If you have cable TV you are wasting money! If you don’t currently own a Roku device or Amazon Firestick you are losing out on a lot of free TV! With a small investment and some simple setup you can be enjoying a ton of free TV shows and movies – yes I said free!
So what do you need to do:
Step 1: If you have Internet with WiFi (see note below) - cancel your cable or satellite TV service right away.
Step 2: Order or go to a big box store and purchase a Roku device or Amazon Firestick. They range from $20.00 on up – I’d get the cheapest one that comes with a remote control (I’ve had a Roku for close to 10 years now and I have never purchased one costing me over $30.00.)
You could also opt for an Amazon Firestick, I spotted one for $25.00. I don’t believe there is much difference between them but I’ve never had one, so I will just say I don’t know if everything I talk about will be available if you choose to go that route.
Step 3: Install your new device. They are simple to install, just plug them into your TV and into an outlet – it's that simple.
Step 4: Now when you go to setup your Roku you may need to provide a credit card (at least I did.) I did read online that you can bypass this during the setup process by not completing the billing information section. Now if you do provide a credit card be sure that you add a PIN number via your web browser as this will prevent accidentally making purchases. If you are still concerned about getting charges to your card, don’t be, I haven’t been changed a cent in the 10 years I’ve had it.
Step 5: Install the following apps:
Roku Channel (if not already installed) TubiTV
PlutoTV Plex
Filmrise Fawesome
Sling Fandango at Home
XumoPlay Amazon Prime Video*
Freebie TV Local Now
Kanopy (library app) Zeam
Hoopla (library app)
Step 6: Most of them will ask for you to sign-up for an account when you load the app of the first time. This is so you can save the shows and movies you’d like to watch to your watchlist or queue. I just made a dedicated free email account at a site like yahoo.com for just this purpose. If you install an app that asks for a credit card – please delete it right away. This is about saving you money not getting you to spend more!
* Please Note: Amazon Prime Video offers you single episodes sometimes in a series and then asks you to agree to be billed to watch the rest of the series. You can easily get stung because it will link to your Amazon account which may have a credit card on file. To avoid this I suggest just using your dedicated free email account to sign-up for Amazon Prime Video.
Step 7: Start watching TV shows and movies for free :)
A Few Notes:
- Your Roku device uses Internet data so if you have a metered Internet, insure you will be okay before purchasing this kind of device. You will also need WiFi for your device to work.
- If you live in a large enough city you may be able to get your local news on the Local Now or Zeam apps but if you live in a small town you will probably not get your local news.
- This is designed to save you money so please, don’t be signing up for monthly services like Netflix, Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, etc. I also discourage you from renting movies or purchasing seasons of TV shows. If you feel you must have a paid service then I suggest you wait till Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and search the Internet for some deep discounts. For example: 2024 Black Friday I was able to get Hulu for 0.99 a month for 12 months. Just be sure to mark your calendar so you cancel before you move to the regular price – I saved over $130.00 waiting till Black Friday.
- Final note the Kanopy and Hoopla apps work with your local library so you will need a library card number. You can borrow movies via these apps if your library participates. I know that some libraries like mine do not. Just ask your librarian if they do and they can tell you which app to install.
Well I think that covers it - Enjoy!
💗 Jo