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Do you need a streaming device if you have a smart TV?

Jared Newman   |   May 15, 2026

Buying a new TV and a new streaming device used to be separate decisions, as televisions didn’t always come with adequate smart TV software.

These days, though, it’s virtually impossible to buy a television that isn’t a smart TV, with Roku, Fire TV, or other streaming platforms built in. So whenever I write about the latest streaming devices—like Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick or Walmart’s latest Onn players—inevitably some folks will ask me what’s the point. Why bother using an external streaming box or stick when your TV already supports the same apps?

Naturally I have answers to that question, but that doesn’t mean everyone should abandon their smart TV software in favor of a separate streaming device. Let’s walk through the merits of both.

Read the full column →

Weekly rewind

Netflix’s NFL push: Netflix will get three more exclusive NFL games in the 2026-2027 season, including Rams-49ers on Sept. 10, Packers-Rams on Nov. 25 (the night before Thanksgiving), and a still-undisclosed matchup on Jan. 9, the last week of the regular season. Those are in addition to Netflix’s existing pair of Christmas Day games. The new deals run through the 2029-2030 season.

This strikes me as Netflix’s most aggressive push into live sports yet, if only because of how expensive NFL rights can be. I haven’t seen a price tag on this deal, but the Christmas games alone reportedly cost Netflix $150 million, triple what it cost HBO to make a full season of Game of Thrones.

As more NFL games shift to streaming-only, watch for more pay TV carriage disputes (like the ongoing one between Comcast and the NFL Network) as distributors realize they’re getting fewer games than ever.

Cheap ATSC 3.0 boxes taking longer: Sub-$60 ATSC 3.0 converter boxes may not arrive this fall as expected. Pearl TV’s Anne Schelle said in a recent interview with TVTech that she’s “hoping we can get something out by the end of the year,” but also noted that industry-wide RAM shortages are a challenge. (Schelle previously discussed the fall timeframe at CES in January.)

Pearl TV is a consortium of broadcasters pushing ATSC 3.0, a new over-the-air standard that enables things likes 4K HDR and interactive content. The group sees inexpensive converter boxes as key to getting the FCC on board with winding down the current ATSC 1.0 standard within the next few years. A delay wouldn’t really be broadcasters’ fault—AI data center demands are ruining everyone else’s hardware plans, too—but it could mean an even longer reprieve for ATSC 1.0. I guess that’s a positive for those of us who still enjoy DRM-free broadcasts.

In other ATSC 3.0 news: Zapperbox has released a Windows companion app for its ATSC 3.0 over-the-air DVRs, allowing users to watch recordings from their computers. It’s the first step toward allowing a single Zapperbox to work as a whole-home DVR through your existing streaming devices.

Of course, ATSC 1.0 DVR products such as HDHomeRun and Tablo have allowed this kind of thing for years. The new standard makes whole-home DVR a lot more complicated.

More catch-up

Save more money

This part of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up buying or subscribing to something.

Surprisingly, we’ve got a lot of new and notable deals today. Here’s a rundown:

As always, I keep a full list of up-to-date streaming deals on this page.

This week in Advisorator …

I wrote about why AI companies are suddenly so interested in putting their apps on your computer. Plus: An easy way to get 4 GB back from Google Chrome and a neat way to monitor Mac storage space. Read it here →

Advisorator is my weekly newsletter for tech advice beyond the realm of streaming. There’s a free edition you can check out first, but paying members get more in-depth advice on things like why you probably don’t need extra antivirus, how to stop getting so much spam, and the best ways to block ads online. Join us!

Thanks for reading!

That’s all for now. Got questions? Reply to this email and I’ll do my best to answer.

Until then,
Jared