And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations, and only in larger markets, but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. Only two of the services we tried don’t include full local channel coverage and one of those makes no effort at carrying sports. I also learned that when it comes to base plans, higher prices are mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks – particularly sports and local stations. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, many live TV services hit around the $70 mark and can go higher than $100 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras.

When I started my research, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard streaming app like Netflix or Peacock.

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