YouTube TV password sharing

Right up front, I want to say that I don't share passwords. I don't give my streaming service logins to others, and I don't accept logins from others. I don't do it, I don't advocate it, and I don't give tips on how to accomplish it.

Most streaming service Terms of Service (ToS) prohibit the activity, and I'm not going to agree to someone's terms then turn around and violate them. If I don't like their terms, I'm not going to use the service.

However, I have friends and family members who have no qualms about sharing passwords. Whether it's because they don't know it's a ToS violation, or if they don't care, I don't know. I'm not the Internet Police, so I'm not going to be nagging them about stuff. They're grown and can make their own decisions.

I need to get to the point of all this don't I? Well, here goes.

Some family members have been talking about subscribing to YouTube TV in order to get ESPN and local channels to watch college football. Oh, they live in an area where there is no good antenna reception for the major broadcast networks. Most people in the U.S. can pick up some local stations. They can't.

Oh, and they didn't ask me about any of this, so I haven't offered my take on their plan. But I have this little Website where I write things, and now I'm going to write about that.

First, it is a violation of the ToS to share passwords as they're planning. Do they know? I don't know if they do. But suppose that doesn't enter into the decision. Then what?

Well, YouTube has been cracking down on password sharing:

YouTube TV has always put limits on its account-sharing feature. YouTube TV clearly says it is only for people living in the home. So your family that live outside of the primary account location are not allowed to use the account-sharing feature of YouTube TV. You can use YouTube TV outside your home, but you are supposed to bring that device back to your home location every 90 days.

Now YouTube TV has started to crack down on people sharing their YouTube TV account with people living outside of their home. Over the last few weeks a growing number of people have reported their friends and family have woken up to error messages on YouTube TV. These messages inform them that they need to buy their own YouTube TV subscription or return to their home location to continue using YouTube TV.

YouTube TV has always had these rules, but in the past, they very loosely enforced them. Now though, they are more aggressively enforcing their rules. They are doing this by tracking users’ IP addresses and seeing what devices are outside of the home location for over 90 days.

If YouTube catches them sharing passwords, then what'll likely happen is that one of them will end up with access to the service, and the other will be locked out.

If, on the other hand, YouTube doesn't detect that they are different households, they'll probably get away with it. So, $73/month split between the two households would be about $37/month to get ESPN and local channels. They'll be happy and YouTube will be none the wiser.

But what if YouTube does stop them? There are other options. Hulu+Live TV is $70/month, but going up to $77/month in October. And, based on my experience, they've been restricting multiple locations for some time. It'll stop them right off the bat, so that's a no-go.

Vidgo is an option for $70/month. They only carry ABC and Fox local channels, so no CBS (sorry SEC game of the week) or NBC (sorry Notre Dame). CBS and NBC local channels can be picked up streaming by subscribing to the $10/month packages for Paramount Plus and Peacock TV. So, add $10/month to that price for each of those two networks.

DirecTV streaming is $65/month for ESPN and local channels, but SEC Network isn't included. The Website has conflicting information regarding what package is required for SEC Network. One place says the $85/month Choice package has it, but another place says the $110/month Ultimate package is required. Both are more expensive if SEC Network is needed, and knowing them, SEC Network is needed.

Fubo TV has a $75/month plan that includes ESPN (with SEC Network) and local channels. That may seem like an option, but Fubo restricts to one location streaming at a time to a TV/streamer. That means that a Roku, Fire TV, or other smart TV or streaming device can be used at any location, but all streams would have to be from that same location. In other words, they couldn't both watch the Georgia game at the same time. Well, one could use a phone to watch it, as mobile devices aren't restricted like that.

I've not mentioned the cheapest way to get ESPN: Sling TV. Here's why: Sling TV doesn't carry local channels. They could pay $40/month for ESPN, but there is only one stream. Both couldn't watch ESPN at the same time.

So, if YouTube TV stops them from sharing their passwords, the only real option is to get separate Sling TV accounts. That's $40 for Sling TV, plus $10 for Paramount Plus. For $50/month each, they can watch college football.

Now, that's what I'm going to do. At least, I'll do the Sling TV thing. I live in an area where I can pick up CBS local with an antenna. If I needed CBS streaming, I would do Paramount Plus.

Maybe what they're planning will work. Maybe they'll be able to share a YouTube TV account and both watch the Georgia games. If so, they'll be happy. If not, they may have to do what I do. My Streaming Life is saving me enough money that I don't worry about paying a little more when football season starts. But I'm always looking for a cheaper way. Because I'm cheap.