Find The Cheapest Way To Watch The Cable Channels You Love
Many cord-cutters stress about the potential of losing access to the channels they love watching with their cable subscriptions.
The good news is that almost every channel, sporting event, movie or TV show available on cable is also streamed nowadays.
Team Clark has developed a tool to help you find right live TV streaming services based on the channels that you watch the most.
All you have to do is type in the names of the channels you like , and our tool will help you figure out which service carries them and how much the packages with that service cost.
If this tool doesnt answer all your comparison shopping questions, you may also find our side-by-side channel comparison chart useful.
Are Your Streaming Device And Apps Compatible
Setting up and trying out a streaming TV service is as easy as downloading an appbut is that app available on your set-top box or mobile devices?
Most services reviewed here are available as smart TV apps, though we recommend streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, or Roku for better stability and performance.
Ways To Watch TV Without Paying For Cable
13 Ways to Watch TV Without Paying fo…
Youre not still paying for cable, are you? We get it. Breaking up is hard to do, but these days, there are plenty of cheap TV services and streaming services that can replace the absurd prices of cable.
There are lots of ways you can watch TV without cable or satellite, and because most streaming sites have free trials, there is no reason not to try them!
Most households subscribe to more than one and still pay a fraction of their old cable bill in order to achieve TV without cable. For example, Sling TV + Netflix + Hulu + Peacock = $50/month!
What works best for you?
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Flexible Deals For Sports Channels
If youâre not currently a Sky or BT customer and you have no plans on switching anytime soon, you can still get access to all the sports channels you could want via streaming services.
You can get access to all 11 Sky Sports channels with the NOW Sports membership, which is currently available for £25 a month instead of its normal £33.99 a month. Thereâs even a £9.99 day pass you can get if youâre interested in watching a particular match.
You can also subscribe to BT Sport on a monthly basis for £25 per month which you can stream through the dedicated BT Sport app on your smart TV or mobile devices.
Watch Free Hdtv Over The Air
One option that a lot of people are just now realizing is the fact that you can watch all the major networks, and a variety of other public television stations free of charge over the wonderful new digital airwaves. In fact, 94 of the top 100 shows are on broadcast TV!
The picture quality is HD and better than cable at times on broadcast TV, and all you need is a nice antenna and an HDTV tuner in order to pick up the shows. In fact, if you’re not a big TV watcher you could get by with just the big 3 networks if you wanted to. Here’s what we use for an antenna:
There are also a bunch of over-the-air DVRs available as well. Over-the-air DVRS will allow you to watch live broadcast TV, record your favorite shows, or entire series. Here are the two that I think are the best. I have tried both and like them both.
- Channel Master DVR+
- Tablo TV DVR : I love the Tablo because I can record the shows and then download them via a software like Tablo Ripper to archive the shows on the computer on an attached hard drive.
We like some of the cable shows as well, however, so this option alone doesn’t cut it for us.
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Will I Be Able To Stream Things Such As Awards Shows And State Of The Union Addresses
Almost every major TV event happens on one of the big four networks. Fortunately, these are some of the easiest to access. Most live streaming services include ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, and theyre all accessible for free through a TV antenna as well.
Streaming them for free is a little trickier. If you know someone who pays for cable or live streaming, you can use their credentials to log into the networks standalone app and watch the broadcast live. In many cases such as State of the Union addresses or major breaking news events networks will also stream them for free on their websites and social media pages.
As for awards shows such as the Oscars, theyre generally behind a paywall on the broadcasters app, so youll need to subscribe to that directly, pay for a live streaming service, or use a TV antenna. If youre in one of the nine markets with access to Locast, you can also use that to tune in.
Make The Most Of Streaming
Streaming sites have become a huge deal in the world of TV watching stats from BARB show that more than half of UK households now use at least one of the big ones.
The good news from a MoneySaving point of view, is that many offer free trials, giving unlimited access for a set period. So you can binge on The Boys, Good Omens, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and other big series to your heart’s content plus watch popular films such as Tenet, Promising Young Woman, I Care A Lot, Parasite, 1917, and Frozen 2.
If you really want to max it, hop from free trial to free trial
Just remember to cancel before each trial’s up. Unfortunately, Netflix got rid of its 30-day free trial, but there are others you can still take advantage of.
Important: You’ll usually have to enter debit or credit card details, and the subscription will auto-renew, so mark it in your diary to cancel if you don’t want to continue.
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The Best Cable TV Alternatives In : Live TV Services That Save You Money
Cutting the cord is made possible by the best cable TV alternatives. These live TV services offer faster performance, sleeker interfaces and best of all monthly payment structures. That’s right, no contracts! And as students prepare go back to school, finding a fantastic way to watch cable TV online is the perfect way to stay up to date with your favorite shows, and make it so you don’t need to argue over who can use the dorm’s TVs. Check out our ultimate back to school guide for more of our top picks on what to pick up so you can get saved before the bell rings.
The best cable TV replacement services offer most of the broadcast, entertainment, news and sports channels you want to watch and allow you to add on premiums like HBO and Showtime. In fact, the top pick allowed Tom’s Guide writer Kelly Woo to finally cut the cord.
This list of cable TV alternatives is for you if you want to watch local news to stay abreast of everything, catch sports games or record episodes of your favorite guilty pleasure reality series. And even while many are going up in price, they’re still cheaper than cable.
Download A Mobile App
Many local stations offer mobile apps for watching local TV shows on your smartphone or other mobile devices for free.
CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox and the CW stations all offer mobile apps that allow you to stream local TV shows on your mobile app without the need for a subscription or a cable or satellite hookup.
Its important to note that each app works a bit differently. The CBS app allows viewers to see full episodes of their favorite CBS shows on-demand the day after they air.
However, if you want access to live streaming or to their full archives, youll have to pay for their Paramount+ package which I talked about earlier.
Paramount+ has packages starting at $4.99 per month.
The ABC App
The ABC app offers archive viewing and live stream viewing for free, however in some larger markets such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City you need to have a cable or satellite provider to do so.
The NBC App
The NBC app offers free viewing of recent episodes of some new shows. They also offer some older episodes and shows from your mobile device.
While live streaming and some recent episodes require mobile viewers to have a satellite or cable provider.
The Fox App
The Fox app allows you to stream most shows the day after the original airing date. However, more selections and live streaming are available with your participating TV provider account.
The CW App
And theres not an option to view more if you have a TV subscription provider.
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Cable Network Channels Online
Most major networks post recently aired episodes to their websites for a limited amount of time. CBS even offers online viewers an additional paid subscription option to unlock more than 10,000 episodes of everything from Frasier to The Brady Bunch.
And if you own a smart TV or other streaming device , you can download a lot of network apps straight to your device and watch thereand most of them are free! Why, hello, reruns of Fixer Upper.
Other Ways To Get Cnn
Unfortunately, streaming services like Philo and Vidgo do not provide live streaming of CNN. However, there are some other ways you can watch CNN without cable.
- The CNN App: This free app gives you access to CNN content. But to watch in real-time, youll need to subscribe. Our recommendation is to choose a streaming service that will let you log in to the CNN app directly.
- CNNGo: Stream CNN live at any time by going to CNNGo or clicking Watch Live on CNN.com. However, youll need to enter your streaming/cable service provider information for uninterrupted live streaming.
- YouTube TV: YouTube TV provides a streaming service very similar to Hulu + Live TV with 85+ live channels, including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, truTV, and others, for $64.99 per month.
- YouTube.com: CNN has a strong presence on YouTube, but youll have to wait for content to be uploaded. For breaking news, youre better off choosing one of the streaming services listed above.
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How To Watch TV For Free Or Cheap Without Paying For Cable
If you’re anything like me you probably like keeping your expenses to the minimum while at the same time not sacrificing so much that you’re living an austere existence.
You don’t mind giving up eating out, as long as you’re eating well at home. You don’t mind having a pre-paid cell phone, as long as you still have a wireless plan and decent phone. You don’t mind reading books online for free, as long as you have some good entertainment. Finally, you don’t mind not paying for cable tv, as long as you can still watch the shows that you enjoy watching.
This past year or two we employed a couple of different strategies in order to stick it to the cable company, and not pay for all the entertainment options we were enjoying. In reality, if you want to, you can do the same thing at your house and get free TV.
Here’s how.
How Can I Stream Espn
You can stream ESPN on lots of live TV streaming services, but weve rounded up the top five. .
We chose our top five based on the streaming services value, number of sports channels, dollar-to-channel ratio, and extra sports coverage.
fuboTV is the best all-around live TV streaming service. You can get the major sports channels on top of the ESPN channel for an affordable price with YouTube TV. Sling TV is the cheapest option if your goal is to save money.
Hulu + Live TV is best for those who want live channels and lots of on-demand content. And DIRECTV STREAM is the go-to for those who want premium channels included in their channel lineup.
Lets take a look at the channels. Which one fits your budget while meeting your sports-loving streaming needs?
| Monthly price |
This can be an expensive route because youll have to pay for a TV service, like Xfinity or DISH, on top of the ESPN+ subscription. Or you can just use your parents TV provider login to stream the ESPN channels.
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How To Watch Espn Online Without Cable In 2021
by Lauren Bennett – Last Updated December 31, 2020
Whether its the UFC, the NBA, or the NFL, we all have a sport that we love to watch. And what better place to keep up with our favorite games and matches than ESPN?
What if you dont have cable though? Does this mean that you have to miss out?
Thankfully not!
With so many great cable TV alternatives, there are lots of ways to watch the channel, without having to pay $100s for a cable subscription.
After all, with cable prices set to rise in 2020 by as much as $20 to $30 a month, a lot of us just cant afford the cost of cable and have decided to cut the cord or just opt for free basic cable TV. Even if you can make room for the cost of cable in your budget, you might just not want to sign up for it!
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Whatever the reason, there are plenty of ways you can enjoy sports coverage from ESPN sans cable.
Hulu Or Hulu With Live TV
Hulu is my personal favorite way to watch TV without cable. You dont have to worry about setting up an appointment or getting any special equipment to watch programming because you can stream it on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. Plus, there are a number of tiers to fit just about any budget.
Hulu Basic
The basic plan has two tiers depending upon whether you want to sit through commercials. The ad-supported plan starts at $5.99 per month. Selecting this plan gives you unlimited access to stream on your choice of devices, with limited commercials.
You can upgrade and pay $11.99 per month to get Hulu without commercials, but I dont mind the few commercials that come with this basic plan. There are way fewer commercials with Hulu than with cable, and its also way cheaper. And, you can always mute the TV during commercials.
Hulu with Live TV
You could also choose Hulu with Live TV as another alternative to cable TV. Just like the basic plan, Hulu with Live TV has two tiers: Ad-supported and no ads.
The ad-supported plan is $64.99 per month. With this plan, you can stream 50+ live TV channels in addition to what you get with the basic plan.
Dont want to sit through commercials when you watch on-demand programming? No problem. The Hulu with Live TV without ads plan costs $70.99 per month.
Save with Hulu
Hulu is easy to use with many different devices to stream it to your TV. You can have your choice of the , Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, and more.
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Live TV Streaming Services
Streaming video on demand is a great way to replace content from TV: you can watch your favorite shows and movies online whenever you want! But is that really the same thing as being able to watch TV without cable? To some people, sure but others might find that their favorite things about TV are missing. What about brand-new episodes of the latest network TV shows? What about channel surfing and just seeing what’s on? What about live sports?
One answer to these cries is the live TV streaming service, or skinny bundle. The idea is a pretty simple one: these services are like cable subscriptions, only online and cheaper.
Cable stinks, but it didn’t always stink, and its channel bundles include some great stuff. That inspired the companies behind the major live TV streaming services to set out to beat cable at its own game. They began to offer pay TV multichannel services industry lingo for cable- and satellite-type pay TV bundles only they slashed the size and the price of cable’s bulky bundles and offered folks a key selection of channels for less. And since these services stream online, you can watch them anywhere and on almost any device.
Here are a few of the live TV streaming services you should know about. Click the name of any of these services to sign up. Many of these services offer free trials!
As with the SVOD services, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but these are the live TV streaming services that we know and love best here at Cordcutting.com.