Cutting the Cord 2021: How to Live Stream Local TV Stations

I'll be cutting the cord in 2021 and am researching How to Live Stream Local TV Stations on my Android TV.

My local stations are ABC, CBS, NBC, 7 News, NECN, and Fox 25. I'd also like HGTV. ;-)

Here are the options that I am considering and will update this post as I learn more about each option.

Note: This is a working document with changes and updates being made as I do more research and talk with some of the providers. Please look at the provider's site to see CURRENT plans and rules. I need to determine if I would be getting LOCAL news with each package too.

I will probably be getting an Internet package from Xfinity.

1. Digital Antenna

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox.

2. YouTube TV $64.99/month

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, HGTV.

3. Hulu + Live TV $64.99/month

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, HGTV.

4. Tubi TV FREE

Fox local depending on where you live

5. Philo $30.00/month

HGTV

6. Sling $30/month

HGTV

7. Pluto TV Free

CBSN, CNN, NBC News Now, Sky News

8. Locast Free

ABC, CBS, NBC, 7 News, and Fox 25.

9. Xfinity Flex + Limited Basic/Choice 10+ TV $30/month 

ABC, CBS, NBC, 7 News, NECN, Fox 25, and PBS.

Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Choice Limited TV. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $19.45/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $14.45/mo.) and other applicable charges extra. Pricing subject to change. Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase. Not all programming available in all areas. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2021 Comcast. All rights reserved.

(Add 100 Mbps Internet - Total $54.99/month)

Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Choice Double Play. Offer requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing. Must enroll within 30 days of placing the order. Without enrollment, the monthly service charge automatically increases by $10. The automatic payment and paperless billing discount is for a period of 24 months and will appear on the bill within 30 days of enrolling. If either automatic payments or paperless billing are subsequently cancelled during the 24-month term, or services are reduced to Xfinity TV Limited Basic service only, the $10 monthly discount will be removed automatically. Kit offer for kit serviceable locations only. Limit one kit per customer. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $19.45/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $14.45/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After promo, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply. Comcast's monthly service charge for Choice Double Play is $89.99 and for upgrading from Performance Internet to Performance Pro Internet service is $15.00 more per month (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase. Not all programming available in all areas. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2021 Comcast. All rights reserved.

10. Xfinity Flex + Preferred 220+ TV  $69/month

ABC, CBS, NBC, 7 News, NECN, Fox 25, HGTV, and PBS.

Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Digital Preferred. Offer requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing. Must enroll within 30 days of placing the order. Without enrollment, the monthly service charge automatically increases by $10. The automatic payment and paperless billing discount is for a period of 24 months and will appear on the bill within 30 days of enrolling. If either automatic payments or paperless billing are subsequently cancelled during the 24-month term, or services are reduced to Xfinity TV Limited Basic service only, the $10 monthly discount will be removed automatically. Kit offer for kit serviceable locations only. Limit one kit per customer. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $19.45/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $14.45/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the promo. After promo, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply. Comcast's monthly service charge for Digital Preferred, ranges based on area, from $76.70 to $85.20 (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase. Not all programming available in all areas. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2021 Comcast. All rights reserved.

Additionally, I am researching the iOS news apps for the local stations. 

11. Don't Cut the Cord:

Xfinity Flex + Select + 205 + TV + Internet up to 300 Mbps $89.99/month

ABC, CBS, NBC, 7 News, NECN, Fox 25, HGTV, and PBS. Plus more including AMC, BBC America, BBC World News, Bravo, CNN, CNBC, ESPN, Food, NESN, SYFY, and lots more cable channels...

Requires xFi Gateway

Available for $14/mo at checkout.

• A modem + router in one that delivers our best home WiFi experience, xFi
• Reliably fast speeds, consistent coverage, 24/7 tech support
• FREE Advanced Security helps protect connected devices from online threats

First TV Box

$7.5/mo

Additional TV Box

$7.5/mo

Cloud DVR Service

Included when you get an X1 TV Box

Limited time offer. Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Limited to Select+. Offer requires enrollment in both automatic payments and paperless billing. Must enroll within 30 days of placing the order. Without enrollment, the monthly service charge automatically increases by $10. The automatic payment and paperless billing discount is for a period of 24 months and will appear on the bill within 30 days of enrolling. If either automatic payments or paperless billing are subsequently cancelled during the 24-month term, or services are reduced to Xfinity TV Limited Basic service only, the $10 monthly discount will be removed automatically. 2-year minimum term agreement required. Early termination fee applies if all Xfinity services are cancelled during the agreement term. Kit offer for kit serviceable locations only. Limit one kit per customer. Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $19.45/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $14.45/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the term agreement. After first 12 months, monthly service charge for Select+ increases to $109.99 per month for months 13-24. After term agreement, or if any service is cancelled or downgraded, regular rates apply (subject to change). Service limited to a single outlet. May not be combined with other offers. TV: Limited Basic service subscription required to receive other levels of service. On Demand selections subject to charge indicated at time of purchase. Not all programming available in all areas. Internet: Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. For factors affecting speed visit www.xfinity.com/networkmanagement. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee applies to one month’s recurring service and standard installation charges up to $500. ©2021 Comcast. All rights reserved.

89.99

14.00

7.50

7.50

------

118.99

=====

Equipment, installation, taxes and fees, Broadcast TV Fee (up to $19.45/mo.), Regional Sports Fee (up to $14.45/mo.) and other applicable charges extra, and subject to change during and after the term agreement.

12. Fubo.tv $64.99/month

ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX 25, HGTV, and PBS.

[Video] Live from Boston Blizzard #bosnow

4K live stream via MEVO camera.

A walk through Jamaica Plain:

Artists Rendering of New Chicago Sun-Times Sports Page

Chicago Sun-Times just laid off its entire photo department, 20 people. http://t.co/zF4qlal9PM

— Tom Gara (@tomgara) May 30, 2013

The Sports page will now look like this:


Artists Rendering.

CNN iReport Award Categories can help you think about the way that you want to tell stories

The 3rd Annual CNN iReport Awards nominees have been announced.

CATEGORIES
Judges will pick one winner from each category:



If you are thinking about making a video, these categories can help you think about the way that you want to tell the story:

Breaking News
Original Reporting
Commentary
Compelling Imagery
Personal Story
In-depth Storytelling

A Community Choice Recipient will also be announced on the Website on or around May 14, 2013.

The community (that's you!) will select the Community Choice Award recipient. Vote on the iReport that you feel best embodies CNN iReport in 2012. You can choose from any of the 36 nominees in the six categories and vote once every 24 hours until May 6. The iReport with the most votes will receive the Community Choice Award.

I wish they'd leave Community Choice voting at one vote per person.

Oh well.

Have you submitted to iReport?

I need to do more.

Boston Globe Newspaper Readers Might Miss Some of the Best Mixed-media Investigative Journalism from the Spotlight Investigation into Taxis

My friend Clarence Smith, Jr. tweeted out that he thought the Boston Globe was doing "some of the best mixed-media investigative journalism we have seen":

This is some of the best mixed-media investigative journalism we have seen coming out of Boston newsrooms this year—bostonglobe.com/metro/specials…

— BOLD Edition (@boldedition) April 2, 2013

I read that tweet and didn't understand what he was talking about. I'm a Boston Globe subscriber and had been reading the Spotlight report: Driven to the Edge, but was not aware of any mixed-media.

I grabbed the newspaper out of the trash to take a closer look.

Here's how it looks in the newspaper:


Image: Boston Globe Spotlight: Driven to the Edge - Apr 2, 2013, 2-40 PM

Oh.

There it is. In text. Over there on the right. See it?



Seriously?

I missed it.

This is what the #FAIL hashtag was created for.

Following the link brings you to this page:



Obviously has video on it.

And the little INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC image on the left brings you to a pretty cool page too.

The PRINT EDITION needs to do a better job of highlighting multi-media that's online.

I've written about this before:

QR Code Example for Boston Globe Articles

Here's a QR Code for this series online:



Try it. Maybe that would help?

Using some GRAPHICS might also help readers know there are videos and interactive charts online.

The @TodayShow Comes to Boston #TODAYinBoston

See all the #cnnireport submissions on this RebelMouse page

This is cool. You can see all the #cnnireport submissions on this Rebel Mouse page.

www.rebelmouse.com/BlizzardiReports/

Finally. A great way of showing all the not yet vetted submissions.

Simple.

Elegant.

Win.

Elsewhere: Poynter How news orgs are using RebelMouse for blizzard, Fashion Week

Dan Winslow Announces Senate Run on Fox 25 News with Maria Stephanos, and Twitter helped.

Image: Dan Winslow Announces Senate Run on Fox 25 News with Maria Stephanos

.@danwinslow with @mariastephanos on @fox25news announcing his candidacy for MA Senate. twitter.com/stevegarfield/…

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) February 8, 2013

Boston.com is Now Straight?

Image: Boston.com is Now Straight?

What's happening?

Massachusetts prods Amazon to collect sales taxes and kill affiliate program

Michael B. Farrell writes in the Boston Globe, State prods Amazon to collect sales taxes:

The Patrick administration is pressing Amazon.com Inc. to begin collecting sales taxes from Massachusetts customers as early as next year, arguing it is no longer exempt under federal law from charging the tax.

Under federal law, online retailers do not have to collect sales taxes from Massachusetts buyers unless the company has a physical presence, such as an office or store, in the state. But officials in the administration of Governor Deval Patrick contend that Amazon’s purchase of a North Reading technology firm, Kiva Systems, earlier this year, as well as its ongoing efforts to recruit engineers for a new office in Cambridge, establish the kind of physical presence necessary to collect the 6.25 percent sales tax.

The state government lost out on an estimated $387 million in 2011 from Massachusetts residents buying products tax-free from online retailers, according to the Massachusetts Main Street Fairness Coalition, an association of retailers, unions and local officials.

USE TAX: Honest tax paying citizens already pay

The article fails to mention that Massachusetts residents are required to pay a Use Tax on out out state purchases.

The Massachusetts use tax is 6.25 percent of the sales price or rental charge on tangible personal property 1 (including phone and mail order items or items purchased over the Internet) or certain telecommunications services 2 on which no sales tax, or a sales tax rate less than the 6.25 percent Massachusetts rate, was paid and which is to be used, stored or consumed in the Commonwealth. The use tax, unlike the sales tax, generally is paid directly to the Commonwealth by the purchaser.

While many do not, some do.




WHAT ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS: Amazon Tax Will Hurt Small Business

The article also fails to mention the strong probability that if Massachusetts forces Amazon to begin collecting sales taxes from Massachusetts customers, Amazon will most likely immediately end it's affiliate program for Massachusetts residents.




LEARN FROM HISTORY: Look at other states first

It's happened before:

Amazon ended affiliate program in Illinois:

It got overshadowed by recent events both foreign and domestic, but last week Governor Pat Quinn (D, IL) signed legislation declaring that in-state affiliates for online sellers count as ‘a physical presence’ in Illinois, thus theoretically allowing the state to require those online sellers to collect sales tax information. This is usually called the ‘Amazon tax*,’ as it is largely aimed at Amazon.com**. This is a long-standing dispute (H/T: Instapundit), and usually ends with the companies in question ending their affiliate programs: Illinois businesses and individuals were however assured (by groups like the Illinois Retail Merchants Association) that there was no chance that Amazon.com would dare end its affiliate program for Illinois***.

Turns out that this was incorrect: as usual in these cases, Amazon.com (and Overstock.com) immediately closed down its affiliate program for Illinois (beginning April 15), thus making the issue moot. This means that no Illinois resident or company will receive a commission for sales – which means lost revenue, which means less taxable revenue for the state of Illinois (Amazon.com requires its affiliates to fill out 1099 forms, and the money that affiliates generate is subject to income tax).

Amazon to shut down California affiliates over new sales tax law:

Amazon's reaction has been predictable: the company sent a letter to its affiliates in the Golden State earlier in the day on Wednesday warning that the affiliate program may soon be cancelled there due to the impending state law. "We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors," Amazon wrote. "Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that we must take this action."

The aforementioned "other states" include New York, Illinois, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, most of which have seen their own Amazon affiliate programs killed for exactly the same reason. (Edit: New York managed to keep its Amazon affiliate program, presumably because it's such a huge market.) And, as noted by The Tax Foundation, there are a handful of others—Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont—that are considering passing similar "Amazon Tax" measures.

Not that the measures are necessarily helping much in terms of states collecting more tax revenue—Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio was recently quoted, saying, "The affiliate tax has hurt Rhode Island businesses and stifled their growth, as they’ve been shut out of some of the world’s largest marketplaces, and should be repealed immediately." FatWallet, which itself acts as a giant affiliate to Amazon and Overstock, ended up moving from Illinois to Wisconsin over the Illinois "Amazon Tax."

Affiliate cancelation letter: Thanks a Lot, Jerry Brown: Amazon Cancels California Contracts.



Disclosure: I'm a zealous Amazon.com affiliate. ;-)

@stevegarfield Thanks Steve for reaching out. Talks with Amazon are still ongoing. ~Mary Kate

— Deval Patrick (@MassGovernor) November 21, 2012

The Boston Globe: Ballots are fodder for social media updates

The Boston Globe: Ballots are fodder for social media updates, a photo by stevegarfield on Flickr.

I'm in the Boston Globe today, talking about how social media sharing now includes information on how we voted.

As with all else in a social media­soaked age, people are growing less private about their ballots:

"When Steve Garfield tries a new beer or goes to a concert, he automatically posts his opinions on social media. So after he voted, he naturally shared his secret ballot with his 2,382 Facebook friends. ““I didn’t even think of it as anything to think about,” said Garfield, an independent media producer from Jamaica Plain and an Obama supporter.

Anyone who was following me on social media already knew that I was going to vote for Barack Obama, so it wasn't like it was a big unveiling of a huge secret. ;-)

In fact, after I voted, I just shared a bunch of photos of the "I Voted" sticker, stuck on things, like beer, wine, and a ketchup bottle.


Image: Instagram #IVOTED

#nytelection I Voted. #beer #cheers instagr.am/p/RtAyACBCi9/

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) November 6, 2012

Also part of the interview, but not printed in the paper were my thoughts on how social sharing of political views brought me closer to friends and family.

For people with similar political views, it was fun to share, and see what what was shared. I also enjoyed reading and responding to posts on twitter, facebook and Google+.

FACEBOOK


I found that Facebook was the social media outpost where there was the least confrontations. That's most likely because over there, I actually knew most of hte people that I was talking with.

Check this funny example: Tweet - I'm moving to Australia

GOOGLE+


Over on Google+, many of the people who were responding to my posts, were followers. People who follow me on the site, but who I don't know well. Some of those people agreed with me and others didn't. Some of those that didn't agree seemed like they were from another planet. Luckily, others jumped in to respond.

Check this example: Mitt Romney changing his tune in final hours

How was your experience during #election2012 sharing on social media?

Note:

To be accurate, I have 551 Public Subscribers and 2,382 Friend Subscribers.

So it would have been more accurate to have said, "his 2,933 Facebook friends and subscribers" instead of "his 2,379 Facebook friends"

[AD] Now shipping on Amazon Kindle, my friend CC Chapman's new book Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness

AP Mobile iPhone App Does Social Media Sharing Right

Image: AP Mobile iPhone App Social Media Sharing

Trusted Friends Triggered my Donation to American Red Cross for #Sandy via Social Media

First there was this from Chris Brogan:

How to donate and help for Hurricane Sandy: bethkanter.org/donate-sandy/

— Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) October 30, 2012

Which led me to read this personal blog post, Donate to Hurricane Sandy Relief, by Beth Kanter:



Which led me to this Craig Newmark campaign for Hurricane Sandy Relief Efforts at crowdrise:



Once I donated, I had the option to share via Social Media, so I posted to twitter, Facebook, and G+.

I just donated to American Red Cross. Please check out Craig Newmark's crowdrise campaign right... soc.li/2zUPO8T

— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) October 30, 2012

Image: Donation shared on Twitter


Image: Donation shared on Facebook


Image: The Story of my Donation shared on G+

stevegarfield on USTREAM: #SANDY LIVE video stream from BOSTON

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream


Image: Ustream

Watch LIVE on Ustream Channel #SANDY from BOSTON by @stevegarfield

Broadcasting using the new Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam for HD Video Streaming, Calling, Recording - Black (960-000854) (Affiliate Link)



Earlier: Installing the Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam

Disclosure: Review Unit http://cmp.ly/1

NYC Hurricane Evacuation Zones

Zone A - Mandatory evacuation ordered by Mayor Bloomberg.

Behind the Scenes: WBZ Noon News with TwitVid

Jahn Karalis tweeted this:

http://twitvid.com/233CB - My first attempt at TwitVid. Using a new cam and Ken & @PaulaWBZ as my test subjects

I love this kind of behind the scenes video.

If I was in the studio, this is exactly what I would be doing.

Thanks for sharing John.

Video: New Media Tools you can use to tell your story RIGHT NOW!

Steve Garfield's "New Media Tools you can use to tell your story RIGHT NOW!" session from the Social Media Jungle: Boston.

Thanks Jeff Glasson for taping and posting this!

American Idol Jordin Sparks in Ghana

Jim Long is in Ghana with the president as a cameraman for NBC News.

Jim says on his blog:

In nine days we will have traveled to Israel, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. My job with NBC News allows me unique access to history and I take advantage of these moments to share what we’re covering with friends on Twitter.

This morning I saw a post from him that points us to what was a live video stream using QIk of American Idol Jordin Sparks in Ghana.

Check it out.

Stay with the video until the end for a short tune from Jordin Sparks.

Jim is showing us the future... I'm excited by all the possibilities.


Jordin “Sparks” an Interest in Fighting Malaria in Africa:

American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks will make an appearance during the President and Mrs. Bush’s trip to Ghana tomorrow, in an effort to highlight malaria’s devastating effect on mothers and children throughout Africa. Last year’s Idol Gives Back charity special educated tens of millions of Americans about the malaria crisis in Africa and raised more than $17 million to fight malaria in Africa.

Visit: MalariaNoMore.org - Help Save Lives.

More:
Jeff Pulver: The Qik PSA: American Idol winner Jorin Sparks in Ghana Speaking out Against Malaria

Reporting by cell phone

TwinCities.com - Twin Cities / Newest anchors report by cell phone:

"UpTake cut to Steve Garfield, another phone-packing correspondent, reporting from a Boston bar near Fenway Park.

It was a seminal Web-video moment. UpTake viewers could participate during the live webcasts by sending text-based queries and comments, which Barnett and Garfield could see on their handsets and answer."

Blog entry: The UpTake pushes online-journo envelope

Here's some more background on my Massachusetts Primary coverage by cellphone over ATT via Qik to Mogulus:

I got a call on my iPhone tht Corrine was ready to have me go online from Boston, so I put the ear buds in and listened to her over the phone while I started the Qik software on the N95 and got my first guest ready to join me outside.

I went out side and turned n the stream and started reporting from Boston. Then I interviewed my first guest and then towards the end of the interview when I spoke with Corrine it seems like there was an issue and she had to switch to Chuck Olsen and go live with him since the battery on his laptop was dying.

So that stream was saved on Qik, but not stream at the same time to Mogulus. We tried again, and this time I went live and reported for 23 minutes from the streets of Boston out side Boston Beer Works near Fenway park.

The guests spoke about the election and viewers could chat directly to my phone and ask questions.

Throughout the interviews I propped up the N95 with both arms to keep it steady and also used the building as a pseudo tripod.

Having years experience using these small cameras I know where to hold it to get myself in the frame and then turned to my interviewee to get them in the frame.

The sound was good both inside and out.

When I got home I was able to watch the streams and see how they looked. Pretty clear for both audio and video.

Then I turned on The UpTake to see what was online, and it someone was doing a microphone check, so I went to bed nad turned on CNN for election results.

Ironic.

Obama Iraq War 2004

The Star pushes forward Bill Clinton's question about Obama's stand on the war in 2004 in this article, Is Obama or Clinton really for 'change'?:

"Of course, he opposed the Iraq war in 2002 when Clinton voted in favour, but he said in 2004 he wasn't sure how he would have voted had he been in the Senate."

No mention of Obama's response.

Researching the story some more to get Obama's take on it, I find that Reuters ignore's Obama's response too, Bill Clinton defends "fairy tale" remark on Obama:

Former President Bill Clinton said on Friday Barack Obama's bid to be president was no "fairy tale" and said his use of that phrase earlier in the week referred specifically to Obama's claims about his stance on the Iraq war.

The NY Times tries harder, Clintons Move to Tamp Down Criticism From Blacks About Recent Comments:

Mr. Clinton, in his radio interview, disputed any notion that he had been impugning Mr. Obama personally.

He said he was addressing a specific issue that, he believed, had not been given sufficient scrutiny: Mr. Obama’s position on Iraq and a statement by Mr. Obama in 2004 that he could not say how he would have voted on the war had he been in the Senate, though he did not believe the case for war had been made.

Mr. Clinton said the 2004 view was at odds with Mr. Obama’s position that he, unlike Mrs. Clinton, has always been against the war. “I said that story is a fairy tale,” Mr. Clinton said. “Now that doesn’t have anything to do with my respect for him as a person or his campaign. I have gone out of my way not to express any personal disrespect for him and his campaign.”

Mr. Obama’s campaign said Mr. Clinton was engaging in revisionist history about his record on the war.

It's hard to get the whole story.