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Comment by halayli | Hacker News Reader

Being asked for a zip code shows that not even youtube is able to change the old broadcasting business model.

The day will come when TV streaming businesses takes over and removes the virtual location barriers set by the industry.

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No kidding. The moment I saw the zip code requirement I knew it was going to be pointless.

Not only that but $35? Come on. There's not $35 worth of programming there. It's just the same old dumbed down broadcast TV that has been in decline for over a decade.

Compared to Netflix, Amazon, and even YouTube shows ABC, NBC, Fox et al just plain suck. As proof, after watching an awesome trailer for some new sci-fi show you may be totally pumped up to watch it until at the end when they announce, "only on ABC!"

"Well shit. So much potential, ruined."

At $35 per month, and since I can skip all ads... That might be something. (The Verge confirms you can skip ads [1].)

And the DVR forever thing... That might be very nice, especially if they put up tons of old stuff...

Plus, NOT paying my cable provider is worth a lot.

...and if this offers a way to Download content to my phone, to watch offline...?

[1] http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/28/14750894/youtube-streaming...

> and I can skip all ads

For all $ > 0 the number of ads should already be zero.

Does it say it will be ad-free? If it is that would be worth $35 to me.

Sorry, I'm saying "IF". IF, then yes, it'd be worth it to me, too.

The Verge confirms you can skip ads:

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/28/14750894/youtube-streaming....

> and I can skip all ads...

Where are you seeing that? If it's anything like Sling or PS Vue you're not skipping ads, you're streaming live TV.

The Verge confirms you can skip ads:

http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/28/14750894/youtube-streaming...

And it's got an infinite DVR. I almost never get to actually watch TV live. Hell, even when I watch TV live, I prefer to pause, go to the bathroom, get something to drink, and then skip commercials.

I'm just saying - if I can skip commercials automatically, or without much pain, that'd be very nice.

The ad skipping sounds just for the DVR. Which is fine for shows you don't need to see live, but you're not doing it for sports or first-run content (what would you even be skipping to?).

AT&T's version of this, which coincidentally also costs $35/mo includes all the ads.

I kind of assumed that at $35/month, there were no ads. You have to skip them? Seems to me that YouTube wants to have its cake and eat it too.

It's basic cable with unlimited DVR, but bring-your-own data pipe.

According to the blog [1], the DVR lasts 9 months. Which is much better than the competitors, but not "forever".

1. https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/finally-live-tv-made-... "we’ll store each of your recordings for nine months."

Maybe I'm odd but Jeopardy and local news without a TV would be worth $35.

At $35/mo, after 1 year you'll have spent $420. You can get a decent sized TV and an antenna for less than that, and enjoy free news/Jeopardy for many years afterwards.

I think his point was being able to watch them without using a TV and antenna.

I don't see why you would pay $35 a month though when you could get something like an HDHomerun and plug an antenna up to it. Or use an antenna, digital tuner and capture card and wire up your own solution.

The only advantage I see of YTTV is ESPN, so for some people that is probably enough to justify it.

Everyone always talks about antenna, but it's not for everyone. Living in an apartment in NYC, I never, ever got decent coverage with an antenna.

They say "no need for a DVR" so I assume that you will get time-shifted content. That's not free. Also, watching 3 shows simultaneously (on devices I already own) is useful.

And for those of us cord-cutters who have been missing live sports this is a nice option.

[EDIT: 3 simultaneous streams, not 6]

Or a usb TV receiver for less than $100, watch it on ya 'pooter!

FWIW you can buy TV antennas / tuner cards for not-too-expensive (especially after comparing that monthly cost after a few months / a year). Though that is one more peripheral to carry around if you want to be mobile, so it's not exactly equivalent :)

That's exactly why I gave in and paid for basic cable. Which ends up costing $17.76 ($10 HD fee, $5 broadcast TV fee, $2.76 taxes and fees). For access to free content.

I also bought a good indoor broadcast TV antenna. A winegard one, I think. And it normally works great, but it's only 90% reliable.

I wouldn't pay the extra $17.24 for nothing, but I'd like to watch some sports too.

Judging by how much people currently pay for cable, there is more than $35/mo worth of programming there. Perhaps not to you, but that just means you aren't the customer for this product.

> As proof, after watching an awesome trailer for some new sci-fi show you may be totally pumped up to watch it until at the end when they announce, "only on ABC!"

Legion is pretty good. Legion is on FX. FX is on YouTube TV. To be honest I'm struggling to come up with too many recent sci-fi shows that don't entirely suck, irrespective of where they're being made.

PlayStation Vue has packages for $35/mo that include FOX, ABC, etc plus a healthy selection of channels not available OTA (including FX, etc).

YouTube's marketing here is pretty crappy, but if they're actually trying to just sell access to OTA network content for $35/mo they are insane.

> if they're actually trying to just sell access to OTA network content for $35/mo they are insane.

Which they aren't. It includes (probably) the exact same "healthy selection of channels not available OTA (including FX, etc)" as PlayStation.

But we don't know that. All they've told us are the OTA channels.

Blog post lists more: https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/finally-live-tv-made-...

Cool, you would think they would advertise a larger channel lineup on their landing page instead of the rather spartan "Stream ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC & more." - it certainly didn't make me think "oh, let's go look at the YouTube blog to find out what else they may be including" nor was there any guidance to check.

thanks for that, confirming that BTN is offered will help me convince the wife, if she can't see her Nebraska Cornhusker Football it would be a non-starter.

> To be honest I'm struggling to come up with too many recent sci-fi shows that don't entirely suck, irrespective of where they're being made.

I'd have to disagree. Westworld, Rick and Morty, The 100, The Expanse, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, Outlander, and Sense8 come to mind as great recent Sci-Fi shows in active development. That's without mentioning the numerous high-caliber super hero shows recently released/coming soon.

I know this is off topic, but I really disagree about the quality of broadcast TV. Hannibal and The Good Place are both beautifully shot, very distinctive, and highly ambitious, and both came out of NBC. Speechless is on ABC, and while it's a pretty by the book family sitcom, I still think it's funnier than anything else on right now.

I don't understand, you can just torrent it for free?

Because torrents are illegal?

Can you get arrested for torrenting?

In the US it's a civil offense, not criminal. So, the answer is it depends on where you are.

Why would I pay $35 a month to stream broadcast channels that are freely available in HD over the air in my area?

It's one thing if they provided something like Netflix. But it's absolutely bonkers that they're selling what is already a free resource. What's the value-add?

DVR functionality? Thinking this is more of a Hulu competitor with live events rather than simply an antenna... probably more of a viable alternative for local sports fans who want to ditch cable?

"It's one thing if they provided something like Netflix. But it's absolutely bonkers that they're selling what is already a free resource. What's the value-add?"

• 6 users can watch on their own devices simultaneously. • Unlimited Cloud DVR.

^^ value add

ah, 6 users means the service costs as little as $5.83 if you do it right.

Doubtful, outside of single-household sharing; I'd be very surprised if they got to avoid the contractual terms that limit your ability to share a PS Vue account in the same way - you have to activate a "home device" to anchor the account and regularly using six different devices in different locations would probably trigger some sort of fraud check.

You can have 6 user "accounts", but only three simultaneous streams.

They're adding a lot more than just over the air broadcast channels. For someone that likes watching live sports on occasion, this is a decent offering (the omission of TNT and TBS is odd though).

Channels offered: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wZJuVdp0HaH4GQiB-XNVz76qkd...

Maybe read the blog post first before commenting?

https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/02/finally-live-tv-made-...

As one example, I predict the [NFL TV Blackout Policies][] are partially driving the zip code requirement. YouTube is certainly big, but so are the pro sports leagues.

[NFL TV Blackout Policies]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_telev...

My guess is they're asking for a zip code to see in which areas there's enough demand to negotiate with local news stations. I know a few people that only keep cable because of the local news stations.

Why would you keep cable just for local news? Just hook up an antenna and your done for $20 one time.

That works if you're close enough to pick anything up. Where I live, I can get OTA hdtv no problem, with a piece of wire for an antenna indoors. Where my parents live they can pick up a single channel with a directional Yagi mounted on the roof. (Not an exaggeration, we tried)

It could be to gather data to be able to negotiate deals with local TV providers. Get an idea of what the demand in a market is and go from there.

Hmmm... Some people like local news, local commercials... And this is probably necessary to respect black-outs for sports.

I'd bet that's simply due to advertising. Advertising within TV is insanely tied to location, and we're just now starting to figure out online advertising. TV has country, local, regional, etc ratings and reach to judge ads and prices by.. i'm not sure how much, if any of that, is standardized by advertising.

It's written in the law too, mind you, so i'd be curious if online advertising ends up with some standards that providers have to adhere to. Ie, allowing regional ads, knowing the reach, etc.

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