A cable and internet provider company out of the Midwest is slowly shuttering its proprietary live TV service and shuttling customers to YouTube TV, the best live TV streaming service. The provider, WOW!, started the phase-out as far back as 2023 (per CordCutterNews), but we're now reaching the official end date.
Traditional TV customers are encouraged to sign up for one of WOW!'s YouTube TV bundles, which offer the service for $10 a month for one year. Legacy customers will be moved over to YTTV at some point since the WOW! service is shutting down in April.
Additionally, WOW! is also shutting down its streaming TV service, originally designed as a rival to live services like Fubo and Sling TV. Now, if you sign up for a TV service through WOW! you'll be provided with YouTube TV as the designated offering.
Next steps
If you're currently subscribed to WOW! TV+, the transition to YTTV has begun and is supposed to be completed around June 30, 2026. Either way, the service will shut down on that date.
According to CordCutterNews, legacy WOW TV customers who still use traditional cable TV services will be gradually rolled over to YouTube TV too. It's not clear how long that process will take and could depend on your area.
WOW! services large chunks of the Midwest, including Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, as well as some metropolitan areas in Alabama, South Carolina, and parts of Florida's panhandle.
It speaks to a larger trend of cable providers making deals with streaming services. Last summer, Charter started adding streamers to TV bundles and more recently, TV networks and Streamers have started pacts to offer services that weren't available previously.
As more customers cut the cord, providers are looking for new ways to entice customers to stick with them, even if it means offering odd discounts or discontinuing their own products.
