True Free Television Options
While the cost of streaming TV services has steadily increased over the past few years and now rivals Cable TV there are still many free options available. If you truly want to cut the cord and stop paying for television look at these free options below.
Antenna. The first and most obvious choice is to use an antenna to receive free over the air television. This may not be the best choice for many cord cutters, especially those looking for an experience similar to cable television, but it is free, and you will receive your local stations as well as a few others. The selection of channels you will receive depends on where you live and the reception available on your antenna. You can get an idea of what channels are available at your address at https://antennaweb.org/. Antenna Web will also give you recommendations for what type of antenna you will need.
Cable “Like.” If you interested interest a cable like experience, there are two free options currently available for cord cutters. These are streaming services, so you need high speed Internet and a compatible streaming device or smart TV to access the service on your television. These services are also available via computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Pluto TV. The first choice and my favorite, cable like streaming option is Pluto TV, https://pluto.tv//. Pluto TV is owned by Viacom CBS and has a nice selection of over 200 television channels, as well as thousands of on demand movies and television shows. Some channels you may be familiar with are: CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, CBS News, Sky News, BET, The Weather Network, NASA TV, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, The Blaze, Fox Sports, NFL Channel, PGA Tour, and Bloomberg TV. Other channels are created based on content and many are very good. They include the Surf Network, Poker Tour, Pro Wrestling, Kickboxing, Food TV, Science TV, Stand Up Comedy, and Fail TV. There are also channels for children such as NICK, NICK Jr., Kids TV, After School Cartoons, and Classic Toons TV. Pluto also provides 32 music channels, which is a nice addition. There are also 13 Latino channels.
Xumo. Another option for cable like streaming is Xumo https://www.xumo.tv/. Owned by Comcast, Xumo has many of the same channels as Pluto TV and also has on demand television and movies. With over 190 channels, there is something for everyone. Some of the channels available are: CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, Bloomberg TV, QVC, HSN, Fox Sports, PGA Tour, and A&E Networks. Other interesting channels you may not heard of, but may like are: Outside TV, USGA, World Poker Tour, Funny or Die, Arcade Cloud, History Channel shorts, Southern Living, TMZ, Popular Science, and a Family Feud channel.
Other Free Options. The following options provide free shows, news, and movies via the Internet. Most have apps for smart TVs, streaming devices, and tablets or smartphones. Many are also available on their website.
Tubi. Tubi, https://tubitv.com/, is owned by Fox and thousands of movies and 11 television channels including A&E, Fox, and Lifetime.
Crackle. Crackle, https://www.crackle.com/, is owned by Sony and has thousands of movies and hundreds of television shows.
Film Rise. Film Rise, https://filmrise.com/, has thousands of on-demand movies and TV Shows.
Roku channel. The Roku channel, https://therokuchannel.roku.com/, is owned by Roku and provides free movies, and TVs. It is available on Roku devices and via the website above.
My Recommendation. If you want a great experience for free, I recommend the following setup, that many do not know exist. The secret is to use a Roku TV, not a Roku device, but an actual television with Roku operating system. When you connect an antenna to a Roku TV and use the Pluto TV app, all your local antenna channels are integrate into the Pluto TV guide. So, you know have 200 hundred cable channels and your local channels in one place for Free!