I've been a cord-cutter for years, so over-the-air TV isn't new to me.I've used an antenna during hurricane outages and for the occasional football game when I wanted a local broadcast without worrying about which streaming service carried it.It was always useful, but it never became a big part of how I watched TV.
That changed after I picked up another powered antenna on Facebook Marketplace.Once I hooked it up, I ended up with 10 digital channels I actually use and about 10 I don't watch.Between those local stations and the free streaming services I was already using, I started questioning why I was still paying for Philo and Hulu.
I was paying for more TV than I actually watched We already rotate streaming services I'm not a fan of monthly subscription costs, especially when they start stacking up.There are some services my wife really wants, and I'm not going to make her give those up just to save a few bucks.Outside of that, though, I'm always looking at what we're paying for and whether we're actually using it enough to justify another charge every month.
Hulu had a couple of things I wanted to watch.I binged Chad Powers, and I was already caught up on Family Guy, so there wasn't much keeping me there.Philo was similar.
Once I looked at what I was actually watching, both subscriptions started feeling easy to cut.A cheap antenna brought back the local channels I cared about I wasn't expecting to get this much useful TV for the price Close The biggest reason I wanted an antenna in the first place was access to the major networks and to get weather reports during storm outages.With ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC coming in over the air, I can watch local news, football, late-night TV, and plenty of first-run shows without paying a streaming service for the privilege.
After I removed the subchannels I wasn't interested in, I ended up with about 10 channels I actually wanted to keep.That includes more than just the big four.I also get MeTV, Laff, Charge!, PBS, Ion, and a handful of others that give me something to put on when I'm not looking for a specific show.
The picture quality has been good, and once the antenna was hooked up and the channels were scanned, there really wasn't anything else to manage.Related This open source TV box has zero tracking and everyone I show it to wants one It's time to rethink what's on your TV.Posts 2 By Bertel King The antenna was a Facebook Marketplace find, but it wasn't some impossible deal.
There were plenty of used OTA antennas listed for reasonable prices when I looked.Considering what I was spending each month on streaming services, getting this much television from a one-time $15 purchase made it hard to ignore.Free streaming filled in most of the gaps I was already using these services anyway The antenna took care of the local channels, but it still left a lot of the everyday viewing I used to get from paid streaming.
That's where Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi came in.I already use all three, and I don't really treat them as interchangeable.Pluto is still the one I open most when I just want something on.
Its live guide feels the closest to flipping through cable, and there's usually a movie, an old show, or some random channel I'm willing to leave on for a while.The Roku Channel is usually my next stop because it feels more like a traditional streaming service, while Tubi is what I use when I'm willing to browse for a movie or older show.None of them replaces Hulu or Philo by itself, but together with the antenna, they cover enough of what I actually watch that paying for both services stopped making much sense.
I didn't cancel two subscriptions and then go hunting for free replacements.I was already spending most of my own viewing time on Pluto, Roku, and Tubi before I cut anything.What I gave up by canceling Philo and Hulu The biggest thing I still miss is having a DVR There are tradeoffs.
Hulu still has shows I like, and Philo gave me a bunch of cable channels in one place without having to think about where anything was coming from.I also gave up the convenience of having more on-demand content sitting there whenever I wanted it.The antenna and free streaming services cover a lot, but they don’t replace every show or every channel.
I’m not pretending I’ve gone completely subscription-free here either.We still keep Netflix because my wife uses it enough to justify the cost, and I keep Amazon Prime because I use the shipping regularly anyway.The difference is that I’m trying to be a lot more selective about what stays active month after month.
The antenna gives me live TV, but I can’t record those broadcasts yet.That matters for football, network shows, and anything else I don’t want to plan my schedule around.I’m already working on adding an OTA DVR, and if that works the way I expect, it should close one of the last big gaps without adding another monthly bill.
I'm keeping the antenna in my regular TV setup I'm not done paying for TV, and I don't expect to be.What changed is how willing I am to keep a service around just because I've always had it.Between the antenna, free streaming, Netflix, and Prime, I already have more to watch than I need.
If something comes along that's worth paying for, I'll subscribe again, watch what I want, and cancel when I'm finished.
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