Think You Cant Stream Local TV Channels Think Againweve Researched Several Options To Show You How
One of the shortcomings of live TV streaming is the lack of local channelsnot every service carries all of your local broadcast stations. This means you could miss out on your favorite shows from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, The CW, PBS, Telemundo, and others, not to mention local news and sports programming.
Of the live TV streaming services weve reviewed, we think YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV get you the most local channels at the best price. Read on for the deets on both, as well as other options for streaming local channelsyoull be seeing obnoxious local car dealership commercials in no time.
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Stream Local News For Free
NewsOn will allow you to access some local news stations for free. You can use NewsOn in a web browser or download the app on select streaming devices. You can also get some local news through Haystack News, Local Now, or VUit.
Many ad-supported heavyweights like Pluto TV and Tubi also offer some local news replays if youre in a large market. Its not the same thing as Locast, but those options provide at least some local coverage.
Its also possible Locast could prevail in court or try to find some sort of settlement. The appetite for this kind of service is definitely there, its just a question of who will provide it and how much it will cost.
What Programs Are On Fox
Since it was first started, Fox has been known for its exceptional original content. They feature some of the best reality shows like Beat Shazam, MasterChef, and Hells Kitchen. They also offer popular dramas like The Resident and 9-1-1. And, of course, they are still known for their animated comedies like The Simpsons and Family Guy.
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Finding Local Channels On Hulu + Live TV
Hulu local channels are navigated via the services TV guide, which looks the same as viewers may be accustomed to on traditional cable services. They can scroll through live channels to see the shows that are currently airing and programming thats coming up. The TV guide also enables users to plan their TV schedule and set reminders for shows they want to watch in the next two weeks. For more information about all the networks available on Hulu + Live TV, read our Hulu channels list guide.
Hulu + Live TV users can find live shows through the services categories feature. This enables them to easily discover movies, sports, TV shows, and kids entertainment. The Hulu + Live TV home page also features a Keep Watching tab that helps viewers pick up where they left off. Subscribers can add shows, movies, and sports events by adding content to their My Stuff section. They can also save their favorite networks to the My Channels tab.
Stream Live Cbs And Nbc Local Channels With Paramount Plus And Peacock
You can also live stream CBS and NBC local channels by subscribing to Paramount Plus and Peacock, respectively. If you pay $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year for Paramount Plus, you can get a live stream from your local CBS channel. You can sign up for the service, with a seven-day free trial, at the link below.
Similarly, you can get your live NBC station via a Peacock subscription. You can get it for $4.99 a month with ads for its on-demand content, or for $9.99 a month without ads for on-demand .
So far, you cant get a live local network stream from the ABC, Fox, or the CW apps without a paid cable or satellite subscription. Your best bet for those networks is to sign up for one of the internet-based TV services that we mentioned above.
Thats our look at the options to watch or stream local TV channels on your various media devices. We will update this article if more services launch or existing ones make any changes.
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Craig Lloyd is a smarthome expert with nearly ten years of professional writing experience. His work has been published by iFixit, Lifehacker, Digital Trends, Slashgear, and GottaBeMobile. Read more…
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more…
Remember TV antennas? Well, they still exist. A digital TV antenna allows you to watch local TV stations for free, all without paying a dime to a cable provider.
RELATED:Cutting the Cord: Can Buying Episodes and Watching TV Online Be Cheaper Than Cable?
Weve talked about cutting the cord by relying on Internet services, but this is yet another way to cut that TV bill and get more content to watch. Follow along as we run you through not only which antenna to buy and the differences between them, but also which local channels you can receive based on where you live, and how strong of a signal you can get in the first place.
Ways To Watch Local TV Without Cable Or Satellite
by Lauren Bennett – Last Updated July 2, 2020
Getting fed up with expensive cable bills?
Wish there was a way you could watch your local TV stations without cable or antenna?
Youre not alone!
More and more people are cutting the cord and finding alternative ways to watch TV without cable. Although there are also ways to get basic cable for free.
Most of it has to do with the expensive cable bills and the way cable companies package their plans.
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The average monthly cable bill is a staggering $99 and thats an expense that most of us could do without.
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Don’t Have A TV Antenna Yet
If youre just getting started with free over-the-air TV, youll be in good company. Even many consumers who have switched to streaming video services, such as Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV, use an antenna for local stations not included with their package. In fact, a quarter of all U.S. households with internet service now use a TV antenna to get free TV service, according to research firm Parks Associates, up from 15 percent in 2018.
Having the right antenna can help you get more of your local channels. Our test results cover 19 popular antennas, ranging in price from $10 to $80; were in the midst of testing another batch of antennas right now. Your reception will also depend heavily on your distance from broadcast towers, along with topographysuch as mountains or tall buildingsthat could interfere with signals. Amplified models can often help pull in more distant stations.
A final reminder if youre shopping for an antenna: Make sure it can receive both VHF and UHF frequencies. Some antennas provide good reception for only VHF or UHF channels but not both. But to get all the stations you can receive in your area, youll need an antenna that can receive both.
James K. Willcox
Without Any Cable And Antenna
When you want to use neither cable nor antenna, there is another option. It is easy and convenient to set up for getting local channels in your area indeed. However what you need-
- DTV Converter Box
- Coaxial Wire
- Antenna
The digital television is available to most of the house. It is easy to set up the program to get channels on digital TV. You dont have digital TV and cable service but you want to get TV reception. For this, the above three components are required to make it done. When you have set up the DTV converter box you may get local channels in your area.
DTV Converter Box
DTV converter box is available in the electronic store and the price is really negotiable which may range from $40-$70. This converter box is not compatible with multi-television. It is for one TV.
Antenna
The antenna is required to make the converter box usable. The antenna may be set up on the rooftop to make sure reception will be better and the picture can be so clear and it depends on the settings of the TV antenna. More importantly, a coaxial cable is also required to connect it.
There is an antenna In port on the DTV converter where you need to plug the coaxial wire to be connected to the antenna into this port.
The coaxial wire that comes from the DTV converter box needs to be connected with the TV and converter box. So plug one the end of the coaxial wire in Antenna In and other ends of the coaxial wire Out to TV port on your converter box.
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Local Channels On Fubotv
fuboTV streams local ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX as part of a 120+ channel bundle. These are the same local networks that you would get by using a TV antenna or cable provider. You can look over the local channel lineup in your area when you visit the fubo website.;
Fubo has a free 7-day trial, and works on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV streaming devices. A subscription costs $64.99 per month. There is no contract. Customers can subscribe on a month-to-month basis.;
Playstation Vue Supported Devices
Dont worry: despite what the brand name suggests, you can use PlayStation Vue without a PlayStation. Supported devices include:;
- TV streaming media players: Apple TV , Android TV , Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick , Chromecast and Roku .
- Smart TVs: Amazon Fire TV , Android TV and Roku .
- Mobile devices and tablets: Android OS 5.0 and up, iOS 9 and up, and Amazon Fire HD6 tablets and up.
- Game consoles: PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.
- Desktop browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Microsoft Edge are recommended .
to learn more about PlayStation Vues device support.
PlayStation Vue allows users to stream on up to 5 devices at once, which is far more than what most other streaming services allow.
To learn more about PlayStation Vues simultaneous streaming policy,check here.
PlayStation Vues unlimited DVR lets you save as much TV as you want. Recordings expire after four weeks.
To learn more about PlayStation Vues DVR,.
PlayStation Vues on-demand content library is good, but its not comparable to streaming services that specialize in on-demand.
Click here to learn more about PlayStation Vues on-demand library.
ByAlex Munkachy –
1 COMMENT
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Subscribe To A Live TV Streaming Service
There are several streaming services that will give you access to live TV. You can use our live TV streaming matchmaker to find the right streaming service for you, depending on what you would like to watch. Most of these services offer free trials so you can test them out and decide which one you like the best.
DirecTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, and Sling TV all offer access to live, local channels. A Premium subscription to Paramount+ gives you access to a CBS affiliate channel, while an Essential subscription includes live sports.
$59.99
How To Hook Your Antenna Up To Your TV
THAIPOLICEPLUS.COM” alt=”How do i get local channels on roku > THAIPOLICEPLUS.COM”> Got your antenna? Great! Now its time to set it up and try it out.
Youll first need to position the antenna in a good location . Again, if you get a very strong signal, a basic indoor antenna by your TV will probably be good enough. Mounting it by the window will get you a better signal, if you need it.
If you need an outdoor antenna, though, itll take a bit more work to installyoull likely have to use a ladder to climb up and mount it to the roof or side of the house using;the included;hardware. If you arent comfortable doing this, call a professional.
After youve found a good place for your antenna, connect it to your television with the included coaxial cable. In the photo above, you can see how weve attached the coaxial cable from our antenna to the antenna input jack on our TV. And if your antenna is amplified, plug the amplifier into a power source. Our antenna can be powered via USB, so we plugged the USB cable that powers the amplification system into the TVs USB port.
Once its plugged in, head to your TVs channel setup menu. Your TV will need to scan for available channels, which should take just a few minutes. When its done, youll be watching HD TV channels, you can cut the cable cord for good. If you arent getting the best signal possible, adjust the positioning and try scanning againhopefully, with a bit of tweaking, youll be watching all your local channels in crystal-clear HD.
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How To Set These Three Components
First of all, you need to take the length of coax cable and set this backside of the TV where you can screw it into the cable or antenna area input.
Keep the other side of the coax cable dangling for now?
Now its time to switch on the TV and go to the setup menu where you can get an option of cable/antenna option. Then you can get an option to scan channels
The other side of the coax cable needs to be touched with a coax cable pin while scanning is on the process. It may be the process of 10-20 minutes to get channels after scanning with this handmade system. You will see some channels are available after the scan completed.
Local Channels On Youtube TV
YouTube TV is an equally great option for watching live ABC, CBS, Fox, The CW, and NBC. You can check your Zip Code on;Youtube TVs Website;to make sure those channels are available in your area. They are also one of the only live services to offer PBS in their channel lineup.
YouTube TV is also a top service for watching local and cable channels live online. The service costs $64.99 per month with no contract, so that you can cancel at any time. Youtube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app isnt available on Roku. However, users can use YouTube TV through the YouTube app on Roku devices. You can see our;in-depth review of YouTube;TV for more information on their service.
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Local News Channels On Newson
The NewsOn app is the best resource for people who ditched cable TV, but still want local newscasts. It doesnt matter if you live in Houston, Texas or Bangor, Maine. You can find your local newscasts just like you still had cable, but without footing the bill.;
Pretty impressive. NewsOn is available on most streaming devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV.;
Local Channels On Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV has ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX as part of a 65+ channel bundle. This live TV service also has cable-TV staples such as A&E, ESPN and TNT.
Subscribers get 50 hours of Cloud DVR, and unlimited access to the on-demand library that people pay $5.99 per month for. That includes Hulu Originals such as The Handmaids Tale. Hulu also lets you see what local channels are available in your area.
A subscription costs $64.99 per month. There is no contract. Customers can subscribe on a month-to-month basis.;
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TV Antenna: Free Local Channels Without Cable
The easiest way to get free local channels without a cable subscription with a TV antenna.;
Checking to see if youre close to broadcast towers is easy. Head over to the Antennas Direct Transmitter Locator tool. Punch in your zip code or address and push the View Channels button.
Youll get a channel listing and even some suggestions for TV antennas based on your zip code.;
Connecting a TV antenna to a television is pretty simple, especially if youre using an indoor TV antenna. Just plug one into the coax port on the back of your TV. Under settings, you will need to look for an Air TV or Over-the-air option and scan for channels.;
Using a TV antenna isnt that complex. But choosing a well-made one that will maximize your channel lineup can be challenging because of companies that over-promise what they can do.;
Its important that you invest in a quality TV antenna. No matter what, avoid the cheaply made models that claim outlandish ranges . An indoor or outdoor TV antenna claiming to have a range over 50+ miles is impossible due to physics.;
The Federal Trade Commission recently cracked down on a company that sold TV antennas while making false and misleading claims. But there are many other companies making outlandish claims that have gone unchecked.;
Here are a number of resources that I have assembled over the years based on my own hands-on testing.;
- Review: The Best Outdoor TV Antennas