2023 Cord-Cutter Awards: Best streaming services, devices & more

On the cord-cutting front, 2023 was a continuation of the trends we started to see last year—and most of them weren’t great.

Streaming services raised prices, ad-free viewing became a luxury, and streaming devices stagnated. Even over-the-air TV got a little worse as broadcasters started encrypting their ATSC 3.0 channels.

Yet there are always a handful of things worth celebrating in the realm of cord-cutting, which despite what you might’ve heard is still cheaper than cable. In the interest of winding down the year on a positive note, here are the best devices, services, and developments on the streaming and over-the-air TV fronts for 2023:

Best streaming device: Apple TV 4K

As other streaming devices lard up their home screens with more ads—looking at you, Amazon—Apple’s streaming box looks ever better. Though it launched in late 2022, it’s still the best streaming device you can buy, with speedy performance, an ad-free home screen, and a useful “TV” app that helps track all the shows you’ve been watching (except those on Netflix).

Apple even added some clever new features this fall, including a sleep timer, a remote finder function, and support for Facetime calls on the big screen using your iPhone as a camera. At $129, it’s a lot pricier than other streaming devices, but it’s worth it.

Best budget streaming device: Walmart Onn 4K Streaming Box

If you’d rather not spend so much on a streaming device, the Walmart Onn 4K Streaming Box is an excellent value. For $20, you get 4K HDR video and a blissfully button-rich remote, ripe for reprogramming with your favorite shortcuts.

On the software side, Walmart’s box runs Google TV, which is helpful for keeping track of what to watch across streaming services. It’s basically the same experience as Google’s Chromecast with Google TV HD, but with better video quality for $10 less.

Best new streaming service: MLS Season Pass

Apple’s tagline for MSL Season Pass says it all: “Every match. No blackouts.” In a world where sports viewing has become frustratingly fragmented—where following even a single league can require both an expensive cable package and a bunch of streaming services—how refreshing is Apple’s alternative? For $99—or less, if you’re crafty about it—you get every Major League Soccer match from the preseason through the playoffs.

This is how sports streaming should work, and it makes you wonder what might’ve been had Apple not fumbled the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket.

Runners up: Every service that stepped in to offer regional sports without a pay TV bundle.

Most improved streaming service: Max

Yes, we can all agree that Warner Bros. Discovery has done some noxious things in 2023, like charging extra for 4K video and mothballing finished films just to get a tax write-off.

Even so, Max delivers more value than it did a year ago. Upon rebranding from HBO Max in May, it added the entire Discovery+ catalog, and this fall it added a round-the-clock CNN news channel loosely based on the cable version. On top of all that, Warner has brought over all its live sports programming from cable, currently for free, and as a $10-per-month add-on starting in March. Roll your eyes at the name and the company behind it, but Max is delivering.

Runner up: NFL+, which has become the best way to watch NFL Redzone without cable.

Best streaming service that didn’t raise prices: Philo

In a year that brought price hikes for practically every major streaming service, Philo deserves credit for holding steady. This bundle of non-sports cable channels still costs $25 per month, the same as it has since its last price hike in June 2021. (And even then, Philo only raised prices for new customers, while keeping rates the same for existing ones.)

Will this last forever? Probably not, as the cost of cable programming generally moves in just one direction, but it’s impressive that Philo has held out this long.

Runner up: Starz, which lowered its annual pricing from $75 to $70 in August (but raised monthly pricing from $9 to $10 in June).

Best new use of an over-the-air antenna: Zapperbox M1

ZapperBox’s over-the-air DVR is a work in progress, but it’s a compelling one, especially for folks who want a taste of ATSC 3.0. Plug it into your TV and connect a hard drive or microSD card, and you have a simple way to watch and record over-the-air channels.

ZapperBox has also made steady improvements since our initial review, including more granular recording options and (finally) playback of encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels. And the company’s roadmap hints at more improvements to come. If you just want a plug-and-play DVR for your antenna without the vagaries of in-home streaming or DIY media server setups, the ZapperBox is worth a look.

Most surprising embrace of cord-cutting: Verizon

Who’d have thought that one of the most interesting players in streaming right now would be a wireless carrier? Verizon has been aggressively bundling streaming services at a discount, most recently with a $10-per-month offer that includes both Netflix and Max (with ads). Verizon has also previously given away a year of Netflix through its +play marketplace when you sign up for a much cheaper service such as AMC+ or Starz.

Other companies, such as Amazon, have spent years saying they’d like to offer this kind of bundling, but Verizon is actually doing it. And that’s not a bad thing; if companies can offer compelling bundles while still preserving a la carte options, that’s a win for cord-cutters.

Cord-cutting MVP: PlayOn

The biggest trend in streaming this year was the growing tax on ad-free viewing. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and Max all hiked prices on their ad-free plans this year, while either keeping ad-supported prices the same or not raising them by quite as much. Viewers who watch ads bring in more money than those who don’t, so streamers are incentivized to keep widening the price gap.

Remember when we used to have DVR for this sort of thing? PlayOn does, offering software that lets you record from on-demand streaming services and skip through commercials. While PlayOn has been around for more than a decade now, it recently made its Windows software free (for standard-def recordings) and added 1080p video support to its $40-per-year subscription. It also released a calculator to show how much money the DVR route can save you. PlayOn still isn’t for everyone, but it is one of the best ways to push back against an increasingly consumer-hostile streaming environment.

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