At a Glance: Internet TV options
How other providers stack up against Verizon's new FiOS Custom TV
AMAZON
Monthly price: $8.25 (only through $99-a-year Amazon Prime subscription)
Live offering: None
On demand: Apart from original shows such as "Transparent," offerings tend to be past seasons, plus movies. Next-day access to shows for $2 or $3 an episode.
Restrictions: Not available directly on Apple TV. Prime requires one-year commitment.
CBS ALL-ACCESS
Monthly price: $6.
Live offering: Local stations in 14 markets (including suburbs) with CBS-owned stations.
On demand: Day-after access to shows on mobile devices (on traditional computers, it's free without a subscription). Full seasons for many shows, not just past five episodes. Past seasons for a handful of shows, including "The Good Wife," ''Survivor," ''The Amazing Race" and "60 Minutes."
Restrictions: No apps for streaming TV devices. Some sports blackouts.
DISH'S SLING TV
Monthly price: Starts at $20.
Live offering: About 20 channels, including ESPN, ABC Family, AMC and Food Network. No broadcast channels like CBS or NBC. Add-on packages for sports, movies, kids, lifestyles and world news available for $5 each, and HBO for $15.
On demand: No recording of channels, though some offer older episodes, including HBO. Access to WatchESPN on-demand app, with others coming.
Restrictions: Can watch only one stream at a time, so members of households will need multiple subscriptions, although HBO content can be streamed on 3 devices at a time. DVR controls, such as pause and rewind, aren't available for many channels. NFL blackouts on mobile devices.
HBO NOW
Monthly price: About $15
Live offering: New episodes are available through apps about the same time they are shown on TV.
On demand: Current and past seasons of most HBO shows, including "Games of Thrones," ''Girls" and "The Sopranos." Hundreds of movies, including those from Universal, Fox, Warner Bros. and Summit.
Restrictions: Can subscribe only through a partner. Apple has exclusive deal among non-traditional distributors and requires Apple TV, an iPhone or iPad to sign up (you can then watch through a browser on other devices). Cablevision is the only pay-TV provider so far to offer HBO Now.
HULU
Monthly price: $8 for Plus, though many shows are free on Windows and Mac computers.
Live offering: None
On demand: Next-day access to shows from ABC, NBC, Fox and CW, along with some cable channels. Some movies and original shows.
Restrictions: Fox and CW shows restricted to pay-TV subscribers for first week. ABC requires pay-TV or Hulu Plus subscription during that time. Plus also needed for viewing on mobile and streaming TV devices.
ITUNES
Monthly price: None
Live offering: None, except for special events such as iTunes music festival.
On demand: Next-day access to shows for $2 or $3 an episode.
Restrictions: No Android devices. Apple TV is only streaming device supported.
MLB.TV
Monthly price: $20 (or $110 for full season)
Live offering: All Major League Baseball games, subject to hometown blackouts.
On demand: All games.
Restrictions: Lots of blackouts. Extra $5 a month or $20 for season to watch on mobile and streaming TV devices. Separate package available for minor-league games.
NETFLIX
Monthly price: Starts at $8.99
Live offering: None
On demand: Apart from original shows such as "House of Cards," offerings tend to be past seasons, plus movies.
Restrictions: Ultra high-definition (4k) streaming for $3 more, standard-definition only for $1 less.
NICKELODEON'S NOGGIN
Monthly price: $6
Live offering: None
On demand: Games and activities created for service alongside archives of shows no longer on any of Nickelodeon's TV channels. Aimed at preschoolers.
Restrictions: Available on Apple mobile devices only at first.
SONY'S PLAYSTATION VUE
Monthly price: Starts at $50.
Live offering: Base plan with CBS, NBC and Fox broadcast channels and cable schannels from AMC, Discovery, Fox, NBCUniversal, Scripps, Turner and Viacom. Additional sports and other channels for $10 or $20 more. More than 50 channels in basic; more than 85 in all. Main omissions: CW network and Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC.
On demand: Recording capabilities with unlimited storage, though shows expire after 28 days. Many shows over the past three days are automatically available. Access to some channels' on-demand apps.
Restrictions: Available in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia only; suburbs excluded. Up to three simultaneous streams in a home, but each must have a separate PlayStation 3 or 4, and only one can be PS4. An iPad app is coming for out-of-home viewing, but a PlayStation is still required for set-up.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
