Google didn’t change much to deliver a cheaper version of its Chromecast with Google TV dongle. It merely removed 4K streaming while lopping $20 off the price, resulting in a $30 streamer with a great remote and a smart way of organizing content. If recent sale prices are any indication, we may even see this device drop to $20 on a regular basis, giving Google a clear edge over budget streamers from Roku and Amazon. In a year with few major launches on the streaming device front, that’s enough to get the nod.

Runner up: The new Apple TV 4K, which delivers streaming excellence at much lower starting price ($129) than previous models.

Like a modern-day reinvention of the “last channel” function, Amazon’s third-generation Fire TV Cube includes a new button that shows a list of your most recently-used apps. While the Apple TV maps a similar function to a double-tap on the home button, Amazon is the first to dedicate a new button entirely to this purpose. Given the sloppy state of Amazon’s Fire TV home screen, it might be the most efficient way to get around.

Regardless of whether you think Bally Sports+ is worth $20 per month, the arrival of unbundled regional sports is a watershed moment for streaming. It gives cord-cutters a way to watch their local teams without a bloated TV package—previously, the only option was DirecTV Stream’s $90-per-month plan—and it’s part of a broader sports unbundling that will further collapse the cable bundle. (To that end, a small honorable mention goes to NESN 360, whose Boston-area regional streaming service arrived first.)

Dishonorable mention: CNN+, whose launch without a linear channel feed was a sad example of trying to eat one’s cake and have it too. Cord-cutters wisely didn’t bite, and the service folded just a month after launch.

Consider the following the changes NBCUniversal made to Peacock in 2022: For the Beijing Olympics, it streamed all live events and replays on Peacock Premium, a big pivot from the prior year’s cable-centric packaging; it unbundled Bravo from cable by streaming new shows on a next-day basis; it just made a deal with Hallmark to add its live cable channels and on-demand movies; and (for better or worse) it pulled its network TV shows back from Hulu. On top of all that, Peacock will add local NBC station feeds to its $10-per-month Premium Plus tier at the end of November.

As prices continue to rise for the likes of Netflix and Disney+, Peacock’s expanding catalog could make it a dark horse in the streaming wars.

Runner-up: Hulu + Live TV, which finally shook its DVR ad-skipping restrictions and is now a strong value for Disney bundle subscribers.

In 2022, Paramount+ stuck with the same prices it rolled out last year, charging $5 per month with ads or $10 per month with a live CBS feed and no ads. More importantly, it has continued to give the service away, month after month, for anyone savvy enough to redeem its steady supply of free coupon codes. At zero dollars per month even for the ad-free tier, Paramount+ remains the undisputed best deal in streaming.

Runner up: YouTube TV, which has been holding steady at $65 per month even as most of its competitors have raised rates.