We’re considering cutting the cord with Xfinity’s (Comcast in the Western U.S.) insanely expensive cable programming.
We have Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix already set up as streaming. The channels from cable we need are HBO, Showtime, and TCM. Do we download the “HBO Go” and whatever the Showtime app is and pay a monthly fee?
Is TCM even available to stream?
Please share your advice and experiences!
Have you also checked to see what is available over the air in your area via a decent antenna?
I can only speak to HBO, but they offer a streaming only service called HBO NOW. It’s the same as HBO GO, but you don’t need a cable provider to get it. I have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, HBO NOW and YouTube set up on my Roku and I’m as happy as a clam.
Most of what I watch is sports events. It is easy to find live streams of sports.
Someone told me it is illegal, I have no idea. One access is offered by a Russian wagering site, to enable players to follow the game they are betting on. No wager required, to view a game.
HBO’s standalone service is HBO Now. It’s about $15/month. Streaming on it is pretty great.
Showtime’s standalone service is called just Showtime and is $11/month.
I am not aware of any legal way to stream TCM without an existing cable service.
If you aren’t into sports, there’s no reason to have cable, IMO.
Showtime is available as an “Add on” through Amazon Prime. I don’t think they have TCM, though.
For those who have cut the cord, how do you just wake up in the morning and put on the news? How do you see what is available to watch at 6:00 PM? For instance, is Judge Judy available with something other than cable? (Don’t judge)
These seemed to be the biggest disadvantages when I tried just streaming services.
Well, I don’t watch the news or Judge Judy, but the beauty with streaming is that you’re NOT beholden to a schedule. What’s on at 6pm is whatever you want to be on at 6pm.
I don’t know if it’s a great option for people who use TV as background noise, or watch a lot of syndicated tv, but I’m a huge fan.
I’ve been cable free for some time. I’ve got Netflix, have had Amazon Prime for years (for the free 2-day shipping) & also have Hulu. (Might re-examine Hulu.) Plus an $11.00 antenna for broadcast TV–mostly local news & lots of PBS. Will occasionally buy a “season” on Amazon–like the last one of Person of Interest. (Which is broadcast but I want to “own” this last short season.)
Amazon Prime includes most HBO shows–just not Game of Thrones. Which I’m not following. And I’m not a serious sports fan, which makes things simpler.
TCM is the only cable channel I really miss & it’s not available anywhere else. TCM will develop a new streaming service including Criterion films–which will leave Hulu. But it won’t take the place of the TCM that I miss…
Amazon Prime is the only service that requires a lump sum; and it’s got other uses. I’d recommend you cut the cable & try different services–that are paid per month. If you decide you really want cable again, Comcast might cut you a deal to lure you back.
If you have good antenna coverage, a $20-30 antenna will get you all of the local and broadcast news you can shake a stick at. As far as I know Judge Judy is on the same broadcast channels.
If you can’t get Over The Air channels, well, there’s always radio.
Regarding TCM: My dad watches like 4-6 hours of TCM programming per day. I am trying to get him off cable, and have found a lot of old movies for him on Amazon and Netflix, many that he hasn’t seen before. He still won’t get rid of cable but at least there’s something for him to watch if he did.
All local news channels have a website with clips of each story. Click only on the ones your interested in.
My only advice is that you will probably end up needing multiple services. I variously use Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, and iTunes depending on what show I want to watch. Also, some network shows appear on their websites for a few weeks after they air, so we use that to keep up with the current series.
Sling TV has a number of traditional cable channels:
Having abandoned TV about 11 years ago, I’ve figured out that:
Each mega-service (i.e., iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon) offers enough good content that there’s really no need to maintain multiple subscriptions. Sure, you might miss out on show Y, but there’s still more good TV than you could keep up with on the service you have, so why bother with show Y?
Eventually, show Y will probably appear on any of the mega-services anyways so, while you may have to wait a year or two, you’re not actually going to miss out.
On the other hand, I will admit that I prefer to read the news (I read the Economist, FiveThirtyEight, and the SDMB), and I have no interest in sports.
For a “morning show”, I do watch Good Mythical Morning on YouTube. But if you want something local, I don’t know how to get it.
YouTube should dump some money into hiring people to deliver local news and send people with cameras out to sports games. That gap is probably all that’s preventing the mass transition to internet TV.
I gave up cable in 2010 when we moved and I couldn’t get the same service at the new address. I have subscriptions to Hulu, Netflix & Amazon Prime, and I get one DVD at a time from Netflix. With those I have access to pretty much every movie or TV show I want to watch once it’s available for streaming/rental.
No stadium will let them in. I’ve seen a few pirate feeds from the stands at games, but the transmission of information about games is very strictly controlled. And it’s not very rewarding to watch a game from a single hand-held camera in the end zone. There might even be criminal penalties for getting caught.
I’ll second this. We are not a sports family, dropped cable almost 2 years ago in favour of an antenna and Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hulu. Add in VOIP and my bill went from $250/month to under $100 for all 3 services plus phone and 50mb/s unlimited internet.
We get 15-20 local stations with the antenna, depending on the weather. I have no desire to return to the dark side.
Plus the PBS app on my AppleTV (probably Roku) lets me watch PBS Newshour.
AirPlay lets me send local news from browser or an app to the AppleTV.
TCM and ESPN, no solution yet that I know of.
CBS has a free streaming news channel called CBSN. I’ve been watching a lot of that since I became a cord-cutter; it’s an easy way to “put on the news” at any time without having to track down a particular program.
ESPN is part of the Sling package that **PastTense **linked too. TCM is not, though.