Did you know that you don’t need to pay for a streaming service to watch the biggest football game of the year? Of course, you could rally up your friends and head to a local bar, but then you might have to get there hours in advance to secure your seat, not to mention the added costs of spending the day paying for an upcharge for drinks and food. Why go through the trouble when you can spend the day in the comfort of your home without any added costs?
How To Watch Super Bowl LVIII For Free
Super Bowl LVIII will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, February 11th, 2024. The game will be hosted this year in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Allegiant Stadium and the halftime performer is Usher.
Widely known as one of the most anticipated TV events of the year, it is reported that over 200 million people watched Super Bowl LVII in 2023 (roughly 60% of the US population).
Surprisingly, what many Americans don’t know is you can watch the game for free. Broadcast every year on a major network like ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX, you don’t need cable, satellite or a streaming TV service (like YouTube TV) to watch the game live — you just need an antenna.
In a few simple steps, most Americans can watch the Super Bowl for free:
- Buy a good antenna.
- Set it up with your TV.
- Run a channel scan to pull the broadcast channels from the antenna into your TV.
That’s it. Pretty easy right? But you don’t need to stop there. You can use an antenna to watch TV all the time.
Why You Should Try Watching TV With An Antenna
Millions of people have stepped away from pay-TV services and embraced free over-the-air (OTA) TV. This is because OTA TV viewers never need to miss a beat when it comes to watching their favorite live shows, sports, news and more. Whether you like reality shows, game shows, news, entertainment or sports like golf, tennis, MLB or NFL games, you can get it in on all the action for free on popular channels like ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ION and PBS.
How To Get Started Watching TV For Free
If you haven’t jumped on the OTA TV bandwagon yet, there are a few things to know to determine if it’s the right fit for you:
- Reception Quality: You’ll need to know if you get quality OTA reception on your area. If you live in a valley between two mountains or in a very rural part of the US, an antenna may not be the best solution for you because you may not get a lot of channels. You can take our quiz to see if an antenna could work for you.
- Quality of the TV Picture: If you are worried that watching TV through an antenna will be riddled with grainy images, don’t be! Antennas have come a long way over the years and you’ll be happy to hear that channels are broadcast in high-definition (HD) video. This will continue to improve with the adoption of NextGen TV, especially for major sporting events which will likely be the first broadcasts to offer 4K video and Dolby Atmos audio.
- Lack of Features: Admittedly, the one downside of watching TV with an antenna alone is you do lose some features that you get with pay-TV services (i.e. the ability to record, watch on multiple TVs and a channel guide). Thankfully, there are affordable solutions like Tablo that enhance your TV antenna and make it “smarter.” With a one-time cost (no monthly subscriptions or fees), Tablo lets you pause, record and replay OTA TV. You also get a 14-day TV guide and the ability to watch TV on multiple compatible smart devices in your home. As a bonus, Tablo also gets you an additional 50+ streaming channels — all for free.
How To Install A TV Antenna
Whether you’re doing the installation yourself or hiring a professional, it’s a fairly straightforward process. Depending on your home’s location to your area’s broadcast towers, you may need to play with where you install the antenna to get the best possible reception. For example, indoor antennas do well when placed in a window while outdoor antennas do best when placed as high as possible, such as on a roof or in an attic.
If you’re curious about all the channels that are available in your market, use the FCC’s online digital TV map. In addition to the call signs and channel numbers, the map will also show the strength of each channel.
Once you’re set up with free OTA TV, trust us, you’re not going to want to stop!
This article originally appeared on TheFreeTVProject.org, a website working to educate consumers about the benefits and quality of free television available with an antenna.
