Channels & viewing

[Dinosaur1]

We are in our 70's and paying over $200 per month for ATT TV and Internet. We were told that ROKU would significantly reduce our TV bill (that's needed when you are on a fixed income). I bought a ROKU stick, installed it but now I am at a loss to find the channels that my wife demands. Help, how do I find where to go to get this information? I NEED to kick ATT to the curb and save money.

The channels that she wants are: 

Blue Bloods, Chicago Fire, Local News channels (CBS, NBC, ABC in Reno), Fox News, Law and Order SVU, Rescue 911, Hawaii 50, Last Man Standing, and several more. 

If I can get a grip on how to find these, I would appreciate it. Age and Technology is going above my capabilities 

[Strega2]

Have you priced out what your AT&T will cost without the TV?  At $200, I’m assuming you’re in some triple/quadruple play package and just removing the TV may not drop the price as much as you expect.

Here’s a site that might be worth a browse:

https://www.suppose.tv

YoutubeTV is one possibility.

Another site to consider is:

https://www.justwatch.com

On this site, you’d be searching for shows rather than networks.  For example, most NBC stuff should be on Peacock, most CBS stuff will be on Paramount+, etc.  Some of those may allow access to “local news shows” but some may not.  (And in some cases, it may depend on your plan level.)

I’ve tried to get my parents interested in streaming, but they are 91 and 96 and whenever I’m done with my demo, they only have one question: How do we get back to TV?  So I just let them stay with “TV”.

Of course, the truly cheap way to do most of the ones you list, for most people, is an antenna!

[renojim]

@Dinosaur1, I'm in Reno (surprise, surprise) and I haven't had cable in the last 20 years.  I can get all that you've mentioned with an antenna with the exception of Fox News (or any other cable news network).  The Roku Channel has "Fox Live Now", but I don't think it's the same thing.

On your new Roku, check out The Roku Channel and the TCL Channel.  Those are two I've used for "live" TV and there's probably similar Roku channels/apps that I haven't tried.  For the most part it's not live in the traditional sense and neither is a substitute for local channels.

If you look for an antenna, don't get fooled by the "HDTV" tag on an antenna.  There's no such thing as an HDTV antenna.  What you need is a good VHF/UHF antenna (yes, some Reno channels are still on VHF; most are on UHF).  You'll probably be surprised at what you can pick up with even the cheapest antenna.  I tried a dollar store one once.  I couldn't receive every channel, but it picked up a lot.

What you'd lose by going to an antenna is a DVR, so you can't record anything unless you want to invest in something like a Tivo.  This is the one sticking point that is keeping me from getting my mother to cut the cord.  Another option that uses just the Roku device is one of the streaming TV providers.  They're becoming more and more like cable as have their prices, but some offer a "cloud" DVR if recording is important.  Check out this article:

6 cable alternatives and live TV streaming services (2022)

As @Strega2 said, check what your price would be if you drop TV from your service, especially if you have a land-line (telephone).  For me, just Internet is something like $65/mo.

I've heard that there's "Renos" outside of Nevada, but I've never seen one. 😛