Cord Cutting ? I am thinking of doing it.

My cable bill has hit the point that I am thinking of cutting the cord. I know nothing about this. What type of things will I need to get local stations and watch the other stations for sports and such ? Any help is appreciated, thank you. Any good websites to learn about this ?

 

I haven't owned a TV since I moved out of my parent's house in 2000. Just have Amazon Prime due to me wanting Prime shipping and good old YouTube. Have never felt like I was missing out on anything with my computer and a projector in my livingroom, but then again I'm not a big "TV" guy anyway. People seem to like Hulu and Roku from what I've heard...

 

I did this about a year ago and am not missing traditional cable at all. Here were my priorities: Live sports, particularly NFL and NBA. There are only a couple of services that will deliver both. At the time, it was Hulu Live and Fubo. I ended up going Hulu Live (gives you your local channels based on your zip where you live) and I have most of my previous network programming that I had with cable: Live NFL, NBA (along with NHL, NASCAR). Basically, your local network coverages. I also got some of the other channels I watched consistently like Food Network and HGTV. There was also Motortrend TV. My total cost savings vs cable ended up being around $80 per month in savings. It was well worth making the change. Hulu also netted me Disney+ and ESPN+ as well.

 

I believe all TVs have been required to have built-in digital tuners for about a decade now, so unless your TV is pretty old, all you'll need to get locals is a decent indoor antenna.

 

We have 2 HD Antennas. They work great!


https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/hd-antennas

 

I havent had cable since I was in high school. Almost 29 now. Everything I need is on netflix, tubi, or youtube. I may turn on a month of disney plus or prime video once enough stuff comes out for me to binge. Theres also other free ways of getting any show or movie.

Dont care about the news, local channels, or sports.

 

For locals, go to rabbitears dot info and get a signal report for your address. If you want to get locals for free, you'll probably need an outdoor antenna. Most stations today broadcast on UHF and Hi-VHF. Very few broadcast on Lo-VHF. Channel numbers don't matter anymore... Many stations use their pre-digital channel number as a virtual-channel. For example, in my market, Channel 2 doesn't broadcast on VHF anymore, but UHF Channel 36. Do not buy into the hype of a "HD Antenna". There is no such thing, yet manufacturers cannot help themselves. You need an antenna that resonates with the frequencies you want to receive... If your old antenna is still up, and is designed to pick up the frequencies stations broadcast in your area, you don't need to replace it.

For other pay networks, it depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. RSN's are the most difficult to find in a streaming package. Fubo is the streaming service that offers the most sports.

 

We use YouTubeTV via fire stick. It has local channels plus other premium channels. The prices keep going up though.