 So I've never paid for cable, but I'm still able to watch everything that I want to. A bunch of TV shows, movies, I'm watching Westworld on HBO right now. You probably already know this, but you can save a ton of money by streaming everything you want instead of paying for cable. And I'm not talking about pirating things either. Going the streaming route lets you be a lot more selective about what you get and what you don't, and that can save you a bunch of money. The average capable is over $100 a month. But there are some decisions to make, especially if you get a lot of channels. It's not as easy as just calling up Comcast and Verizon and asking them to turn your service. But if you're thinking about going the streaming route, you'll find that you don't have to miss out on a lot, and you can save a lot of money. Okay, so first we need to talk about hardware. But before we even get to streaming, one thing you should know is that you can still get a number of channels for free using a digital antenna. Seriously, it's legal and it's like 20 bucks. But this is old school TV. It's in order with ads. There's no DVR, no on demand. So that's really helpful because it's free and always available, but it's not going to be as convenient as streaming. All right, so what do you need to stream? You already know how to do it on your phone or your computer, but the real goal is to get these shows on your TV. And if you already have a smart TV, then you're basically set. If you have something that can play Netflix or Hulu or has an app store that lets you download those apps, then you're good to go. And if your smart TV is really confusing, then don't worry about it. Everybody who doesn't have a smart TV, like myself, you're just going to have to buy a streaming box and that box will probably have a better, easier interface. I've got a Samsung TV from 2012 with absolutely no smart features. And so to get streaming, I have two boxes hooked up to it. I have an Apple TV and a Chromecast. You don't need both. I'm just a nerd. The Chromecast is super cheap. It's like thirty five dollars, but it doesn't have an interface. Seriously, you turn it on and there's just nothing. You control it all through your phone. So it's a little confusing and I really wouldn't recommend it for most people. My favorite is the Apple TV. I don't even have the newest one. My model is from 2012 and it still works fine. If you have a 4k TV, though, make sure you get the newest model. And if you're not a big Apple fan, Roku also makes some really nice streaming boxes. All of these devices will let you stream whatever service you want. You'll just have to go and look for it. You'll usually have to browse app by app to see what's available, which can be a little slow and frustrating if you used to live channel surfing. But I definitely prefer it. It's certainly quieter. And that's pretty much it. The next step is to pick which services you want to pay for. But before we get into that, let's talk for a second about why streaming services are so complicated, because they were supposed to be a dream where you pay for just what you wanted and nothing you didn't. And it's really not that at all. Sure, you can subscribe to Netflix and Hulu on their own, but that's just like HBO and Starz. They're basically premium cable channels that stand on their own. And yeah, you can rent anything you want from iTunes. That's basically just a modern DVD store. If you actually want to stream traditional live TV, then you're still going to be stuck with a bundle. Why is that? The problem is TV is expensive and TV networks know they can make more money by selling channels together. So Viacom might require your cable provider to offer MTV, BET and VH1 together, even if it just wants MTV. Do that over and over and over again. And suddenly you're at the 200 some channel cable package you have today. Streaming TV isn't that bad. It still has bundles, but streaming services know that consumers are looking for smaller packages and so they don't get too out of hand. But it gets tricky when you bring in sports. Sports are really popular and really expensive and rights for them usually end up spread across a bunch of different networks. That means streaming services have to go out of their way to get certain games and you'll have to go out of your way to make sure you pick the services that have what you want. All right, so what services should you actually subscribe to? What's too much and what's too little? Right now, I'm subscribed to Amazon, Hulu and HBO, and I'm reaching off of someone's Netflix account. Between those, I have access to most of the TV shows people are talking about and some huge back catalogs to watch. I actually don't think any one service is amazing for movies, so I like to rent them off of iTunes. They're like three to five bucks a piece. And just doing that once a week is still going to be cheaper than subscribing to another service. OK, so that works for me. But what about you? What if you're watching a ton of TV shows on a bunch of different channels? Are you still going to be able to go to the streaming route and save money? The answer is probably as long as you're watching stuff on major networks. Hulu has a live TV service with 50 some channels for forty dollars a month. Sling TV offers even smaller packages. One starts at twenty dollars and comes with a bunch of major channels you might not be missing out on a lot, including AMC, ESPN and CNN. AT&T says it's going to start an even cheaper service at fifteen dollars a month. Being able to choose from smaller plans is a really great opportunity to figure out which channels you actually need and pare down on the ones that you don't. All of these streaming services are available on the streaming boxes I was talking about earlier. They're going to be more expensive than just paying for Netflix or Hulu. But the point is that you don't have to limit yourself to just these newer streaming services. You can still get old fashioned TV and you can do that while spending less than you would on cable. OK, but the big question is sports. And yeah, with streaming services that can get complicated. It's going to depend on what sports you care about, which teams you're following and where you live. If you're finally just watching some primetime and playoff games, then any streaming service that just provides the major broadcast networks and ESPN probably get the job done. Most sports leagues offer their own streaming services. So if you're really serious about catching everything, you should check those out. But just keep in mind, they're pretty expensive and they have a lot of restrictions on them like game blackouts. So be sure to read up on that before you sign up. And keep in mind, if you get a digital antenna, like I mentioned earlier, you'll probably have the network that's broadcasting your local team. So that covers TV, movies, sports and the streaming boxes to watch it all on. There might be a little bit of a learning curve at first, but it's really not that hard. And in the long run, you're going to be saving money. You won't miss out on any of the season's biggest shows. Hey, thanks for watching. This is part of our new series Workflow. Let us know what you thought in the comments and be sure to check out our new channel, Verge Science.