THE ULTIMATE CORD CUTTER’S GUIDE

Ready to ditch cable TV? Here are the streaming services and devices you’ll need to get started.

- ERIC GRIFFITH

Cable TV was once the ultimate entertainment necessity. Pumping hundreds of channels, many of which you never watched, into your home became the norm, and cable providers knew they had you on the hook with bundles that also included internet and phone service.

But not everyone wants to pay $200-plus per month for a service they’re only half using. This prompted the rise of “cord cutting”: that is, doing away with traditional pay TV service and relying solely on streaming services for movies, shows, and live sports.

According to eMarketer, by 2024, the number of cord-cutters and even “cordnevers”—people who never had cable or satellite TV—will finally surpass those with paid TV in the US.

Pay TV companies such as Comcast, Charter/Spectrum, and Altice can weather the subscriber loss because they also sell broadband internet service. Cord cutters need a hefty pipe to get quality video over the internet. If you have slow internet service, data caps, or poor Wi-Fi at home, cord-cutting is probably not for you.

A fast pipe is just the beginning. Here’s what you need to become a full-fledged cord cutter with access to (almost) everything you’d get via cable TV.

OVER-THE-AIR ANTENNAS AND DVRS

Before we get into the apps and hardware you need to make it as a digital cord cutter, consider what you can still get via over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts of the networks: Think ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox—even The CW and PBS, with a few others in some areas.