Once again, Patrick Mahomes raised the Lombardi Trophy and the Chiefs stand atop the NFL. Football drives live TV viewership unlike anything else. And if you’re one of those people who joined a live TV streaming service just to watch the games, it may be time to consider dropping your service.
The Subscriptions Are Too Dang High
The most popular live TV streaming service is YouTube TV and that costs nearly $73/month. Do you really want to pay that much if you’re not watching live TV every day? For $73/month, you could easily subscribe to all the best on-demand streamers and you’d always have something to watch.
For less than $70, you can get ad-free Netflix, Apple TV+, and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. That total also includes ad-supported Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, Max, Peacock. Why wouldn’t you make that switch? You’d have access to nearly every great movie or TV show ever created.
When live streamers first came around, they offered phenomenal value, compared to cable. Today, the benefit has narrowed. Streaming is still the cheapest way to watch popular channels, but it’s not quite the deal it once was.
Live Channels Are Coasting
Turn on Comedy Central and you’ll see endless “South Park” reruns. Turn to MTV and it’s wall-to-wall “Ridiculousness.” So many channels have become zombie entertainment platforms, merely showing one or two shows on an endless loop. If you want comfort TV, there are plenty of free services that can help. (More on those in a moment.)
In just a few months, we’ll hit the summer, when most broadcast networks slide into a sleepy rerun cycle. We’re also suffering from the content gap created by two major Hollywood strikes. You should expect everything to slow to a crawl until the fall.
Get a Free Trial When You Need Live TV
If an important event like the Oscars or March Madness rolls around, you can always grab a free trial of a live streamer to see how you like it. DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Bally Sports+, and Philo offer free trials with lots of popular channels. Most events you want to see can be viewed within the free trial windows.
Another alternative is to hit your local sports bar and watch any games live. Spend the money you would be spending on live TV on beer and chicken wings.
Some On-Demand Services Offer Live Sports
If you really can’t do without live sports, you’ll be happy to know that more on-demand streamers are great options for live sports.
Peacock
With Peacock, you’ll get exclusive access to live WWE events and English Premier League soccer. Peacock also hosts Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball, golf, SuperMotocross, Figure Skating, IndyCar, Notre Dame Hockey, Track & Field, IMSA, and snow sports. Peacock is also a great option during the Olympics when it offers a central hub to watch more games than you would be able to see on linear channels. You can also watch Sunday Night Football or any NFL playoff games that air on NBC.
Max
In addition to its groundbreaking movies and TV shows, Max offers a lot of sports on its B/R Sports tier, which is currently available at no extra cost. You’ll see some NBA, MLB, NHL, and March Madness games, and some matches from the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
ESPN+
With ESPN+, you can watch NFL, MLB, NHL, UFC, College Football, F1, Bundesliga, PGA Tour, La Liga, and more. You will get a daily out-of-market game from MLB, and every out-of-market NHL with NHL Power Play (previously NHL.TV). For NFL Fans, they have an exclusive NFL game, and simulcast select Monday Football games.
The service has some of the most attractive soccer coverage including Bundesliga, LaLiga, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more.
College sports fans will be able to watch thousands of games and events including football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track & field, gymnastics, swimming & diving, lacrosse, wrestling, volleyball, golf, and more.
ESPN+ is an especially good value as part of the Disney Bundle, where you’ll save $12/month over the individual service prices.
Paramount+
With the Paramount+ $11.99 plan, you’ll be able to watch your live, local CBS station, including March Madness and NFL games. Paramount+ is a soccer lover’s dream with Serie A, Argentina Liga Profesional de Fútbol, and UEFA Champions League.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ brings you some MLB baseball games. You can also get a discount to MLS Season Pass through Apple TV+.
Watch Live News, Movies, and Shows for Free
If you’re concerned you’ll be out of the loop without a live TV streamer, we’re happy to say that’s not the case.
For live news coverage, we favor Pluto TV and Haystack News. But there’s so much more you can see with services like VUit, Local Now, Tubi, Very Local, Xumo Play, Fox Local, NewsNation, Plex, DistroTV, Stirr, LocalBTV, and Freebie TV.
For general entertainment, our two favorite services are Tubi and Pluto TV. If you have a library card, Kanopy offers incredible movies and TV shows without commercials. Hoopla is another good streamer available to some library patrons.
Don’t believe free streaming is a good option?
Right now, Tubi will give you “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Ford v. Ferrari,” “La La Land,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Memento,” “Taxi Driver,” “The Usual Suspects,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “12 Angry Men,” “Warrior,” “Unforgiven,” “North by Northwest,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Zombieland,” “Batman,” “Rain Man,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Roots,” and much more.
Pluto TV offers movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Big Short,” “Chinatown,” “Collateral,” “Mean Girls,” “Top Gun,” “Tropic Thunder,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Point Break,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and TV shows like “Ghosts,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “The Walking Dead,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “Jeopardy!” “Taxi,” “Key and Peele,” “Happy Days,” “I Love Lucy,” and “Survivor.”
If you include free trials, you can enjoy entertainment from 225+ streamers without paying a penny.
Get Free Live TV Forever
If you’re willing to make an upfront investment, you can watch free live TV on any device forever. The HDHomerun box paired with an inexpensive antenna makes for a can’t-miss live TV combo. My setup provides dozens of HD channels, including ABC, CBS, Fox, Grit, Heroes & Icons, Ion, MeTV, NBC, PBS, PBS Kids, and The CW — all for free.
Combining that setup with Plex and my computer allows me to record anything that comes in over the air.
When Paramount+ froze and glitched in the Super Bowl’s first quarter, I switched over to my antenna via the HDHomerun box and I never had another problem. Read more about how this solution works for free TV.
HDHomeRun Flex Duo
Watch on 2 devices at once
One For All HDTV Indoor Antenna
Up to 25 Mile Range
Conclusion
There’s still a lot to love about live TV, but we now have so many free and low-cost streamers, that there are very few events you need a live service to watch. If you’re willing to get an antenna, that number shrinks to just a handful of sporting events on cable channels. There’s simply too much great content on the on-demand services to make live TV a necessary evil. With skyrocketing subscription prices, it may be worth letting traditional TV fall by the wayside until football kicks off again in the fall.