Your Best Streaming Bet May Be a Skinny TV Package. But What Are They?

If you're a cord-cutter, cord-never or aspiring to be either of these, this is for you. Fed up with price hikes and channel outages in the TV world? Well, media companies have taken notice of your complaints and are introducing "skinny" TV packages as more affordable alternatives. Everyone from DirecTV to Fubo to Sling is getting in the game, but it's possible you may not have noticed or cared to explore further.We at CNET love to remind you about free streaming services and your FAST options, but for some of you, skinny packages may be the best answer. This is especially true for sports fans who feel the need to chart a Westeros-like map just to figure out where to watch a game. The pain is real, but the budget pangs don't have to be. For those who want to continue shunning cable or satellite services at all costs, or for cable holdouts looking to try something else, this lays out what the skinny is all about.  What's a skinny TV package or bundle?The term "skinny" has caught on to describe slimmed-down channel bundles on live TV streaming services. A package typically gives you fewer than 100 channels, versus the amount seen in full packages that often include local stations like ABC or NBC and a large suite of cable favorites. "Full" streaming service subscriptions are offered from YouTube TV, DirecTV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Fubo and Sling TV, with platforms such as Philo or Frndly hanging out on the borderline of being considered skinny (you get what you get). But some of these companies have also rolled out shrunken versions of their packages that cater to genres or short-term viewing, and you can cancel whenever you want.There's intentionality behind the skinny streaming packages, where providers such as DirecTV and YouTube carve out distinct options that offer fewer channels at a lower price, separate from their main streaming plan lineups. For example, DirecTV launched Genre Packs in early 2025, a crop of category-specific packages that range from $20 to $70 a month with optional add-ons if you don't mind paying for a few more channels. To make it more enticing for you, most of DTV's genre packs come bundled with a subscription to an on-demand streaming service like HBO Max, ESPN Unlimited or Disney Plus -- at no extra cost. We'll skip its satellite TV plans, but its primary streaming packages start at $85 a month and go up from there. Today, there are a limited number of skinny packages or bundles on the menu, but we'll try to make it easy to compare which TV providers offer what.  Bgblue/Getty ImagesDirecTV's Genre Packs Starting at $20 a month, DirecTV's Genre Packs are tailored to viewers who know what type of content they want to see. Unlimited DVR -- letting you pause, rewind, fast forward and record -- comes with each pack, and in some cases, you can give these a spin with a free trial. You don't have to limit yourself to just one package either -- you can mix and match, subscribing to multiple packs at a time. There are five core plans to choose from, and Mini Packs can be added as optional side dishes to select plans. And as I mentioned, there are free streaming bonuses like Disney Plus or HBO Max included in a few of these packages.DirecTV Genre Packs Package Name Monthly priceChannel countChannel examplesStreaming perkMyEntertainment $3560+AMC, Bravo, BBC, Lifetime, FX, VH1, Adult SwimHBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu w. adsMySports $7020+ABC, CBS, ESPN, FS1, TBS, USA, Fox, TNT, NFL NetworkESPN UnlimitedMyKids $2010+Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr.Disney Plus BasicMiEspanol $3560+Telemundo, Univision, Estrella TV, UniMas, ESPN Deportes, TUDNVix PremiumMyNews $4010+ABC, CBS, Fox, CNBC, CNN, MS Now, NBC, Bloomberg-- The MySports Extra mini plan gives you eight extra channels, like NFL RedZone and MotorTrend, for an additional $13 per month. It can be added only to the MySports package, however, whereas the $10-per-month MyCinema mini is available as an add-on for DTV's MySports, MyEntertainment, MyNews and MyKids base plans. For baseball fans, the MyHome Team mini costs $20 per  month, and you get local sports networks (in regions where available) if you want to supplement MySports. YouTube TV has new, budget-friendly packagesYouTube TV is the least-expensive premium live TV streaming platform at $83 per month, but in February, it one-upped itself by launching a slate of scaled-down, lower-priced packages. The cheapest one has a monthly price of $55, but you can only pick a single plan. Like YouTube TV's base plan, these slimmer packages let you have up to six accounts on one subscription, and unlimited DVR is standard. If you're looking for bundled streaming services like HBO Max or Hulu without paying extra, sorry -- these plans don't offer that. It's a little tricky to find the sign-up section for these subscriptions, but log in to YouTube TV via your Google account and navigate to the membership page under the app&apos