Live streaming TV, the internet-based alternative to cable and satellite television, isn’t as massive a field as on-demand streaming. Including Netflix and Disney+, there are hundreds of on-demand services; there are fewer than 10 live TV streaming services available in the US.
Of those, Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV are the top dogs in our 2023 live TV streaming customer satisfaction survey, which asked 6,900 current subscribers, “How’s your stream?” We queried about user experience, pricing, the likelihood of sticking with their service, and more.
As in 2022, the results mostly mirror the editorial rankings of our own Best Live TV Streaming Services. We’re into that kind of validation.
Live TV streaming trends for 2023
Vidgo is on the rise, besting Hulu Live and YouTube TV in value and user experience
The relatively new live TV streaming service Vidgo made a strong showing this year, topping categories in user experience, reliability, and pricing (for reference, Vidgo didn’t even show up in our 2022 survey). Considering Vidgo doesn’t carry many of the popular channels that other live TV streamers do, that’s not bad.
| Service | Best user experience (Completely or very satisfied) | Most reliable (Completely or very satisfied) | Best bang for your buck (Completely or very satisfied) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vidgo | 83% | 83% | 77% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 82% | 77% | 72% |
| YouTube TV | 78% | 77% | 74% |
YouTube TV is the add-on king—not even counting NFL Sunday Ticket
YouTube TV offers over 40 add-on channel packages, and our survey respondents appreciate the options, placing it above Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV, neither of which are exactly lacking in add-on choices. Keep in mind, our survey was taken before YouTube TV secured the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket from DIRECTV.
| Service | How satisfied are you with your add-on channels? (Completely or very satisfied) |
|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 76% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 75% |
| Sling TV | 65% |
Despite price hikes, Hulu + Live TV customers are loyal
Unlike 2022, Hulu + Live TV edged out YouTube TV in most of our survey categories, including brand loyalty: 79% said they’d recommend Hulu + Live TV to a friend, as opposed to 78% for YouTube TV.
| Service | How likely are you to recommend your service to a friend? (Completely or very likely) |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 79% |
| YouTube TV | 78% |
| Philo | 75% |
Highest overall satisfaction
What is your overall satisfaction with your live TV streaming service?
One percentage point put Hulu + Live TV over YouTube TV in overall satisfaction this year, and fuboTV, Philo, and Sling TV improved their standings by 10 to 20 points from 2022. In CableTV.com’s editorial opinion, YouTube TV still offers a superior live TV streaming experience to Hulu + Live TV, but it’s a close race.
DIRECTV STREAM and Vidgo didn’t show up in our 2022 survey results, so their low rankings this time around are at least somewhat of an improvement.
| Service | Completely or very satisfied |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 81% |
| YouTube TV | 80% |
| fuboTV | 76% |
| Philo | 73% |
| Sling TV | 71% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 64% |
| Vidgo | 62% |
Hear from real Hulu + Live TV customers
I like Hulu + Live TV. I’ve used their streaming service for years, and they’ve always been great.
How well did your experience compare with your ideal of how a live TV streaming service should be?
Percentage of customers responding “Extremely close to the ideal”:
- Hulu + Live TV (79%)
- YouTube TV (78%)
- Vidgo (77%)
Another squeaker for Hulu + Live TV in a tight race, and it looks like most of the competition is living up to live TV streaming expectations. Vidgo scored nicely here, beating out longer-established player Philo by a point.
On the other hand, the low numbers for fuboTV, Sling TV, and DIRECTV STREAM show they might need to step up their respective games.
| Service | Extremely close to the ideal |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 79% |
| YouTube TV | 78% |
| Vidgo | 77% |
| Philo | 76% |
| fuboTV | 70% |
| Sling TV | 65% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 61% |
Hear from real DIRECTV STREAM customers
DIRECTV STREAM meets its purpose, but it’s expensive and the selection is terrible. They need to do better.
Best user experience
How satisfied are you with your user experience?
A big win for Vidgo in overall user experience, coming out of left field with an 83% approval rating and besting Hulu + Live TV by a point. One reason Vidgo is seen as simpler to use is that it has far fewer bells, whistles, and features than Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV.
YouTube TV, Philo, fuboTV, and Sling TV ranked closely in the middle and, as is the case for most of this survey, DIRECTV STREAM is at the bottom.
| Service | Completely or very satisfied |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 83% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 82% |
| YouTube TV | 78% |
| Philo | 74% |
| fuboTV | 72% |
| Sling TV | 71% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 66% |
Hear from real YouTube TV customers
YouTube TV has been the best TV service I’ve ever had. It’s reliable, and I’ve never had problems.
Best customer experience
How easy was it to use your live TV streaming service?
Percentage of customers responding “Extremely or very easy”:
- Hulu + Live TV (80%)
- YouTube TV (80%)
- Philo (75%)
Both Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV are a breeze to navigate, so their neck-and-neck showing here is no surprise.
But, Vidgo also has one of the simplest interfaces in live TV streaming, so it’s odd to see it down near last place.
| Service | Extremely + very easy |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 80% |
| YouTube TV | 80% |
| Philo | 75% |
| fuboTV | 74% |
| Sling TV | 73% |
| Vidgo | 69% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 62% |
How effective was your live TV streaming service at meeting your needs?
Percentage of customers responding “Extremely or very effective”:
- Vidgo (85%)
- YouTube TV (83%)
- Hulu + Live TV (80%)
We think of live TV streaming needs as a decent array of channels, a cloud DVR, and minimal outages—Vidgo checks all three boxes with customers.
We aren’t too surprised by the consistent middle-of-the-pack showings for fuboTV and Sling TV, as both fall behind Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV in CableTV.com’s own editorial rankings.
| Service | Extremely or very effective |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 85% |
| YouTube TV | 83% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 80% |
| Philo | 76% |
| Sling TV | 72% |
| fuboTV | 72% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 65% |
Hear from real Sling TV customers
Sling TV is a cheap service with a lot of options to watch. Great customer service.
How enjoyable were your interactions with your streaming service?
Percentage of customers responding “Extremely or very enjoyable”:
- Hulu + Live TV (82%)
- YouTube TV (81%)
- Philo (73%)
Hulu + Live TV is easy to sign up for, offering several subscription options, and its troubleshooting FAQ section is one of the most thorough we’ve seen in streaming. If something goes wrong with Hulu + Live TV, it’s usually a quick fix.
The same could be said of YouTube TV, which is quick to respond on its social media accounts with solutions to public complaints (we know, we’ve done it).
| Service | Extremely or very enjoyable |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 82% |
| YouTube TV | 81% |
| Philo | 73% |
| Sling TV | 70% |
| fuboTV | 70% |
| Vidgo | 69% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 63% |
Most reliable
How reliable is your live TV streaming service?
This is one of Philo’s highest rankings, just below Vidgo in reliability. In our reviews and experience, all of the live TV streaming services in this survey are reliable to a point. Glitches and outages happen, but live TV streaming suffers them less often than cable or satellite services.
| Service | Completely or very satisfied |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 83% |
| Philo | 78% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 77% |
| YouTube TV | 77% |
| fuboTV | 69% |
| Sling TV | 65% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 64% |
Best bang for your buck
Considering the quality of your live TV streaming service, how would you rate the price you pay for it?
Another Philo silver medal. It’s worth noting that Philo is the cheapest live TV streaming service with over 60 popular channels—at $25 a month, it costs about half of most of the competition.
While we do think that Vidgo is a good value, our editorial choice for best value still goes to Hulu + Live TV, thanks to its Disney+/ESPN+ bundle inclusion, unlimited cloud DVR space, and built-in Hulu library of movies and TV shows.
| Service | Completely or very satisfied |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 77% |
| Philo | 75% |
| YouTube TV | 74% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 72% |
| Sling TV | 69% |
| fuboTV | 61% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 60% |
Considering your expectations for your live TV streaming service, how would you rate the price you pay?
Percentage of customers responding “Excellent or good given the quality”:
- Philo (75%)
- Hulu + Live TV (74%)
- YouTube TV (71%)
Like we said, Philo gives you plenty of channels for just $25 a month. Subscribers don’t seem to mind that Philo doesn’t carry any sports or local channels.
Vidgo’s dead-last showing here is probably due to a lack of channels—it costs nearly as much as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV, but it’s lacking several popular channels in its lineup (including TBS, TNT, and CNN).
| Service | Excellent or good given the quality |
|---|---|
| Philo | 75% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 74% |
| YouTube TV | 71% |
| Sling TV | 69% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 60% |
| fuboTV | 58% |
| Vidgo | 54% |
Hear from real Philo customers
Philo is especially fair in pricing, and if you can’t make the payment right on time, they give you a grace period.
How happy are you with the price you pay for your live TV streaming service?
Percentage of customers responding “Excellent or good given the quality”:
- Vidgo (77%)
- Philo (75%)
- YouTube TV (74%)
Vidgo’s back on top. Subscribers may not get all of the channels of other services, but they do get the ones they want, like ESPN, Hallmark, and A&E. Vidgo’s focus on sports and family programming has paid off.
As we’ve mentioned several times in this overview, you can’t beat Philo’s price for what you get, especially if you’re a fan of reality shows and lifestyle entertainment.
| Service | Excellent or good given the quality |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 77% |
| Philo | 75% |
| YouTube TV | 74% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 72% |
| Sling TV | 69% |
| fuboTV | 61% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 60% |
How satisfied are you with your add-on channels?
Percentage of customers responding “Completely or very satisfied”:
- YouTube TV (76%)
- Hulu + Live TV (75%)
- Vidgo (75%)
It’s tough to beat YouTube TV’s add-on channel game, and the recently announced acquisition of the NFL Sunday Ticket from DIRECTV easily seals the deal.
The one live TV streaming service that can almost challenge YouTube TV in add-ons volume is Sling TV, but it sits down at just 65%.
| Service | Completely or very satisfied |
|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 76% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 75% |
| Vidgo | 75% |
| fuboTV | 71% |
| Philo | 71% |
| Sling TV | 65% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 61% |
Hear from real fuboTV customers
fuboTV doesn’t have TBS, and we’re having buffering problems. I’m not very happy with the service lately.
Highest customer loyalty
How likely are you to recommend your live TV streaming service to a friend?
A curious second-place drop for YouTube TV from last year, especially considering that the service will literally give you money for referring a friend. As suspected, Hulu + Live TV fans are ride-or-die.
DIRECTV STREAM at 55% loyalty? Ouch. It’s probably less a question of quality than money: DIRECTV STREAM’s more channel-loaded plans, the ones that compare favorably to YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, cost more than either of those services but provide none of the extras (like unlimited cloud DVR space and Hulu’s on-demand library).
| Service | Completely or very likely |
|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | 79% |
| YouTube TV | 78% |
| Philo | 75% |
| Sling TV | 73% |
| Vidgo | 69% |
| fuboTV | 67% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 55% |
How likely are you to continue to subscribe to your live TV streaming service?
Percentage of customers responding “Completely or very likely”:
- YouTube TV (78%)
- Hulu + Live TV (77%)
- Philo (75%)
YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV offer the most complete channel lineups, well-rounded arrays that include popular entertainment, sports, and news programming, as well as local channels. Why wouldn’t subscribers stick with them?
Philo’s ongoing low price is the reason for its third-place showing here—it has no sports or local channels, but it’s still cheap.
| Service | Completely or very likely |
|---|---|
| YouTube TV | 78% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 77% |
| Philo | 75% |
| Sling TV | 71% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 65% |
| fuboTV | 62% |
| Vidgo | 46% |
How likely are you to increase the amount you pay for your live TV streaming service?
Percentage of customers responding “Completely or very likely”:
- Vidgo (54%)
- YouTube TV (50%)
- Hulu + Live TV (45%)
Subscription price increases are inevitable, but some are coming sooner than others. It’s been a couple of years since YouTube TV raised its rate, and we think 2023 will see it go up.
On the other hand, we don’t predict any price hikes for the rest of the pack this year—except maybe Philo, which has been holding steady at $25 a month since 2021.
| Service | Completely or very likely |
|---|---|
| Vidgo | 54% |
| YouTube TV | 50% |
| Hulu + Live TV | 45% |
| DIRECTV STREAM | 44% |
| Philo | 42% |
| fuboTV | 42% |
| Sling TV | 37% |
Final take
Hulu + Live TV got more expensive in 2022, but it also added some substantial value by upping its cloud DVR storage space to unlimited and including the Disney+/ESPN+ bundle with its live TV plans. It’s easy to understand why it came out on top with customers over YouTube TV this year.
Not that YouTube TV should be counted out: It’s still CableTV.com’s editorial pick for best live TV streaming service, and it scored almost evenly with Hulu + Live TV throughout this customer satisfaction survey. Now that YouTube TV is the new home for the NFL Sunday Ticket, we expect more converts in 2023 (and, unfortunately, a probable price hike).
Vidgo, which didn’t show up in our survey last year, came in hot this time around—if it can add some more popular channels, it might become a serious contender. DIRECTV STREAM also entered our survey for the first time, but its numbers aren’t all that impressive—it seems that customers aren’t so much enjoying DTV as tolerating it.
Sling TV, Philo, and fuboTV remain in the middle of the pack, despite being solid live TV streaming services with their own strengths:
- Sling TV is super-customizable with dozens of available add-on packages.
- Philo gives you a great array of entertainment channels at a low price.
- fuboTV is loaded with international sports channels, especially for soccer fans.
Lastly, we found that live TV streaming service subscribers are wary of their monthly bill going up—not that a survey was necessary to determine that, because who isn’t?
Methodology
We surveyed 6,900 people across the US to measure satisfaction with their on-demand streaming service. Our sample represented broader US demographics (e.g., gender, race, age, etc.) and was analyzed using prevailing industry standards by our data experts. If you’re a member of the media and have follow-up questions, feel free to contact us at pr@cabletv.com.
