To get the most out of your cord cutting experience, it’s important to keep up with the latest news related to cord cutting. Here are some currently trending stories that perked my interest.
Use this info to stay up on information that can help you enjoy both streaming media and over-the-air TV with your Mohu HDTV antenna.
Hulu Offers Ad-Free Option
I’ve been a Hulu subscriber for awhile now, having tried both the free option and the paid version. I really enjoy how Hulu supplements my cord cutting with current programming from channels I can’t receive over air and with on demand and original programming. It’s well worth the $7.99 a month I pay for it, even with limited commercials. But is it worth another $4 a month to get rid of the ads? I can’t decide.
To be clear, this new tier is more expensive and not completely commercial free. Shows that will continue to include ads for users of the commercial-free tier include: “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Grimm,” “New Girl,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Once Upon a Time” or “Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD”. It’s not clear whether that will eventually be phased out or grow to include more shows in the future. For now, these shows will air ads at start and end of the show, so at least users can watch interruption free. That beginning ad can give you an extra moment to get your popcorn ready before Scandal.
Having tried the free 1 month trial of Showtime via Hulu, I’m now hooked on this additional service. I pay an extra $8.99 for Showtime in addition to my monthly Hulu subscription. If I opt-in for the ad-free Hulu service then my bill will be about $21 a month instead of the $17 a pay now.
The best part of this new Hulu ad-free option is that if you decide to go for it and find you don’t like it, you can easily go into your Hulu account and switch back to your old ad-inclusive plan.
Amazon Video Offline Viewing
If you are an Amazonian who has Prime membership, you now have access to offline viewing of Prime streaming video content via the iOS and Android Amazon Video apps.
This new capability allows you to download movies or TV episodes available to Prime subscribers directly to your Android or iOS device with the app to view anytime – with or without an internet connection.
The only downside to this development is that when you download video content, it takes up significant space on your device.
For example, I downloaded an episode of Downton Abbey using the Amazon Video app. The program was 70 minutes long and it took up 1.1 GB of space on my iPad Air 2. The good news – after I watched the episode I easily deleted it from within the Amazon Video app to regain the previously lost storage space.
Sling TV Availability Expands To More Platforms
Sling TV has been offering its live TV streaming service for several months now, offering cord cutters a great way to obtain channels like ESPN, HGTV, TNT, TBS, Food Network and AMC, that were previously only available via a cable or satellite subscription.
At present 20 channels are available in the basic Best of Live TV package for $20 a month. Add-ons programming including HBO Now is also available for additional monthly fees.
Availability of Sling TV’s apps were limited initially, but as the service grows, so does its accessibility.
Recently Sling TV has given access to its service to Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, with access for Chromecast users coming before the end of the year.
To see a list of all the currently supported devices, click here.
More NFL for Cord Cutters
Cord cutters have access to many NFL games in HD on major networks including CBS, NBC and FOX, and recently gained even more!
CBS announced that it will allow live streaming of 7 NFL games without the need to authenticate a cable or satellite TV provider to do it. This is a positive shift in the marketplace which directly benefits viewers by allowing more free access to NFL programming.
With any luck, other major networks will follow CBS’s lead and start offering more free streaming content. Giving football fans who are cord cutters gearing up for the 2015 NFL season even more ways to watch their favorite teams while scoring money saving deals over air and online.
