Understand your streaming options
- Cord cutting basics
- Understand your streaming options ←
- Is an antenna right for you?
- Streaming savings calculator
- Choosing a streaming device
- Cutting the cord and next steps
Before building your cord cutting plan, you should know what kinds of services are available. These generally fall into a few categories:
Live TV streaming services, also known as “cable replacements” (or “vMVPDs” in industry jargon) aim to replicate the experience you had with cable:
- You’ll get a big bundle of live TV channels.
- You can record live channels with cloud-based DVR and skip the commercials.
- Grid-based TV guides replicate the channel-surfing experience of cable.
- Examples: YouTube TV, Sling TV, Fubo, Sling TV, Philo
Standalone services, also known as “a la carte,” “direct-to-consumer,” or “SVOD” services, are cheaper and tend to focus on programming from a single company:
- Movies and shows are available on-demand.
- Some have live channel feeds, others don’t.
- DVR typically isn’t included, and ad-free viewing may cost extra.
- Examples: Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video
Free streaming services, also known as “AVOD” or “FAST” services, offer ad-supported movies, TV shows, and live streaming channels at no charge:
- Good for classic TV reruns, B-movies, and hidden gems
- Grid-based TV guides can replicate the cable experience, but the channels are different.
- DVR is typically not included, with rare exceptions.
- Examples: Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Roku Channel
The lines between these categories can get blurry. Some live TV packages, for instance, also come bundled with standalone streaming services. Some standalone services have live feeds of their cable channels. And some of the rerun channels you can get for free are pretty similar to what’s on cable.
As such, your streaming plan might include a combination of all three categories. The thing to remember is that you are in control, and can ultimately decide what’s worth paying for.
How to choose
I have a solution for sorting through all these streaming options, which I’ll get to in the next section. But first, I suggest a little prep work:
- Make a list of your must-have cable channels. For any sports teams you follow, include all of the cable or broadcast channels you’d usually use to watch those teams.
- See where your favorite cable shows are streaming. For any shows you typically watch on cable, search on Reelgood to see if they’re also available via a standalone streaming service. This can save you money if you otherwise don’t need any live TV channels.
- List out any streaming services you’re paying for already, along with how much you’re paying for them. There may be additional cost savings through bundling that you haven’t uncovered yet.
Next up: Consider an antenna (or skip to the Streaming Savings Calculator)
Once you have a list of desired channels and streaming services, you can either look into an antenna, or skip directly to my Streaming Savings calculator.