The price of cable television has gotten out of control lately and all those special promotional prices don’t last forever, leaving long time customers paying outrageous monthly payments to big cable. If you thought cutting the cord and severing all ties with your cable provider was only a dream, wake up! Here are the many ways you can watch your favorite shows for free, for a one time fee, or for a low monthly or yearly subscription with no contract required.
The devices
There are many devices that currently offer an alternative to cable TV viewing. The following three devices are worth the one time purchase price and come with a boat load of stock standard apps and channels to curb your cable tv craving.
1. Apple TV
The following channels are offered: A&E, ABC, ABC News, ACC Sports, AOL On, Apple Events, Bloomberg, CBS News, CBS Sports, CNBC, CNNgo, Crackle, Computers, Crunchyroll, Dailymotion, Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, ESPN, Feeln, Flickr, FOX NOW, Fusion, FX NOW, FYI, HBO GO, HBO NOW, History, Hulu Plus, iCloud Photos, iMovie Theater, iTunes Festival, iTunes Radio, KORTV, Lifetime, MLB.TV, MLS, Movies, Music, NatGeo TV, NBA, NBC Sports Live Extra, Netflix, NFL, NHL, 120 Sports, PBS, PBS Kids, Podcasts, Qello, Radio, Red Bull TV, Showtime, Showtime Anytime, Smithsonian Channel, Sky News, Tastemade, TED, Tennis Channel Everywhere, The Scene, Trailers,UFC, USA NOW, Vevo, Vimeo, Weather Channel, Willow, WSJ Live, WWE Network, Yahoo Screen, Young Hollywood and YouTube.
2. Roku
With over 2,000 + channels, check out their website for a full list https://www.roku.com/whats-on
3. Amazon Fire TV
Over 250,000 TV episodes and movies on Netflix, Amazon Video, HBO GO, and Showtime Anytime, plus games, music, and apps.
Also offers live TV on NBC News, NBA Gametime, and Sling TV, which includes ESPN, CNN, HDTV, AMC, A&E, Cartoon Network, and more.
The online premium subscription services
You may be hesitant to sign up for anything that comes with a monthly fee again, but these premium streaming subscription services are low on price and high on content and offer a free trial and the option to cancel at anytime without a cancellation fee.
1. Netflix
Thousands of television shows and movies as well as award winning original series like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.
2. Hulu Prime
Most major network tv episodes are available 24 hours after they air on TV, only annoyance is the occasional commercials.
3. Amazon Prime
Extensive television and movie catalogue available to members, also premium cable network shows from HBO and Showtime.
4. Sling TV
Sling TV is the best option for live TV with the base package offering 19 channels, most of them basic cable staples like ESPN, AMC, Disney Channel, TNT, History and HGTV. Add-on packs, each $5 more per month, are also available. You need to subscribe to the base package first before you can access any add-on channels.
The free network websites
If you totally refuse to pay anything to watch your favorite shows, many networks now offer free online streaming of their programs, usually the day after they air, just go to the official website and look for “full episodes” on the launch page.
ABC
BRAVO
CBS
CARTOON NETWORK
CMT
CNN
COMEDY CENTRAL
THE CW
DISCOVERY CHANNEL
FOOD NETWORK
FOX
HGTV
HISTORY CHANNEL
HLN
LIFETIME
MSNBC
MTV
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
PBS
SPIKE
VH1
