People still love to hate their cable TV company, but that’s not the main reason more consumers are abandoning traditional TV services. People are cord-cutting because there are newer and cheaper cable TV-like alternatives that promise to save them money.

Just two years ago, Douglas County’s Dish Network became the first to launch a package of TV channels online, its $20-a-month Sling TV with 20 channels including ESPN, Disney and HGTV. Today there’s AT&T’s DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue and YouTube TV (not yet in Denver), with more rumored to be on the way. These aren’t the same as the on-demand Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which let viewers leisurely watch when they feel like it. The newer breed of internet video involves near-simulcasts of broadcast and cable channels — commercials and all — only there are no more long-term contracts or rented equipment.

But subscribing to a $20-and-up plan doesn’t stop at $20. You still must pay for internet service, which can cost viewers in the Denver area $30 to $65 a month. Plus, you’ll have to cough up more monthly fees if you want channels not in the base plan. And if you want to supplement TV shows with movies on demand, add another dozen or so dollars for Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBO. The price you pay to switch may not always end up being cheaper than your past TV budget.

“That’s the fallacy of the argument for cord cutting. You’re not really cutting the cord but swapping it for another one,” said James Willcox, senior editor of electronics for Consumer Reports. “Unless you’re getting it over the air, you need broadband. And if you offload more entertainment to (internet video services) you may have to speed up your internet plan and pay more for it.”

In a survey of its subscribers last year, Consumer Reports found that only one-third of those who paid for traditional TV service were very or completely satisfied with the service. Yet the majority didn’t leave. Only 17 percent dropped or cut back TV service. It’s a hard habit to kick, Willcox said.

“We’re really in an era of experimentation. Everyone is trying to figure out what the next model is going to be,” he said. “Even though we see all this news of cord cutting, nearly 80 percent of households are still getting a pay-TV package.”

Is the new breed of OTT, or over-the-top services that get to viewers beyond traditional paid TV service, really worth your while? The Denver Post broke down the costs and offerings of five TV streaming services, plus Comcast for comparison.

The internet video contenders

The Post took the 30 most-watched channels from September to May, according to the Nielsen ratings service, and compared the basic plans of five live-streaming TV services: Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue and the new YouTube TV service. YouTube’s service launched in April but is not yet available in Denver.

A key caveat is that while all the services offer some or all local broadcast channels, that varies by city. For PlayStation Vue subscribers in Denver, for example, CBS is the only local channel available in its base $30 plan. But if you’re in San Francisco, Vue subscribers can watch ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, though the price is $10 more for the base plan.

In Denver, CBS is only available to Hulu with Live TV and PlayStation Vue subscribers. Fox and Telemundo are available on DirecTV Now. Sling doesn’t offer any of the four networks in Denver but does recommend a good TV antenna or buying an AirTV device to get local broadcast channels. Install a TV antenna and you bypass all monthly fees — including broadband.

Speaking of broadband, The Post went with the lowest monthly price in Denver from the two main internet providers. Centurylink, in a 12-month special, is offering speeds up to 40 mbps of internet a month for $29.99. Comcast’s lowest-price plan is $65 for 25 mbps. Of course, there are some internet alternatives. The main alternative is mobile. T-Mobile added Binge On for those who want to watch many popular internet TV services on their phones without it counting against any data caps.

Sling TV

Sling Orange base plan : 30 channels for $20

: 30 channels for $20 Channels in the top 30? 13

13 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: 9 for $35

9 for $35 Local Denver stations? None

None Add standalone CBS All Access/CW: $5.99

$5.99 Top-30 channels that aren’t available: Discovery, Fox News, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite, Telemundo, TLC

Discovery, Fox News, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite, Telemundo, TLC Add internet: $30

Total: $90.99/month

Total top 30 channels: 24

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu Live: 50 channels for $39.99

50 channels for $39.99 Channels in the top 30? 21

21 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: None

None Local Denver stations? CBS

CBS Add standalone CW: Free

Free Top-30 channels that aren’t available: Discovery, Fox News, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite, Telemundo, TLC

Discovery, Fox News, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite, Telemundo, TLC Add internet: $30

Total: $69.99

Total top 30 channels: 22

DirecTV Now

DirecTV Now Live a Little: 60 channels for $35

60 channels for $35 Channels in the top 30? 28

28 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: None

None Local Denver networks? Fox

Fox Add standalone CBS/CW: $5.99

$5.99 Top-30 channels that aren’t available: None

None Add internet: $30

Total: $70.99

Total top 30 channels: 30

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue Access Slim: $29.99

$29.99 Channels in the top 30? 21

21 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: 3 for $10

3 for $10 Local Denver networks? CBS

CBS Add standalone CW: Free

Free Top-30 channels that aren’t available: A&E, Hallmark, History, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite

A&E, Hallmark, History, Investigation Discovery, Nick at Nite Add internet: $30

Total: $69.99

Total top 30 channels: 25

YouTube TV

YouTube TV: 40 for $35

40 for $35 Channels in the top 30? 14

14 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: None

None Local Denver networks? No. YouTube TV hasn’t launched in Denver

No. YouTube TV hasn’t launched in Denver Top-30 channels that aren’t available: A&E, Adult Swim, AMC, CNN, Discovery, Food Network, Hallmark, HGTV, History, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Nick at Nite, TBS, TLC, TNT, Univision

A&E, Adult Swim, AMC, CNN, Discovery, Food Network, Hallmark, HGTV, History, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Nick at Nite, TBS, TLC, TNT, Univision Add internet: $30

Total: $65.00

Total top 30 channels: 14

Comcast

X1 Saver Double Play: 140 channels for $100 (after promo)

140 channels for $100 (after promo) Channels in the top 30? 28

28 Other top-30 channels via add-ons: 2 for $10, $7 for broadcast fee

2 for $10, $7 for broadcast fee Local Denver networks? All

All Add internet: Included

Total: $117.00

Total top 30 channels: 30

Things to think about

Internet TV lets you share with friends. Sharing cable TV with your neighbor was illegal. But internet TV? Share away, to a point. Hulu’s live service launched with the understanding that users would do this. Each account allows up to six users and two simultaneous streams. However, pay another $14.99 to get “Unlimited Screens” inside the home plus three outside the house for on-the-go travel or your cheap sister in another state.

Still too many channels and nothing to watch? Sling TV’s CEO Roger Lynch has railed against the competition for making internet TV look like bloated cable plans. So it surprised us that Sling was the most expensive of the top 30 channels. But Lynch’s philosophy makes sense — people who watch ESPN may not watch the Hallmark Channel or MSNBC. Hence, Slings breaks down channels into smaller plans, though it’s not quite the a la carte idea consumers crave. To get the top-30 channels on Sling, you must subscribe to three extra-channel packs at $5 each and bump up the base plan to the $40-a-month Sling Blue+Orange. This means that if you just wanted the Hallmark Channel, add an extra $5 for a total monthly video price of $25.

A TV antenna doesn’t have a monthly bill. While Sling recently started offering local network channels in some markets for an extra $5, the company pushes AirTV and TV antennas, which after an initial investment have no monthly fees. Installing an over-the-air antenna means you don’t have to mess with monthly bills or piece together separate internet TV services to watch what you want. For tips, read this: Sales of TV antennas on the rise, here’s how to buy one

$20 today, how much tomorrow? When Netflix expanded beyond a mailed DVD and into online movies, it inked an amazing deal with Starz to add 2,500 movies for a bargain price and won over millions of consumers. The contract ended and Netflix offered about 10 times the amount. But Starz balked and walked away because it wanted more. TV streaming is at the same stage, where early services may have negotiated bargain deals to get channels. But when those contracts end, some analysts fear, those prices will rise — just like it does each year for the cable industry.

“I think we’re really going to have to see in the next year whether the agreements placed on these things have a minimum resell price. Think of it like the MSRP. Like for Apple. You’re not allowed to walk into a Best Buy store and offer $300 less for an iPad. They’ll tell you upfront that Apple lets you negotiate maybe 10 percent. If we have that same play going on, that in and of itself is an interesting conversation to see if there is any collusion to keep the prices artificially high,” said Tim Siglin, Media Strategy at ReelSolver. “I’m not saying it (price-fixing) is happening, but I’m disappointed that everyone is falling in at that $40 price point and I want to know why.”

Broadband service, prices dominated by cable companies. While there’s new broadband competition from companies like Google Fiber and Ting Internet, telecoms still provide most U.S. consumers with high-speed internet. And they want to keep it that way. Google Fiber paused expansion of its service last fall, after repeated reports that entrenched telecoms would step up gigabit rollouts and lower prices on word Google was coming. Don’t expect the lower prices to last. A recent report by New Street Research concluded that cable operators will grow their majority share — by providing internet to 72.2 percent of the nation by 2020 from last year’s 65 percent — but prices will double in the next several years, according to FierceCable.com report.

Maybe a la carte isn’t dead. HBO started the standalone HBO Now for $14.99 in 2015 so viewers didn’t have be cable customers to watch the channel online. In February, the company reported it had more than 2 million subscribers. Showtime’s $10.99 standalone channel, likewise, was at 1.5 million subscribers. CBS All Access, which streams CBS live for $5.99 a month, had a similar number of subscribers. We’ll probably hear more channels trying to go at it alone, including ESPN later this year, according to Variety magazine.

Send your questions about internet video and the new TV streaming services to Tamara Chuang at tchuang@denverpost.com.