Cost is a consistent concern for consumers, especially in the present times. Finding the right deals and services that suit the budget proves to be more and more difficult. The reason? Inflation, company lobbies, and the turbulent economy, which pushes the prices of even the most essential utilities to the heavens, making them impossible to afford. One of these necessities is cable television. The modern lifestyle is not complete without it. You need cable to access the world of entertainment and ready information. Regrettably, cable TV comes at a high cost. According to a recent report by Decision Data, an average American household pays around $200 every month to cable companies. This price includes service fares, taxes, broadcast and sports surcharges, DVR fees, and other hidden costs, which can easily destabilize a balanced budget. What’s worse, the costs of cable TV continue to increase with each year, forcing you to question whether cable will ever be free and if not, what other alternatives are within the horizon. This post will give you an idea of both low-cost cable options and free cable TV platforms. Stay tuned.
What are the Low-Cost Cable TV Options?
Though most of the cable TV packages start from $50 per month, a few cable providers keep their entry-level pricing to the minimum for their low-income customers. These include:
Cox TV
Cox cable is known widely for its transparent pricing and low-cost plans. Whether you choose the internet service or go for cable TV only, or even if you bundle both, you will come across a package with a pared-down rate. If you can’t afford to let out $200 every month from your pocket, you can easily subscribe to Cox’s low-cost plans, which will give you just what you need without upsetting your budget. The TV Starter plan by Cox is quite famous for its $25 per month price and 75+ channels, which include the local networks like ABC, CBS, and FOX, in addition to a large helping of MTV Music Choice channels, lifestyle programming, sports, news, and government broadcast channels, etc. The only downside to Cox TV is that you might have to sign a 2-year contract with them. If you move around too much, then Cox might not be the right option for you. Otherwise, it’s TV Starter package is irresistibly good for the affordable price.
Xfinity TV
Comcast is the largest cable provider in the U.S. by coverage area. Given its vast influence on the telecom market, you might think its cable TV packages to be far-flung or too high-end for an average consumer. But, that’s not the case. Xfinity executes an unbelievable diversity while structuring its plans. You can subscribe to its Choice/Limited Basic TV plan for only $30 per month. Depending on where you live and which cable TV networks are available in your area, you can get 10+ channels in your lineup, ranging from local and open broadcasts to shopping, music, and lifestyle. If that doesn’t satisfy, you can add-on special channel packs, and stream top shows or movies on the Xfinity Stream app. There is no long-term agreement, either.
How to Watch Cable for Free?
If you don’t have Cox or Xfinity in your area, then you can try the below-mentioned methods to get cable programming for free:
HDTV Antenna
A television antenna is a piece of technology that catches over-the-air broadcast signals from a nearby TV station’s cell tower and transmits them to a receiver, which then plays the programming on your set. Through an HDTV antenna, you can tune in to more than 100 channels, depending on your particular location and the make of your antenna (which could be directional, omnidirectional, indoor or outdoor), and watch the channel feed in high definition. An antenna is a one-time investment and costs around $9 on average. You can synchronize it with your television set and get access to superior broadcast programming from large cable networks without paying a dime.
Cable TV on the Internet
Do you have a high-speed internet connection? Then, you can easily stream your favorite cable programs online and that too, for free. Several websites like TV.com upload television series and shows on their dashboard. You choose from a long list of content and watch it on any connected device with a display. Another option is to directly head over to network websites, such as ABC.com, NBC.com, or FOX.com, and see the programs only a few hours after they air on TV. It’s not live streaming, mind you that, but a way to enjoy cable programming cost-effectively.
Final Verdict
Though the probability of cable television ever becoming free looks slim, you can still find workarounds by either subscribing to a low-cost cable TV package or by watching television online/over-the-air, as covered in this post.