2025 Cord-Cutter Awards: Best streaming services, devices & more

For all the gripes you might have about the state of streaming, this year still had some bright spots.

Looking back on 2025, we saw the debut of several new streaming services that deliver more choice and flexibility to cord cutters, along with some compelling new bundles for folks who can’t resist subscribing to lots of services simultaneously. This year also brought us some great new affordable streaming players and one excellent innovation in over-the-air TV.

As is custom around here, let’s rewind to 2025’s best developments in cord cutting, plus a handful that we’d rather forget.

Best new streaming player: Walmart Onn 4K Plus

Somehow, the company delivering the best cheap streaming devices is still Walmart. Following up on last year’s excellent Onn 4K Pro, the $30 Onn 4K Plus is a surprisingly speedy streaming box with Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos audio, a feature-packed remote, and a generous 16 GB of storage for apps.

In side-by-side testing, it outperformed not just Roku’s Streaming Sticks, but the $50 Onn 4K Pro as well, and the Google TV software still excels at helping you keep up with your shows.

• Runner-up: Roku’s Streaming Stick, if only because it finally brings TV volume and power controls to Roku’s cheapest streamer.

Best new streaming service: ESPN Unlimited

Sure, it’s kind of a ripoff on its own at $30 per month, but ESPN’s new streaming service finally offers everything from its cable channels without a bloated pay TV package. More importantly, it’s ushering in a new wave of bundles built around direct-to-consumer streaming services instead of legacy cable channels.

Subscribers can add Disney+ and Hulu for $6 per month more (currently free for the first year), or tack on Fox One or NFL+ for $10 per month more.

• Runner up: Roku’s Howdy, which is reminiscent of Netflix’s earliest years.

Best new live TV package: DirecTV’s Genre Packs

DirecTV’s strong stance against Disney in 2024 yielded tangible results in 2025, with four new “Genre Packs” that cost less than most other live TV streaming services.

The $40 per month MyNews bundle is sneakily the cheapest way to stream local channels (and cable news) without an antenna, and the MySports package offers complete sports coverage along with local channels and news for $70 per month. There’s also a $35 per month MyEntertainment package that includes Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, and a $20 per month MyKids package with Disney+.

The future of TV bundles will involve a mix of streaming services and still-popular cable channels, while letting folks drop more of what they don’t watch. Kudos to DirecTV for figuring this out first.

• Runner up: Sling Day Passes, which offer temporary access to ESPN and other cable channels at reasonable prices.

Best new streaming bundle: Apple TV and Peacock

The $15 per month bundle of Apple TV and Peacock is a rare case in which streaming companies are actually underselling it. Apple says the bundle saves “over 30 percent” versus the two services sold separately ($13 per month for Apple TV, $11 per month for Peacock). Here’s a simpler comparison: The bundle is only $2 per month more than Apple TV alone. It’s an easy upgrade if you were going to pay for Apple TV anyway.

Best streaming service that didn’t raise prices: Disney+ and Hulu (no ads)

In Disney’s latest round of price hikes, the ad-free bundle of Disney+ and Hulu is the one option that went untouched. At $20, it’s a solid value for two ad-free streaming services compared to the individual prices of Netflix ($18 per month), HBO Max ($18.49 per month), and Peacock ($17 per month). Enjoy it while it lasts.

Worst carriage dispute: YouTube TV vs. Disney

YouTube TV earns a demerit for deciding to get stingy on its customers during a 15-day blackout of ESPN and other Disney-owned channels. The company waited through two weekends of football to offer $20 blackout credits, then made customers manually dig through its website to redeem it. For shame.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear what all the fighting accomplished. There are hints of genre-based channel packs to come, plus a promise to bundle ESPN Unlimited sometime next year, but the most likely outcome is higher prices.

• Runner up: Fubo vs. NBC, a dispute that’s now lasted for nearly two weeks and shows no signs of ending. At least Fubo is crediting affected customers automatically.

Best new use of an over-the-air antenna: Channels DVR Multiview

You no longer need a pricey live TV streaming service just to watch multiple broadcast channels in split-screen view. With a Channels DVR server and HDHomeRun tuner, you can get multiview with local channels from an antenna, along with streaming sources if you have the technical chops. For DIY-minded cord cutters who aren’t averse to running their own media servers, it’s a breakthrough.

Runner-up: ZapperBox, which is enabling whole-home DVR with encrypted ATSC 3.0 broadcasts.

Dishonorable mention: HBO Max

Back in 2023, we called Max the most improved streaming service, noting its addition of the Discovery+ catalog, a round-the-clock CNN channel, and live from TNT/TBS at no extra charge.

Two years later, Warner Bros. Discovery is undoing all of that. It removed the CNN feed in November to help prop up CNN’s new standalone service, and it plans to pull sports coverage in favor of a separate TNT Sports service next year. The future of Discovery content on HBO Max is also in question as Warner prepares to once again spin off Discovery into a separate company. It also raised prices and stuffed more ads into its ad-supported tier.

Having failed to deliver on most of its promises, Warner is simply going to become grist for the merger mill, which might not accomplish much for viewers but will at least make its executives richer.

Cord cutting co-MVPs: Lon Seidman and Tyler “Antenna Man” Kleinle

These two YouTube creators have been shining a light on the pitfalls of DRM in the new ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard for a couple of years now. As broadcasters push to wind down the existing ATSC 1.0 standard, they took their case directly to the FCC this year, pointing out high costs of ATSC 3.0 tuners, decryption issues in certified TVs, and limitations for over-the-air DVR. While Seidman and Kleinle aren’t against ATSC 3.0, they want to preserve the spirit of free TV over the public airwaves without expensive and complicated obstacles.

The FCC is still pushing for ATSC 3.0, and has proposed new rules that would let broadcasters switch over on their own timelines. But the commission has also started asking broadcasters some pointed about why DRM is necessary and whether there’s a better way to implement it. The avalanche of complaints from consumers, led by voices like Seidman and Kleinle, undoubtably helped.

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