Sure it looks like ABC can stream free-- but look at the page. You need to have certain subscriber services like Verizon to log in live. If there’s a way around this, I don’t know it.
If you wait 8 days after the show was originally aired, then you can stream ABC. NBC and CBS will let you stream the next day.
Our Spectrum internet is $70 (no competition), cable is $75, this includes one cable box and the 2 channels we watch, and we have Netflix 4k and Amazon Prime. No phone. Doubt highly an antenna on the tv would work in this mountainous area. Would love to choose just the 2 channels instead of 150. Really no sports channel interest. Dish is no cheaper. Waiting for a la carte.
What two channels? Why can’t you stream or use a Roku or something. You only need an antenna for local networks if you cut the cable.
Check this for TV antenna usability:
It looks like an antenna would work at home, listed are CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS.
Of the 2 channels we do watch (CNBC and MSNBC), we could stream CNBC live for $60 per month, which would be no advantage. We do have Roku but it does not have those channels. Seriously, we are years behind in digital here.
There is no competition for internet and there are 2 providers for cable/dish. Thankfully, the cell towers work at home, so we just have the cells. Haven’t had land lines for many years.
Mr. watches CNBC (grrrr…) - that is on Sling Blue. Your Roku should have a Sling app. For local channels - buy a $20 DTV antenna at Lowe’s or HD and see if it works. If it doe not, return. 
We had to try several indoor antennas before we found one that worked. No problem returning the ones that didn’t.
Attended a “cutting the cord” session for seniors a few months ago. The presenter had a lot of tech knowledge and experiences. Major points- outdoor antennas are by far the way to go for decent reception. Other factors determine whether you can get good antenna reception as well. H has discovered that non top indoor antennas don’t do the job- thanks for return policies, Best Buy (he tried sale items for secondary TVs).
The presenter also reviewed various streaming devices and concluded Roku was best (as do many online reviews). I’m still not ready to deal with the need to perform several operations to get my tv shows easily gotten with cable. Wish could eliminate the ones we never want, sigh.
We have an LG OLED main tv but an older Onkyo receiver that only has the first gen HDMI inputs. H loves using the 4k capable Roku on a secondary tv but is trying it out on out LG today and is discovering it doesn’t play well enough with our receiver. It needs HDMI 2- and our ten plus year old receiver manual talks about the new HDMI. Latest, greatest tech in its day. IF we cut the cord we will get a new receiver (my condition) to make use of the wonderful picture qualities of the LG and surround sound. The on sale (of course) Roku is used on another TV and was bought with the future in mind. We also have a lesser capability Roku to use when the free second box for a year time runs out.
An aside. We finally resolved (we think) a billing problem with Frontier (who took over Verizon in Florida). H stopped the service the day before the contract expired and we kept getting bills at a high non-contract price for one month, even when he was told on the phone he was right about things. One month they even added a bill for a device returned years before when we bought it from Verizon- that easily resolved. The last straw after bills kept warning about a collection agency was a bill from one after H thought things resolved with a case number. Yet another call (found out visiting the Frontier store did not help- they had to use the phone, with the hold times…) and he discovered the collection agency sending us a bill was bogus- Frontier never even deals with them.
Moral of the story. Be sure to cancel sooner than you think you should need to. Keep paperwork proving return of items- for years. Don’t deal with Frontier. We had switched to Spectrum (well after they also had a problem filled switch from Brighthouse- which had a stellar reputation) with excellent customer service (local reps- I asked) as we tweaked things.
Regarding TV antennas, I just returned the “RCA” antenna that I purchased from a local Best Buy. My local Sam’s Club carries Mohu which contracted with Sam’s Club to sell two-for-one Mohu deal. With Mohu antennas, I’m picking up seven more free channels. These paper thin units work great even placed behind the TV out of visible sight.
I have old Yamaha receiver with Onkyo speakers. For now, I’ve put to the speakers to use with an optical cable, but for surround sound system, I’m thinking about upgrading the receiver. Costco currently has one on sale at $399.99 (reg. price $489.99), so I’m tempted.
We had just started having the conversation about getting rid of the cable channels because our special pricing had come to end. I called Spectrum to see what they could do and they offered me Spectrum Choice which is local channels and my choice of 10 others. THIS is exactly what I want for 32.99. Also, if I have a steaming device or Samsung TV we can unload the receivers. It’s worth it to buy Roku devices. I’m in FL.
It looks like the only option for viewing PBS and our small town local news if I get rid of cable is by using an antenna. For those of you who are cable-free, how do you record programs which can only be pulled in through an antenna?
We used to have trouble with satellite signal at times, and were not watching TV much.
We love having Hulu and Netflix.
We upgraded our internet from DSL to cable. We pay $40 a month and it’s plenty fast. I got a cable modem from Best Buy for $30 I think, so I don’t pay a modem rental fee.
There are some DVR’s that record programs off antenna TV, such as Tablo, ChannelMaster, and TiVo, with the price ranging from $50 to $200+. Look at each of them and see which works best for you.
I"m bumping this thread because we just got our Cablevision bill for February. My TV cost has gone up $7 and my internet cost has gone up $13. And, of course, then the taxes and fees have correspondingly gone up. I’ve really had it with this provider – we’re now spending $229 a month for TV, phone and internet!!!
I’m going to go into heavy research mode over the next month. We got to get away from these piranhas.
@VeryHappy have you called and hinted that you want to cancel the TV portion and see if they offer you a lower price? We did that several times with our local provider before we actually cut the cord, and got a lower rate for a while every time.
@Parentof2014grad: I just called them, said we’re elderly and on a fixed income; I"m going to have to look into Sling TV; how much would just internet and phone be? She gave me a price. I said, Is the price you are giving me for TV, internet and phone right now the best you can do? She said Yes. They won’t budge.
So, I really have no alternative. They might be willing to reduce the cost if and when I call to cancel our TV service. But I’m going to have to be ready to cancel if I decide to have that conversation.
@VeryHappy determine which channels you actually watch. Then look at what’s offered on YouTube Tv, Hulu or Sling. See if any of these work for you.
Our bill was getting into your stratosphere when we decided to change. Still have internet and phone thru Comcast.
$80. (need landline as hills around us make cell spotty…and it cost the same to have net and phone vs. just net, so kept due to ease).
You Tube tv: $40/mo
NetFlix: $13/mo (finding we are watching this A LOT! Tons of great shows)
Amazon Prime–(shared with kids) $4/mo
$137 vs. $200 with cable.
We did have to get Roku thingy…I think was $30.
Internet TV not perfect…if your internet goes down, you’re stuck. But we’ve been happy enough with the +$700 year savings…
We did try to deal with Comcast, but every six months was such a hassle, and once topped $200, just bailed.
Verizon wouldn’t budge for me, either. And keeping the house phone and web, like gosmom, was about the same as web only. Keeping my 2 year old cell phone avoids the monthly cost of purchasing a new one, for now.
I like Sling and keep saying I like their customer service, too. None of the 45 minute waits to reach a rep, as with Verizon.
I couldn’t be happier after cutting the Comcast TV cable cord. I now have Sling TV (“Blue” with the additional sports package) and Netflix subscription plus 2 Mohu TV antennas (one-time payment of $59 for two-antennas from Sam’s Club) and still cheaper.
You can save more by keeping the following in mind:
When cutting the TV cable cord but keeping the Internet only service, be sure to only get the Internet speed you’d need. For example, mine used to be (when I had the cable + Internet package with Comcast) 150mbps, but when I was dropping the cable TV, I told them to downgrade the Internet service to 80mbps. That’s more than plenty for streaming, say 3 devices at once (which Sling TV allows), while saving money. Comcast wasn’t happy with me but I now pay about $60 per month. I could find a cheaper Internet provider elsewhere, but I like the quality of their Internet performance, so I’m keeping them.
You can get a free Roku Express ($29.99 value) by paying 2-months subscription fee in advance when signing up for Sling TV, should you go with them. If you need more Roku for other and older TVs in the household, wait for it to go on sale, which takes place frequently.
As for finding out what’s the right streaming service is for you, take them all for a drive and see for yourself by subscribing to their either 7-day or 30-day free trials. Just mark the expiration date on your calendar for a simple click end of subscription.