Kennedy is a cord-cutting writer who is all about helping others save money. She’s been a professional writer for two years, with a year of experience devoted to cord-cutting coverage. Prior to that, she enjoyed writing during her two years at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, where she majored in General Education. Read more.
Ditch your cable box and start streaming everything to save some money while still being able to watch seasonal shows. Football is a Thanksgiving tradition in many households, and it’s easy to watch even if you cut the cord.
Watch on a Streaming Service
Cable replacement services typically offer access to local channels such as NBC, CBS, and FOX, which are the three channels broadcasting football on Thanksgiving. Each of the streaming services below offers a free trial, but the length of the trial varies. Ensure that whichever service you choose works on all of the devices in your home.
- YouTube TV is available for $50 per month and offers a five-day free trial. It can be used on the web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromecast displays (including Google’s Smart Displays), Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and Samsung and LG smart TVs made after 2016. You can sign up for YouTube TV here.
- Hulu with Live TV is available for $45 and comes with a week-long trial. You can watch it on the web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromecast displays, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Windows 10, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Samsung, and LG Smart TVs, and Nintendo Switch. You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV here.
- AT&T TV Now starts at $65 per month and offers a one-week free trial. You can watch it on the web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromecast displays, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung smart TVs made after 2017. You can sign up for AT&T TV Now here.
- Sling TV starts at $25 per month and offers a one-week free trial. You can watch Sling TV on the web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromecast displays, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung and LG smart TVs made after 2016, and certain Xfinity cable boxes. One caveat with Sling is you need an Over-the-Air antenna to watch local channels, which is probably what you’ll watch the football game on. You can sign up for Sling TV here.
Watch on the NFL App
NFL Game Pass lets you watch games at any time for $75 per year. You can get a one-week free trial with apps available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Android TV, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
There’s a big caveat with this, though: there are some games you can only watch on your smartphone. You also won’t be able to watch those games on the big screen with Chromecast or AirPlay. While that’s not a giant deal, if you’re the only one watching, trying to get your whole family to watch on a six-inch screen just isn’t going to happen.
Buy an Over-The-Air Antenna
While you can get most content over the Internet, having a good Over-the-Air (OTA) antenna is great for shows and sporting events that are broadcast on local channels. Even the latest smart TVs will have a coaxial input to hook up an antenna.
Using an antenna might be even better than trying to stream the game over the Internet. With this option, you can stream your game without competing with your kids’ tablet for Internet bandwidth, and you don’t have to worry about the stream ending because someone’s network crashed.
OTA antennas just work, so you won’t need to replace it three years down the line. You can get an antenna for as low as $18, as long as you’re close enough to your favorite TV stations. Some OTA antennas even include a free trial to Sling TV, so you can use that to jump-start the rest of your cord-cutting.
While it may take some effort to consider which option lets you watch the games you want, you’ll still be able to watch football this Thanksgiving and save money by cutting the cord!
Tom Westrick has been writing about technology professionally since 2014, but he started poking and prodding at electronics as a teenager. His work has been published on Android Central, iMore, and Windows Central. When he’s not writing, Tom is a Tier-1 Help Desk Technician, songwriter, and guitar player. Read more.
Getting rid of your cable box in favor of streaming everything over the Internet is a great way to save money, but it can cause some pain when you try to watch seasonal content. Football is a Thanksgiving tradition in many households, and thankfully it’s easy to watch even if you cut the cord.
Watch on a Streaming Service
Cable replacement services typically offer access to local channels like NBC, CBS, and FOX, which are the three channels broadcasting football on Thanksgiving. Each of the different services offers a free trial, but the length of the trial will vary. Also, one service may be better for you depending on what hardware you have in your home.
- YouTube TV is available for $40 per month and offers a one-month free trial. It can be used on the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast displays (including Google’s Smart Displays), Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox One, and Samsung and LG smart TVs made after 2016. You can sign up for YouTube TV here .
- Hulu with Live TV is also available for $40, but the free trial is only for a week. You can watch it on the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast displays, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Windows 10, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Samsung and LG Smart TVs and Nintendo Switch. You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV here.
- PlayStation Vue starts at $45 per month for the least expensive plan, but this still lets you watch local channels. PlayStation Vue offers a five-day free trial and can be watched on PlayStation 4, iOS, Android, Chromecast displays, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Roku. You can sign up for PlayStation Vue here.
- DirecTV Now starts at $40 per month and offers a one-week free trial. You can watch it on the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast displays, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung smart TVs made after 2017. You can sign up for DirecTV Now here.
- Sling TV starts at $25 per month and offers a one-week free trial. You can watch Sling TV on the web, iOS, Android, Chromecast displays, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung and LG smart TVs made after 2016, and certain Xfinity cable boxes. One caveat with Sling is you need an Over-the-Air antenna to watch local channels, which is probably what you’ll watch the football game on. You can sign up for Sling TV here.
Watch on the NFL App
NFL Game Pass lets you watch games at any time for $99 per year. You can get a one-week free trial, and the app is available on iOS, Android, Android TV, Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. There’s a big caveat with this though: there are some games you can only watch on your smartphone. You also won’t be able to watch those games on the big screen with Chromecast or AirPlay. While that’s not a giant deal if you’re the only one watching, trying to get your whole family to watch on a six-inch screen just isn’t going to happen.
Buy an Over-The-Air Antenna
While you can get most content over the Internet, having a good Over-the-Air (OTA) antenna is great for shows and sporting events that are broadcast on local channels. Even the latest smart TVs will have a coaxial input to hook up an antenna, and using an antenna might be even better than trying to stream the game over the Internet: you can stream your game without competing with your kids’ tablet for Internet bandwidth, and you don’t have to worry about the stream ending because someone’s network crashed .
OTA antennas just work, so you won’t need to replace it three years down the line. You can get an antenna for as low as $15 , as long as you’re close enough to your favorite stations . Certain OTA antennas will include a free trial to Sling TV, so you can use that to jump-start the rest of your cord cutting.
While it may take some effort to consider which option lets you watch the games you want, you’ll still be able to watch football this Thanksgiving, and still save money from cutting the cord!
Whether you’ve cut the cord or are sticking with cable, our guide will show you all the ways you can watch America’s favorite sport on TV, including Monday Night Football and NFL RedZone.
Freelance contributor, TechHive |
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It’s playoff season! This NFL season has been like no other, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The NFL bucked the protocol set by other leagues of playing in empty stadiums; several teams have committed to allowing at least some fans in to watch the games.
All things considered, your home remains the safest place to watch the 2020 season. The NFL has steadily embraced streaming over the last few years, and there are now more ways than ever to get your gridiron on.
Here’s our guide to all your streaming options.
Over the air
Unlike the NBA, NHL, or MLB, the NFL plays a simple 16-game schedule with each team playing one game a week. That lends itself to fairly predictable TV programming. The league splits the Sunday afternoon telecasts by conference: AFC games air on CBS at 1:00 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. ET, and Fox runs the NFC games at 1:00 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. ET.
Mentioned in this article
NBC retains the popular Sunday Night Football broadcast, which kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET. All you’ll need is an over-the-air digital TV antenna and reasonable proximity to a broadcast tower. You’ll find our top antenna picks here.
This year, 11 of 14 Thursday Night Football broadcasts will be broadcast on Fox and simulcast on the cable-only NFL Network. The league’s flagship channel retains sole ownership of the remaining three games.
That leaves out only the iconic Monday Night Football game on cable-only ESPN, to which you can get access via one of the streaming options below.
If this abundance of TV offerings has your head swimming like you just took a bone-crushing hit from J.J. Watt, check out 506Sports.com or Sports Media Watch. Each site lists which game is on what channel for each week of the season. Bookmark them for easy access.
Fox will broadcast 11 of the 13 Thursday night games this year. They’ll be simulcast on the cable-only NFL network.
Streaming
Even if you don’t have a cable subscription or a TV antenna, you still have plenty of options for catching all the pro pigskin action. Streaming options continue to expand each season, offering plenty of ways to tailor your viewing. But while we highlight what each service offers, the availability of individual channels’ live content can vary by market. It pays to check via each service’s website to see what it offers in your area before subscribing.
AT&T TV Now, formerly DirectTV Now, offers CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN in its $55-per-month Plus package. Unfortunately, it looks like NFL Network was a casualty of the company’s recent channel slashing.
CBS will continue to stream its NFL telecasts to subscribers of its $6-per-month CBS All Access service. And Amazon will stream through Amazon Prime Video all the Thursday Night Football games broadcast on Fox. If you don’t want to shell out the $119 annual Amazon Prime membership fee to get access to Amazon Prime Video, you can still catch those games as they’ll be streamed live for free on Amazon-owned Twitch.
Sling TV splits ESPN and NFL Network into separate channel bundles. You’ll need Sling Orange to get the former and Sling Blue to get the latter.
FuboTV will give you CBS, FOX, and NBC for all Sunday games, plus NFL Network for Thursday’s in its Family package, which costs $65 per month. For an additional $11 per month, you can also get NFL RedZone via the service’s Sports Plus add-on. Hosted by Scott Hanson and existing only for about a seven-hour window each Sunday, RedZone airs nothing but the day’s highlights (mostly touchdowns, as the name suggests) at a frenetic pace that perfectly evokes the adrenaline rush of a game-winning drive.
Hulu with Live TV will give you all the season’s Sunday games and Monday Night Football for a $55-per-month subscription.
Sling TV’s live NFL offerings are divided between their two channel packages: Sling Orange includes ESPN, and Sling Blue has FOX and NBC. Each one will cost you $30 a month, so that’s $60 per month to get those three channels. Sling used to offer a discounted combined package called Sling Orange & Blue, but that’s been discontinued. As well, Sling TV no longer carries ABC or NFL Network, making this a less appealing option for football fans than in past seasons.
YouTube TV recently signed a deal with NFL Media to carry the NFL Network as part of YouTube TV’s base package, which costs $65 per month. That will get you all of the week’s games, on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. Tack on YouTube TV’s Sports Plus for $11 per month and you’ll also get NFL RedZone (along with Fox College Sports, Fox Soccer Plus, and four other sports-oriented channels).
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But there’s one thing you may be worried about: How do you watch your favorite sports now?
Luckily, there are plenty of ways for you to still cheer on your team. Don’t let this be the reason you remain chained to a frustrating company for the next few years because you were scared you’d miss out. Check out some of the best options to watch live sports if you’ve decided cable isn’t right for you any longer – and you want to save some cold, hard cash.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Don’t worry, baseball fans. You’ve still got options if you want to catch your favorite teams. The regular baseball season draws to a close at the end of September, at least for the teams that don’t make the playoffs.
You can expect postseason play in October, meaning there’s still plenty of baseball to catch through the World Series, with the final game of the series scheduled for a tentative October 30.
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If you decide to go ahead and cut the cord now, that means there’s still a lot of ballgames you could still be missing out on – but not if you decide to go ahead and switch to cheaper alternatives that cable providers aren’t offering.
MLV.TV is an excellent option you can subscribe to. It includes all games for the regular season or just a specific team, based on whoever you’re rooting for. Students and military service members are also eligible for discounts.
The pricing starts at the low cost of free for a seven-day trial, then $24.99 monthly. Or, you can sign up for a yearly subscription for $118.99. It’s still a great bargain for the price and hardly as much as you’d be paying for a complete cable package. Alternatively, you can always watch select MLB games with ESPN+.
MLB with ESPN+ is also an option, which will cost you just $4.99 a month. This gives you live MLB games all season long, though there will be some local market blackout dates and only select games are broadcast here.
There are plenty of ways to jump on your favorite games with fuboTV (free seven-day trial of MLB, sports and entertainment from a variety of channels) as well as Fox Sports Regional Sports Networks available as a live TV streaming option for several providers. Including AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now), Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and Playstation Vue.
As far as baseball goes, there’s no need to strikeout.
National Football League (NFL)
Football fans, you know you’re covered, given that this ridiculously popular sport has plenty of options to watch online or on TV once you decide to cut the cord. With NFL preseason already underway and the regular season kicking off on September 5, you’ve got options out there right now that you can swap over to without missing a beat.
You’ve probably heard of NFL Sunday Ticket, the only way to stream any out-of-market NFL games without having a cable subscription (local market games are blacked out) you want through the season on just about any device. You can do this, however, long as you’re a DirecTV subscriber in some way.
You can only get it as a standalone service if you live in an area where you can’t subscribe to DirecTV – for instance, if you live in an apartment and aren’t allowed to have a satellite dish installed. There’s also Sunday Ticket TV U for college students without these restrictions at a cheaper tier. Everyone else, unfortunately, will have to pay up.
Finally, CBS All Access makes local market games that are broadcast on CBS available to stream, and Amazon Prime Video has rights to some Thursday Night Football games. Both are valid options if you’re looking for cheap and quick ways to see select games and variety doesn’t matter as much to you.
If all else fails, you can always watch games in your market for free through the Yahoo Sports app available for both iOS and Android. Alternatively, you can also catch games in your market through Fox, CBS and NBC if local channels are included with the streaming service you use.
National Hockey League (NHL)
The NHL season is getting close also, with the first game scheduled for October 9. For hockey fans, your best bet is undoubtedly going to be NHL.TV, which is the easiest option for out-of-market games.
Currently the only plan available through NHL.TV costs $9.99 and lets you watch games from last season. When we get closer to the season you can purchase a plan to stream live games, which last year cost around $140 for the whole year.
Like with other sports, Fox RSNs carry in-market games, similar to the way we discussed previously that the service works for MLB and baseball fans, depending on what services you’re subscribed to.
NBC also has a big stake in NHL games, so it’s possible you might see the occasional hockey games streamed via NBC’s online venues as well. Hockey is very much the smaller out of the online streamed games, but there are still ways to get in on the action.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Basketball season is gearing up, with the first game of the season tipping on October 22. There are far fewer options for viewing basketball games once the cord has been cut, but there are a few out there that are still quite reliable and easy to use.
The best option for serious fans is NBA League Pass. You can select a package to see every game live or just the games of your favorite team.
Keep in mind, there are still local market blackouts as well as blackouts for nationally-televised games such as those on TNT or ABC. Fox Sports RSN acts as another option in a pinch, too. Again, that’s where you can get in-market MLB, NHL and NBA games, so you could kill three birds with one stone by subscribing to a service that carries these channels.
With that said, worry not about missing out on your favorite sports teams’ games if you decide cable just isn’t right for you anymore. You can catch just about every game that’s important to you by subscribing to one or multiple services – you just need to do a bit of research to see which one is best.
Thanksgiving 2016 Football Guide for Cord Cutters
November 23, 2016
We hope you enjoy the following guest post from Chris Brantner, the cord cutting expert behind CutCableToday.com.
Thanksgiving Day is especially huge for NFL football fans. It’s engrained in Thanksgiving tradition—sitting around the TV with a turkey hangover watching the big games.
For cord cutters or those visiting family who have cut cable, the great news is you can catch all the games live, in full HD and without cable.
Here are your Thanksgiving football highlights:
Thanksgiving Day Football Schedule
Here’s the details on who is playing, when the games start, and what channels you can watch the games on:
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions – 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys – 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX
Pittsburg Steelers at Indianapolis Colts – 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC
An Antenna Is All You Need on Thanksgiving
Antenna TV is not the fuzzy (and likely black and white) picture you might remember. New digital Over-the-Air broadcast technology means antennas provide free access to live TV channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC in full HD. In fact, all of the channels broadcasting NFL games on Thanksgiving Thursday can be viewed with an antenna.
Along with a super sharp picture that is often better than you’d ever see via compressed cable or satellite signals, don’t forget the only cost of watching TV with an antenna is the initial investment on the antenna itself. There’s no contracts or monthly bills that skyrocket after a year or two of ‘promotional pricing’.
If you’re interested in finding out which channels can be seen in your area, check out your Over-the-Air reception situation here.
Perfect Your Setup with a Tablo Over-the-Air DVR
Sure, an antenna is a fantastic asset to have as a cable cutter. You get to watch tons of TV and it doesn’t cost a dime. But, if you’re looking to up your Over-the-Air TV game, that’s where an Over-the-Air DVR like Tablo comes in.
Tablo connects to your antenna and delivers all the normal features of a traditional DVR like recording, pausing, and rewinding live TV. You can watch live TV or your recordings whenever and on whatever device you like.
The real upside is that Tablo connects the feed from your antenna to the internet which means you can stream live or recorded TV from your Tablo while you’re away from home and have access to internet or cell reception.
With Tablo on Thanksgiving Day, you’ve got more options. You can record the games and watch the next day on your XBOX One when your annoying cousin isn’t asking a question every single second. Or you can take your phone over to your in-law’s house and sneakily stream the game live in another room while everyone else argues over the election.
Pro tip: run some headphones up the back of your shirt, so you aren’t stuck watching the on mute.
Long story short, if you cut cable you will not miss a single second of Thanksgiving day football. Plus, your experience can be a heck of a lot better than people who are paying something crazy like $5,300 FOR CABLE! An antenna and Tablo combination really is a good 1-2 punch, so I can’t recommend it enough.
Happy football watching and happy Thanksgiving!
Chris Brantner runs CutCableToday.com, a blog dedicated to helping people find legal cable TV alternatives. Follow him on Twitter @CutCableToday and like him on Facebook at
Sign up for Tablo’s Cord Cutting This Week newsletter to get the latest cord cutting industry news including updates on Over-the-Air TV shows, streaming services, set-top-boxes, gadgets, and more delivered straight to your inbox!
We are all about “cutting the cord” here. That is to say, we love to present alternatives to television viewers in-lieu of their expensive cable subscription. We tell you how to watch TV with the use of antennas and streaming services so that you can save some money and “cut the cord” on cable.
But some people have stayed away from cable altogether. These people have decided that the world has many more viewing options outside of cable, and therefore they forego cable subscriptions altogether.
These individuals are known as “Cord Nevers”, and in this article, we will be taking a look at who exactly these Cord Nevers are and what the viewing habits of these individuals are to shed some light on another side of cord cutting.
Definition
As you may have guessed, a Cord Never is a person that has never signed up for a cable subscription in their life. Instead, Cord Nevers get their television viewing experience through the use of various streaming apps such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube.
According to a study conducted by GfK MRI, these Cord Nevers account for 9% of television viewers in the United States. This is actually one percent more than Cord Cutters, which make up 8% of the populace. In addition to this, the average age of a Cord Never is around 34 years old, with more than half of Cord Nevers being a part of the sometimes controversial “Millennial” generation.
So What do Cord Nevers Watch?
In opposition to traditional film and television, Cord Nevers get the majority of their entertainment from the free-to-use streaming service YouTube. With nearly half of the Cord Never community using the platform, it is far and away the most used service for these individuals, with Netflix and Amazon users trailing the pack at 39% and 25% respectively.
While the easily accessible content of YouTube does appeal to the majority of Cord Nevers, that isn’t to say that these individuals don’t enjoy some good, old-fashioned entertainment. In fact, among both Cord Cutters and Cord Nevers, Netflix show Orange is the New Black is the most popular series, with:
- Fuller House
- Stranger Things
- Daredevil and
- The Mindy Project
rounding out the top five programs for Cord Nevers.
While these viewing habits are very similar to Cord Cutters, Cord Nevers seem to shy away from more serious, darker dramas and documentaries, such as House of Cards and Making a Murderer, which both appear in the top five programs for Cord Cutters.
Also of note is that Cord Nevers are more likely to use OTT services than they are to use services that are a part of a bigger bundle. This explains why services such as YouTube, which is independent of any sort of cable subscription, get more use than a service such as CBS Now, which requires cable television to use.
Will Cord Nevers Ever Become Cable Users?
Interestingly enough, while most Cord Nevers (about 60%) are satisfied with how they currently watch television programming, they are open to at least trying out cable.
Of the group of Cord Nevers surveyed, 22% said that they may want to see what cable offers in the future. When it comes to Cord Nevers in the Millennial generation, this number increases to 27%. This is an awful large portion of people when you consider that the majority of Cord Nevers would rather use streaming services that have nothing to do with cable television.
Conclusion
So which group do you fall into? Are you a “Cord Cutter” who is looking to get rid of cable? Or are you a “Cord Never” who hasn’t so much as seen a cable box?
No matter which group you fall into, the fact remains. Great television gives us something to bond over and a common ground to agree on. This is something that you don’t need cable for!
Thanks for reading our article! Please follow us Follow @CTC_now on Twitter to stay up-to-date on our latest cord cutting articles. You can also join us on our Facebook Page.
It’s hard to imagine that Thanksgiving is already upon us, but here it is. Thanksgiving can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but beyond family, friends, and food one thing about Thanksgiving is also important in many households, and that’s football. No matter who your favorite team is, it’s always fun to watch the game with family while munching on pre and post-dinner delights. Best of all, there are so many ways to watch each of the games that will be airing this year. Thanks to streaming, whether you have cable or not, you can choose how you watch each game, whether it’s on your phone or your big screen TV.
Thanksgiving is all about tradition for many families. For example, you might start the day with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After dinner and the football games are over, you might end the night with one of your favorite Thanksgiving movies. Before we look at how you can watch each Thanksgiving Day game, you need to know when and where to watch them. According to the Thanksgiving football schedule, the games airing are:
- Bears at Lions on CBS at 12:30 pm ET
- Redskins at Cowboys on FOX at 4:30 pm ET
- Falcons at Saints on NBC at 8:20 pm ET
Now that you know where the games are, let’s look at how you can watch them. We’ll get into cable and cord cutter options shortly, but first let’s look at free options. Whether you pay for a live cable alternative or you’re a cable subscriber doesn’t matter. Anyone can use the following services for free.
NFL App
You can actually watch every game on the NFL app for free, not just the ones on Thanksgiving. The only issue, for some, will be that you’re going to be stuck watching on your phone. You won’t be able to cast through Chromecast or any other device. The games are limited to Apple and Android phones and tablets. That said, if you can live with that, it’s a great way to watch each of the games absolutely free.
NFL on Yahoo Sports
Watching the football game on Yahoo Sports is as easy as enabling location services on your phone and streaming the game you want to watch. Yahoo Sports offers local and primetime games on your phone or tablet. Like the NFL app, you won’t be allowed to screencast. Still, if you want a free option, this will allow you to watch this and other games.
That covers the free options, so now let’s look at the paid choices. Here you’ll find a mix of options that you can use as a cord cutter or that cable subscribers can use. All of them are decent options and give you plenty of choices about where to stream the game.
CBS All Access
This is only going to cover the Bears at Lions, when they play at 12:30 pm on CBS. If you want to stream the game and you don’t receive CBS through another streaming service, CBS All Access is a great choice. You get live and on-demand CBS content for $5.99 a month. You even get the first week free, so if you sign up before the game, you can cancel after it’s over and get to watch it for free! CBS All Access is also available as an Amazon Prime channel. You can stream on most devices, so you can pick between watching on your phone, tablet, computer, or TV through many different streaming devices.
FOX Sports Go
You’ll need a cable or streaming provider login to use FOX Sports Go, but if you have one you can watch the Redskins at Cowboys on your phone or TV. Most streaming devices, including Amazon Fire devices and Roku, will stream FOX Sports Go. It’s a free way to stream the game and any other FOX sports, if you have cable. If you cut the cord, you can also sign in with services like DIRECTV NOW or fuboTV, but you’d need to check your package to ensure that this app is covered in your service.
NBC Sports app
The NBC Sports app works just like the FOX Sports Go app, except the games you’d be watching are ones that air on NBC. Again, this app works with many different streaming devices and you can sign in with both a cable provider and some streaming providers. Just remember to check your package ahead of time if you’re a cord cutter, to make sure that NBC Sports is included in your package.
The following options are all live streaming cable replacements. If you’re a cord cutter, this will give you some additional ways to watch each game. These services provide an alternative to cable, are often more affordable, and provide additional options that cable may not offer.
fuboTV
fuboTV is a sports-centric streaming service. They offer 70+ channels and a lot of them are sports oriented. You can stream on most streaming and mobile devices. There’s one package that’s $45 a month, but you get the first week free. Local channels can be tricky on any streaming service and are often location-based. However, many areas do receive locals on fuboTV. If not, both FOX Sports Go, and NBC Sports app are included in your package.
Hulu Live
Hulu with Live TV is another solid option. The main draw here, other than getting the free on-demand version of Hulu, is that they offer local channels to more cities than any other streaming service. Like fuboTV, Hulu Live works on most streaming devices and if you’re in an area without a specific local channel, you can still watch live on the FOX Sports Go and NBC Sports apps. Hulu Live is $40 a month and also includes a free one-week trial.
YouTube TV
While Hulu Live offers more homes local content than other services, YouTube TV comes in second. They also have an amazing mobile app and a bottomless DVR. Otherwise, you’ll find many of the same perks that you would with other streaming services. YouTube TV is also $40 a month and has a free trial that lasts for a week. You can stream on most devices, but Amazon Fire devices are not compatible.
That’s how to stream football this Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday and may the best team win!
For reasons, I think it would be best if my household of Thanksgiving guests will be able to watch adult-friendly TV during the day, before we eat. (I don’t mean adult like porn: I mean adult, like, will keep the adults distracted but NOT entrance the kids. I don’t want the kids glued to the screen: I want to keep the adults non-awkwardly entertained and having something to talk about and out of my kitchen, while the kids play.)
If we had cable, I’d have the Macy’s Parade on, and football (not that I know anything about football but I understand this is traditional.) But I don’t have cable. What I have is:
* Netflix
* Amazon Prime
* HBO
* a MacBook Air that will push anything from my laptop screen to the TV set for viewing (which btw someone here tipped me off about a while ago, thanks AskMeFi!)
I understand last year Verizon streamed the parade for free somehow, but I haven’t seen anything announcing that this year.
Any ideas for (1) getting me EITHER non-cable streaming parade + football access (I don’t mind paying a one time fee) OR (2) a neutral-but-still-interesting marathon of on-demand stuff available on via the services listed above, for a roomful of adults of highly disparate tastes? Like if you came to someone’s house and there was a marathon of Great British Bake Off on the TV because she didn’t have cable, would you be like “ugh” or “hm ok that works” ?
Best answer: Ignore me if you’ve already considered this, but you can still get over the air TV, and it’s HD signal, so you’ll usually get better reception than back in the day. Plug your details into here, and I’d bet you real money there’s a channel that will be showing the parade.
Antennas are cheap and easy to install. I just have a $10 indoor antenna stuck to a window near the TV, and I get dozens of channels, most really high quality signal.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:14 AM on October 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: As Ernie mentioned above, this should solve most of the issue:
hdtv antenna
Past that, try to figure out which games you want to have on, establish who the provider is and work forward from there. Though, I am sure most guests will have their phone in their hand the entire time.
posted by bkeene12 at 9:23 AM on October 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Yes, the antenna (they come in different types and shapes) will have a little jack you plug into an input called “ANT IN” or something, and you switch device to the antenna the same way you do switching between HDMI1 and HDMI 2. (I just picked up the cheapest antenna they had at Big Lots, BTW.)
Maybe search for your TV model and “antenna input” to get instructions specific to your TV, but trust me it’s much, much easier than you’re imagining. A lot of people are incredulous about it, to the point that I regularly have to demonstrate it before people believe me.
Also, I have this app on my tablet that shows me the listings for my local channels.
Plus to update: I noticed after I posted that the link I provided you gives me really, really conservative guesses for the channels I receive. I get more than they’re saying I should, although YMMV.
posted by ernielundquist at 9:44 AM on October 22, 2017
Best answer: Yes, one of your inputs should be Antenna or Cable, and you’ll have a coaxial port on your TV that you plug the antenna into, and if you have a fairly modern flatscreen it will scan your antenna and try to identify all the channels it can see. It’s not so much rabbit ears anymore, you can start with one of these and test this week to see if it’s good enough or if you need something stronger. It’s best if you can get it into a window, but ours works pretty much in the center of the house if I stick it up high on the wall.
If you have Amazon Prime, it’s absolutely worth the $40 for a Fire TV Stick rather than trying to play through a laptop. We have I think all the main devices: Apple TV, Roku, Fire Stick, a bluray player with apps, Chromecast, Xbox, and the Fire Stick is our primary device (when we replaced the older version with the newer one, the older stick went to live in the bag with our portable projector for outdoor movies). The remote is better than the others, the app system is mostly less clicky-around than the others, and except for a few things we can only get on iTunes it carries everything we routinely watch which includes HBO and Starz via Amazon. We have a youtube account we primarily use for queuing up stuff in the Watch Later list, which is easy to watch via the YouTube app on the Stick, so you can also put on some good background noise like Norwegian SlowTV or Video Fireplace or Darth Vader Yule Log (which, we learned by accident one holiday, is especially charming if you mute it and play one of the Harry Potter movie soundtracks.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:46 AM on October 22, 2017 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Yes, the hardest part is just finding the wall with the best reception.
If you find you love this option, for a couple hundred bucks (last I checked) you can buy a DVR from TiVo that will record off the antenna just as if it were a cable DVR.
posted by praemunire at 9:57 AM on October 22, 2017
I just wanted to point out that you can build your own HDTV antenna for very, very cheap with a piece of scrap wood, a couple screws and washers, a few metal coat hangers (or scrap wire), and a $5 balun. You will also need a piece of coax to connect it to the TV.
I built one myself to watch the Olympics and it’s insanely good quality.
posted by kdar at 5:07 PM on October 22, 2017
Best answer: It’s so sad that the subscription TV providers have so thoroughly managed to bury the concept of free over-the-air TV.
Get a $10 TV antenna and hook it into the “antenna” port on your flat screen TV. Get the TV manual and spend just 5 minutes with it, finding the section on “scanning for channels”. You will be stunned.
posted by intermod at 7:56 PM on October 22, 2017
The last few years have seen a revolution in TV. It is no longer necessary to be tied to a cable provider to access live TV. Many companies have sprung up recently to provide streaming live TV services that are as good or better than what the cable companies provide — for a lot less money.
For the last decade, we have been providing simple but detailed information for cord-cutters to get the best experience possible without cable. We provide information of where to stream different channels, what individual streaming services offer, and how to use the best technologies.
Whether you’re a sports fan, movie buff, parent with curious kids, or just a general TV consumer, we provide you with everything you need to leave your cable contract behind.
Table Of Contents
What’s on Now?
With the large number of live TV channels offered by the best streaming services, there is always something playing that’s worth watching. Right now, check out the following. (Note: sports times are EST.)
Movies and TV Shows
- Getaway Driver (July 19th 9:00 pm): Tune-in for the start of Michelle Rodriguez hosting this intreguing racing-oriented reality show (Discovery).
- Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (July 21st): Check out the film conclusion of Guillermo del Toro’s animated fantasy trilogy Tales of Arcadia (Netflix).
- Olympic Dreams Featuring Jonas Brothers (July 21st 8:00 pm): Join the Jonas brothers as they learn what it takes to be an Olympic athlete (NBC).
Sporting Events
- Monday Night Raw(July 19th 8:00 pm): See the WWE’s flagship show out of Dallas this week (USA).
- Tokyo Olympics 2020 (July 23rd – August 8th): Finally, we get to watch last year’s delayed games in Tokyo!
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Why Get Rid of Cable TV?
Some reasons for getting rid of cable are obvious. But there are some that may not have occurred to you.
- TIME: Too much television is a waste of time. If you cancel cable and only watch your favorite TV shows, you can spend more time with your friends and family.
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- TECHNOLOGY:Streaming Video is the future of TV. Before long all video entertainment will be via an online connection. Might as well get on board now, learn the tricks, and save money in the process.
- INFORMATION: Be more informed. When you don’t rely on cable news for your updates, you will learn to select those news stories that interest you. Rather than be at the mercy of local news anchors, you will revert to more reputable news feeds such as PBS,Bloomberg,CBS News,CNN, andLinkTV.
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Best Streaming Services
Choosing the right streaming service is probably the most important decision that a cord-cutter will make. There is no absolute Best Streaming Service. It all depends on what you want in live TV streaming.
Some streaming services are free, like Peacock TV (although they have a premium plan). Sling TV offers value plans that are low-cost but offer a lot. And the full-featured plans (FuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV) provide what you would expect from a standard cable plan but with differences that will appeal to different viewers.
You can get access to all our detailed and up-to-date reviews of the major streaming services, Free Movie & TV Streaming With Hulu, FuboTV & Sling TV. It also provides links to get free trials so you can make sure before you buy.
Internet Without Cable?
Most cable TV subscribers also get their internet access from the same place. In many cases, there are other options for internet. In some cases, cable is literally the only game in town.
We’ve put together everything that cord-cutters need to know about getting internet service. Even if you are stuck with cable for your internet, you can probably get a reasonably-priced internet-only plan.
Cord-Cutting Wisdom
There are a lot of aspects of cord-cutting that newbies may be faced with. These range from what’s worth watching to getting access to particular channels to buying and installing specialized technologies. We discuss it all. Here are some of our most popular articles:
Stream Major Events
Major TV events are still a big part of our social lives — just look at Facebook and Twitter during the Super Bowl or Academy Awards. Cord cutters have full access to these events. For those just starting out, we have primers on how to stream the biggest events:
Stream Sports
Most major streaming services offer good access to live sports. But the standouts are FuboTV and YouTube TV. We have articles about everything related to live streaming sports:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golf
- Hockey
- Racing
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Wrestling
Stream TV Shows
With live TV streaming, you never have to miss your favorite shows, mini-series, and films when they are broadcast live. Here are some of our articles about streaming some recent must-see TV:
Get Started Now
We understand that dumping cable — regardless of its many advantages — is intimidating. So we’ve written a detailed step-by-step guide to the process, How to Watch TV Without Cable.
It also gives you an overview of all the top streaming services and features answers to the most frequently asked questions from would-be cord cutters.
