Deciding to cut the cable is the easy part Figuring out how to replace the cable is the hard part

Last week I detailed why I finally cut the cord (astronomical cable bills) and what I need to replace my cable Now I have to make a choice between various live TV options

As you saw in the list of cable TV alternatives, there are quite a few I have looked through them many times and personally tested most of them None of them are perfect and have their pros and cons I have chosen three services from the list: Sling, Fubo, and YouTube TV

Before getting into the details of these choices, I must explain why Hulu With Live TV is not a candidate I actually really like this service and it would be a great addition to my existing Hulu account However, I get Hulu through the Spotify Premium bundle I cannot upgrade to Hulu With Live TV unless I cancel the bundle

Now, back to the last three contestants In part one of my cord-cutting saga, I made a list of "must haves" and "nice to have channels" I also mentioned that I wanted to consolidate everything into one place At first I thought it would hit Sling, since Sling does not offer all broadcast networks

However, I noticed that they offer several AirTV devices that pull in local channels, and if you pay Sling's 3-month fee up front, you can get AirTV Anywhere with an HD antenna for $99 (one time fee) This is a significant cost, but I realize I have to look at it as a long-term investment since I will be cutting the cord permanently

Fubo and YouTube TV are similar in that they do not require a separate device to watch local channels Both cost $65/month, and Fubo's starter plan offers 121 channels, while YouTube TV's lineup is 85; Sling's $50/month Orange + Blue plan comes with 50 channels

A breakdown of the cost per year, missing channels, and DVR features is shown below For comparison, one year of cable costs about $2,220

As you can see, Sling beats Fubo and YouTube TV in cost of live TV for one year, even after factoring in the one-time fee to get AirTV Anywhere; for two years, Sling costs $1,300, while the other two are $1,560 dollars (of course, this is assuming no price increase)

All three services lack channels, but MTV and VH1 are my "wish I had" categories, so Sling has the edge there as well Fubo and YouTube TV, on the other hand, both lack "must have" channels This may change in the future, as live TV services are constantly feuding/making up with the entertainment conglomerates that own the channels

For now, Sling's Orange + Blue plan has pretty much everything I want And in fact, if I pay $6/month for the Comedy Extra add-on, I can watch MTV, and if I pay the same for Lifestyle Extra, I can watch VH1 So if you want to watch The Hills, you can buy New Beginnings: so if you want to watch The Hills: New Beginnings, you can subscribe to Comedy Extra while the season is airing and cancel your subscription when it's over

The reason I decided to buy AirTV Anywhere instead of AirTV 2 or AirTV Mini is because the Mini streams local channels through Locast and cannot record This is an absolutely necessary feature; AirTV 2 is a good choice; it comes with an HD antenna, or you can use your own antenna However, AirTV Anywhere has a built-in 1TB DVR hard drive, whereas recording local channels requires separate USB storage

The only downside to Sling is that the navigation and interface can sometimes feel clunky Also, having never used AirTV, I am curious to see how well it works and whether this Sling combo is a true cable replacement At the very least, if it works, it will save us $1,520 over the next year And since I recently watched "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" all over again, maybe I can use the funds to go on my dream pasta and pizza tour

In two weeks, the final chapter of this cord-cutting saga will begin