, YouTube TV increased its monthly price to $50 and added eight Discovery-owned networks: Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Travel Channel and MotorTrend. Learn more here.
Sling TV and Hulu with Live TV are two popular alternatives to traditional cable and satellite television, but YouTube TV is money expert Clark Howard’s favorite live TV streaming service — hands down.
For $40 a month, YouTube TV provides more than 60 live TV networks, including local news and sports.
Cord-cutters: We want to switch to YouTube TV, but why isn’t HGTV included in the channel lineup?
The thing about any of the live TV streaming services in the $40 a month range is that you’re getting fewer channels compared to cable, so it’s important to review the channel lineups to see what’s best for your family’s needs.
With YouTube TV specifically, we’re hearing a lot from people in the cord-cutting community that the absence of HGTV is a deal-breaker.
There’s even a Reddit thread about YouTube TV that’s titled “Please get HGTV.” The author wrote, “I want to give YTTV my monies so bad. I just need that channel to get my wife on board.”
Clark’s channel comparison chart shows that it’s more than just HGTV missing from YouTube TV. Other Discovery Communications networks like Discovery, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet and OWN are also excluded.
Many of YouTube TV’s streaming competitors have those networks, but what do you do if you want YouTube TV and HGTV? I’ve come up with a solution…
You can supplement your YouTube TV subscription with one of the two cheapest live TV streaming services. AT&T WatchTV ($15/month) and Philo ($16/month) both include HGTV and many more lifestyle channels.
In fact, AT&T WatchTV and Philo also have A&E and History, two other networks that YouTube TV doesn’t include.
AT&T WatchTV channel lineup ($15/month)
- A&E
- AMC
- Animal Planet
- Audience
- BBC World News
- BBC America
- Boomerang
- Cartoon Network
- CNN
- Discovery
- Food Network
- FYI
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- HGTV
- History
- HLN
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Lifetime Movies
- OWN
- Sundance TV
- TBS
- TCM
- TLC
- TNT
- TruTV
- Velocity
- Viceland
- WE TV
Philo channel lineup ($16/month)
- A&E
- AMC
- Animal Planet
- AXS TV
- BBC America
- BBC World News
- BET
- Cheddar Business
- Cheddar News
- CMT
- Comedy Central
- Discovery Channel
- DIY Network
- Food Network
- FYI
- Game Show Network
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Drama
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- HGTV
- History
- IFC
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Lifetime Movies
- Motor Trend
- MTV
- MTV Classic
- MTV2
- Nick Jr.
- Nickelodeon
- Oprah Winfrey Network
- Paramount Network
- PeopleTV
- Science Channel
- Sundance TV
- Tastemade
- TeenNick
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- TV Land
- VH1
- Viceland
- WE tv
The strength in YouTube TV’s channel lineup is with sports networks like ESPN, Fox Sports 1 & 2, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, MLB Network, NBCSN, SEC Network, NBA TV and more.
If you combine YouTube TV with one of the two options I’ve presented, your monthly bill is still only $55 or $56.
Considering the fact that the average U.S. household pays more than $100/month for a cable subscription, you could sign up for multiple live TV streaming services and still save a lot of money!
Get started today: Make a list of your must-have channels and use our comparison chart to find the best bundle!
