I am new to cord cutting, but TCM is a favorite. Although TCM continues to be listed on this site and others as being available on Sling TV, it is not. When you look at Sling’s official site, the TCM logo is no longer there. Reply
There is a special five dollar add-on for classic movies. Another good station that you get is film detective. There are several other stations in the adf-on. Reply
@MasillonMovieBuff. TCM is available in the Hollywood Extra package for an additional $5.00/mo from Sling TV. Reply
If I switch to streaming TCM, will I receive the channel precisely as I received it on DirecTV, that is, with all the wonderful movie introductions and commentaries? Reply
I am interested only in TCM. How can I purchase that channel alone without having cable TV? I don’t want 6 channels of sports to get TCM. Reply
There is a channel, FilmStruck, that has a large selection of TCM movies from every decade, including 30s, 40s, 50s, etc., that costs $10 a month. I’m running a free trial right now. It’s great to see all the classics again. Reply
$39.99 a month for Hulu? $20-$40 a month for Sling TV? Seriously? TCM was practically the only reason I kept my cable subscription as long as I did. But as much as I love it, I’m not going to pay that kind of money for it. I’m already paying for Netflix and Amazon Prime. Another $20 or more would put me right back up there in the ballpark of what I was paying with cable TV. Reply
I’m not going to be led around like an oxe with a ring in my following whatever packaging scheme the cable and stream companies are using to get me to buy garbage I have no interest in watching just to get the only channel I am interested in. People need to rebel against this chicanery. Reply
There is always FilmStruck, which is an on-demand service. You will see TCM promote it on air and their website. Call it part of the TCM family and the next best thing to not paying for TCM. Reply
I really miss TCM, as a DAV living on a fixed income I could no longer afford DirecTV when my monthly bill jumped from $63.99 a month to $187.00 a month. The cheapest mid-level plan that offered TCM is $117.00 a month. I can’t afford that either. I haven’t been able to watch TCM for almost 2 years now and it’s the only channel I miss! It appears to me that the action’s of AT&T (and the other big cable companies) are to build a monopoly as they had in the day’s of Ma Bell. They appear to be approaching that objective, when they can prevent anyone other than themselves to subscribe to a service. Could we (the people) possibly file an anti-trust lawsuit against them and the producers of the product they are restricting access to? Reply
Couldn’t agree with you more, Roy. Ditto to every word. Am looking right now for cheapest way to get TCM via my Roku, which I just started using now that I have Internet again (via Frontier for $30 a month + $10 a month for the modem, which I will likely replace). Am in 7-day free trial with Sling. Will cancel on Day 7 and try the other like services, one at a time. I watched Close Encounters last night on Pluto TV (a free channel). My goal is to get everything I want for $60 a month. We’ve been watching only free broadcast TV with an HD antenna for 3 months (before getting Internet from Frontier) for 3 months & really enjoy StartTV network and ion network. Will keep posting our results. Reply
Roy, I agree with you. We stopped DirecTV because we only watched TCM. We went to streaming with a Roku device. As the article says, Sling TV offers TCM as an add-on to its other channels. Monthly cost is around $30. You must have wireless internet service to use Roku, and a Roku device (quite affordable). You can also access PBS and other free channels on Roku. Hopefully using Roku would make TCM affordable for you. Reply
The streaming successor to TCM was Filmstruck, but now it’s SUPPOSEDLY the Criterion Channel. Trouble is it’s pretty much ALL arthouse stuff. If you watch for the old nuggets (good AND bad), don’t waste your time. Reply
TCM fan, got fire tv stick but when I go to TCM it keeps asking me to sign on to my cable account which is what I am trying to get away from. Any suggestions? Lost in the world of tech. Reply
Thanks for reading! The TCM app will require you to prove that you pay for TCM in some way. But you don’t have to use cable — you could use one of the live TV streaming services we listed in this piece. There’s no free way to watch TCM, unfortunately, but the streaming options are cheaper than cable and offer free trials. Hope that helps! Reply
How is $85/mth for Hulu a skinny bundle? That’s about where I’m at with the dark Lord ATT/DirecTV Reply
Comcast has taken away my TCM channel, my favorite channel and the one I watch most of the time. I tried talking to Comcast but it was impossible to understand most of what the speaker said. I think they were finally offering me a package with TCM and many other things, too expensive for me. I was perfectly satisfied with the package I had with the college football channels and the many movie and history channels. I have read your comments re how to watch TCM but none of them make any sense. It would be impossible for me to use any of the software you suggest. Why can’t I just simply order TCM permanently. Please help in a way I can understand. Reply
It really sucks I pay about $240 a month to Comcast for cable and internet, for years TCM was included with no additional subscription. As of today, I can no longer watch TCM, I get message that I need to subscribe to a “sports package” which will include TCM, huh , makes no sense. Rationale given is that 90% of Comcast cable subscribers watch 2 or fewer TCM movies a month and their cost of having TCM has doubled. I am in my seventies and the old movies are nostalgic to me and bring back memories. And more than 90% of channels provided are of no interest to me, why not let us choose which channels to save or drop? My desire is to find a way to continue to watch Noir Alley on TCM via the internet without subscribing to a streaming service, $5 a month for would be ok. Or maybe someone can suggest another similar movie channel available over the internet? Reply
This is an excellent article. Thank you. I wish the cheapest alternative was less than $30 per month, and I agree that a la carte streaming services can end up getting expensive fast. $30 per month is too much for TCM alone, but I think I will try out Sling and see if the whole package justifies the extra spend. Reply
We just cut the cord after 15 years putting up with the flim-flam, shell games of DirectTV. Adjusting to streamed content is a bit of a change, but well worth it. We did have to update our ancient Verizon ( now Frontier ) FiOS internet service and router in order to get decent streaming bandwidth. That in itself was a frustrating experience. Cable TV providers – as nearly as I can tell all of them – are experts in “bait and switch” mumbo-jumbo, with opaque pricing algorithms, and they aren’t the least bit interested in customer satisfaction or loyalty. Long-term customers are treated like rubes or suckers in their business model. “Churn” ( constant customer turnover ) is both the expectation and the result of such an approach. ( Cell phone service providers are nearly as bad. ) Streaming is only a partial answer, but it’s a start toward putting the cable TV companies permanently out of business. Next, we need to find a way to put the internet providers under pressure. Reply
At $15 per month rental for xfinity’s router, I’ve payed them $360 over the past 2 years for a device I can purchase for less than $200. Cut the cable (bundled with VOIP landline), bought my own router and upgraded to Hulu+live TV. Cut internet speed from 300 to 200 – now Comcast gets only $80/month. Eliminated the per-month local and state cable TV taxes, the monthly router and X1 cable box rental fees. Major savings; quite happy presently. No more yearly ‘bartering’ with Comcast for a temporary ’deal’ every year when it comes around to rate-raising season. Reply
I, too, am super frustrated with Comcast / Xfinity as they pushed TMC out of the regular package we’ve had for YEARS into a required ALL SPORTS channel (except for TMC which they squeezed in) – forcing us to get the SPORTS package, which I have ZERO need or desire to view! In our lively exchange with Comcast, they said they would and did give us 2 months for free but starting mid-December will be billed that extra $10? / month. My wife LOVES TMC and so we did it. Then yesterday, November 27, 2019, I read an article saying Comcast is upping their prices on Dec. 15th along with increased prices for TV Broadcast fees, increased taxes, etc – so we would be paying about $15 more per month PLUS the extra $10/mo for TMC (Inside the required Sports package) – it’s crazy and now I’m committed to cord-cutting before my December 15 increases. Let the research begin! Reply
Wonder how much revenue TCM could generate by offering a streaming subscription at about $7 a month… hint hint! Reply
What really frustrates me is Comcast’s rationale that TCM was an “underperforming” channel, so they had to charge more for it. There are so many other “underperforming” channels that they could have bundled with the sports package, if that was truly their rationale. So many TCM fans are seniors, it borders on financial abuse of an elder for Comcast to extort extra cash from them in this way. Reply
The main reason for moving it to a Sports Package was NOT that it was seldom being watched. Much to the contrary, I believe it was highly watched. Comcast had many people dump the sports package due to all the Taking a Knee and disrespect the players were showing. Comcast and their Sport Providers were losing huge sums of money. So, they decide to restructure their sport package. It will continue if we the consumer allows this. Best thing TCM could do is provide it independently. $5 a month. They aren’t too quick to do it because of contracts and the expense of having to purchase more servers to supply the streaming. Right now, they stream to other providers who are then responsible for streaming to the masses. Just my thoughts on this. No evidence. I would love to see a provider that would allow people to pick each channel for $0.99 – $2.99 per channel with a minimum of $20.00 per month spent. They don’t currently because the channels that most people don’t watch would go off the air. The Government can’t have that, so they force it down the throats of the consumer. That way the channels that would only have a 1% or less market share can still get payed. The popular channels have to be packaged with them in order for them to survive. I never watch the Spanish or Gay channels, but we are forced to still contribute money to keep them going. No offense people, but it is true. Reply
We have been streaming over Roku and Apple TV for many years and don’t miss the noise of all the commercial junk messages. Occasionally, we’ll watch something on the Roku channel but quickly give it up as it punishes us with ever more messages that last longer and come more frequently. Our standby channels are Acorn, Amazon Prime, and Criterion (lot of old film and hard to come by film). We too miss TCM but another subscription to the likes of Hulu, or Sling just doesn’t make sense for us. Our internet costs plus 2 phone lines and streaming service comes to a little less than $100/month. So, to make up for the old film we can’t stream we purchase! Now we stream over our Apple TV or Vudu library for FREE! We didn’t watch everything offered by TCM anyway. Having our own film library is very satisfying and enjoyable. One can also purchase these films directly from TCM. But, we find the easiest and most convenient is to purchase through iTunes or Amazon so we can stream them. Sometimes, you can purchase a physical DVD that has a digital copy or code that entitles you to watch through Vudu. They also allow copying a physical dvd to their site for a small fee. Anyway, we stopped fighting the dark forces long ago and simply work around them. Reply
Thanks to the US government which allowed the merger of Universal, NBC ( itself founded as practically a government sanctioned service back in the 1920’s), and Comcast ,turning it into the LARGEST MEDIA CONGLOMERATE in the USA, if not the world. Cable TV which has been in existence since c. the early fifties was originally allowed to serve remote areas that could not receive a broadcast signal via antenna. There was no need for cable services in metro areas, suburbs or generally most of the country. Particularly on both coasts where broadcast signals are essentially seamless, there was never a need for any type of non-antenna service. The advent of the UHF frequencies, also in the 1950’s was supposed to provide broader choices in programming by expanding the three network model that existed at that time. Insamuch as one of the largest TV set makers,RCA, itself once the parent of NBC, and practically a government service itself ,did NOT have investment in UHF outlets, was able to persuade other manufacturers of sets to NOT include UHF capabilities in new SETS. This was done largely by lobbying the FCC. As many RCA CEOs had first been in high positions in the FCC, or upon leaving RCA, became appointed to high positions in the FCC, some would say that a very cozy relationship existed between one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers and the U.S GOVERNMENT. Such a relationship provided RCA/NBC the ability to dictate engineering standards in both radio and TV development including when or if Color TV would be introduced and by what means. The FCC mandated that ALL sets made after 1964 include UHF capabilities, giving all receivers 81 channel reception. All of this over the air WITHOUT the need for additional payments to content providers. The FCC act, which all cable customers should be made cognizant of provides that if a broadcast service can be received VIA ANTENNA ,( “over the air”) that service is to be provided FREE to the end receipient. Or, the viewer or listener in this case. Theoretically, as ALL broadcast services transmit atmospherically, whether from an antenna tower or a satellite dish, one should be able to receive content without a third party provider. In the early days of ” Satellite TV”, one could tune a set top box to a given frequency and receive content. Somewhere along the way, the idea of third party providers( cable services)evolved to serve customers that did not have the ability to install the then large satellite dishes and related equipment. Dish TV, Direct TV and others mimic the IDEA of having one’s own satellite dish by which program content is received. But, unlike the original dish set ups, these services are sending a “third party feed” to subscribers of the respective services. As in the case of WIRED cable, the customer receives ONLY what they contract to receive,as well, regardless of the total amount of available content. In 2009, all TV broadcast signals were “digitized” ostensibly to increase available frequencies for other services. At that point, the FCC basically mandated that a TV viewer had two choices : One; That to continue to receive conventional broadcast services, a “digital converter box” would have to be purchased. Or, Two, one could continue to PAY third party providers,either in ” dish” or “fiber optic” or “wired cable” formats for the right to continue to receive content MANDATED BY THE US GOVERNMENT to be available to ANYONE POSSESSING A TELEVISION AND ANTENNA-FREE OF ALL CHARGE. Does it seem something is wrong? Is it possible the citizens of the United States have been now MADE TO PAY TO GOVERNMENT SANCTIONED CONGLOMERATES TO RECIEVE EVEN THE MOST BASIC PROGRAM CONTENT INCLUDING PUBLIC SERVICE AND EMERGENCY INFORMATION? If you think the answer is YES, it is time to petition the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FOR AN ANSWER AND BEYOND THAT, THE ABILITY TO NOT BE UNDER CONTROL OF THIRD PARTY ENTITIES FOR THE FOR-PROFIT DISTRIBUTION OF RAFIO AND TV CONTENT. . Reply
Comcast is just looking for excuses to force viewers into things they want to charge extra for.. TCM is not underperforming; it is performing for all those who want to watch it. What is underperforming is the preponderance of thousands of sports channels. Nobody needs that many sports in their lives and if they do, they need to go back to elementary school and learn something besides how to play games. So the comcast answer: Put it on sports package and force people who hate sports to select those channels in order to get tcm Time to write TCM and demand a free streaming option! Reply
It is unfair that Comcast moved TCM to a sports pkg. I have no interst to have a sport pkg to watch the popular TCM. Very unfair to seniors who love the movie channel . Take away the spanish channels first. I speak English. BRING BACK TCM TO BASIC CABLE PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reply
Let’s go back to that conversation on TV- the monopoly. Wasn’t our “government” to watch out for monopolies in some 1930’s law that broke up Standard Oil & Automobile Assoc. ? The conglomerates of telecommunications are getting bigger & more greedy every day. They are not one company, But they have all the control & Together they can raise prices way past “it hurts”. Seniors on a fixed income have no say & get no pity from these Trump Giants. If you live in a city, You can fall back on antenna shows. But out in the county, I still can’t get a unpixilated channel with 40 foot of outside antenna with the biggest amp I can buy. So I’m stuck paying a hundred for locals & TCM & Hallmark for the 72 yr. old wife. Take that out of your Soc. Secur. check & see whats left for med., heat, & food. What can we do ? ? ? Reply
I think the real reason that TCM was pushed into the sports package for an extra $10 a month is mostly for pc reasons. Yes, PC as in “politically correct.” In many of the classic Hollywood golden age movies, you will see that women and people of color were mostly treated as second class citizens. The people who are now running Comcast/XFinity are mostly millenials and Gen Z’s. These younger generations see little value in the politically incorrect golden age classics. Some millenials and Gen Zs even feel offended to see old movies where white males dominated all of the important leadership roles. Even more embarrassing for some are a handful of classics where white men performed in black face such as Al Jolson in “The Jazz Singer* or Fred Astaire in “Swing Time.” Look, I understand their resentment toward many of these old classics– however, it was a diffeerent time with a different set of morals. I too, as an white male baby boomer, feel the pain when I see some of the roles that the classics portrayed! However, I also know that some women and people of color will watch these movies just the same because they know that that was the way it was, but there were also many great scenes as well as many great song and dance routines in these old movies just the same. I enjoy watching the old classics because they do not offend my sensibilities like modern movies do with cuss words, heavy blatant sex, extreme scenes of violence and deep feelings of despair. Yes, I find most modern movies and TV shows are offensive because they lack a moral code that existed in Hollywood entertainment prior to about the year 1965. There is a lot that the younger generations can learn by looking beyond the politically incorrect scenes and roles as the 21st century culture judges by….indeed, if one studies the history of Al Jolson and Fred Astaire, they would learn that black face was the only way in their day that they could pay homage to the great black song and dance performers of their day. Astaire’s “Bojangles in Harlem” routine was meant to pay great respect to the great Bill Robinson, a black dancer whom Astaire studied and learned from in achieving his own fame. For the ladies, though classic Hollywood often cast them in subservient or sexual object roles, from time to time, some classic movies showed women breaking free of the bonds of male domination. Joan Crawford did this in the the 1940s classic ” Mildred Pierce” and a cunning female news reporter outwitted all of the men including Cary Grant’s character another 1940s comedy classic “His Girl Friday.” Despite the condescending title (by today’s pc standards), the lead female actress (that term is also politically incorrect now!– she would be an actor in today’s gender neutral world) was really an earl break-through production about the liberation of women’s rights. In summation, there is a lot that the modern generations can learn from the old classics– there is no denying that women and people of color were often treated poorly in these old movies. However, I continue to favor these old movies for their mostly positive, happy endings and for their charm and comedic tempos without need to resort to vulgar language, blood and gore and heavy sex in order to get my attention. After a long day of political strife at the office, and an anxious commute to and fro….and then watching the evening news full of violence, hatred and death….these old classics offer soothing relief from a troubled world. It is a shame that Comcast has cut me off from my favorite channel (TCM) temporarily because of their pc attitudes. However, their moral choice will soon swing in my favor when my 2 year commitment to them ends in April and I cut the cord to get TCM back when I fully activate my ROKU device which I have already tested several times. Reply
The group of people that is totally effected by the dropping of TCM are the seniors….the young people know all these new ways of cord cutting,devices, etc….TCM is the most beloved among seniors, especially those shut ins that had this channel as a trusted 24 hr companion….it’s really a crime, disgraceful, that the powers that be could be so cruel to deny TCM, hold it hostage for an additional fee over and above what we already pay a month. On limited incomes, with our HOAs rising, cost of medications, home health care etc. this effected their well health. Same on them Reply
TCM needs to get with the program. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, National geogrpahic. all of these companies offer their own streaming, their own app on any Android Smart TV. Why hasn’t TCM followed this trend. Wait, are they part of a monopolized corporate conglomerate? Let me know when TCM follows the trend of competition. Gets an app like all the rest. I do not pay for cable, but again, if TCM is part of a cable conglomerate, this will never happen. Reply
Wait. I just found out that TCM offers streaming from a mobile App. I will try it out and see how much it costs. My phone easily casts its content to my Sony TV. So I can pull up the app, steam the movie and cast it to the tv….. we will see. Reply
Nan you still have to have some TV service provider. a joke. TCM directly stream please. This is a great monopoly. Reply
Since no live sports games are being played due to the coronavirus, will Comcast see mass cancellations of their sports subscription package? Will the current global situation force them to reconsider the TCM-Sports bundle and make TCM its own streaming service at a reduced cost? Reply
I was thinking the same thing. Has anyone called Comcast to see if they are reducing rates on the Sports Package due to no sports being played? Reply
Comcast is applying a $15.82 “courtesy adjustment” refund on my bill from my regional sports network due to the unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reply
I love TCM but have not watched it in over 3 years. I refuse to $30.00 a month just for TCM and the other channels I’m not interested in. I am in their “Inner Circle” and have mentioned this multiple times. Never got an answer and I’ve just given up. Reply
I had TMC with my Comcast service and knowing how popular it was they yanked it into a bundle. Needless to say I haven’t watch TCM for 2 years. Without RO personal knowledge and antidotes it lost its charm for me. Now I go to Goodwills, Salvation Armies and Thrift Stores and buy the classics. Reply
I loved TCM and it was the only reason I had cable for so long. After Filmstruck (a streaming service with TCM and Criterion content) came along for $10.00 a month I cut the cord. Unfortunately, Filmstruck didn’t last and so I now subscribe to The Criterion Channel which does have some classic films from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, but it’s mostly art house and foreign films, which is okay, but I still want more classic Hollywood films. After doing a great deal of research it looks as though I would have to pay for a live TV bundle and add TCM to it. This means I would have to pay, at the very least, $35-$40 per month for TCM and numerous other channels I have ZERO interest in. I guess I have to just live with without TCM for good. Reply
YouTubeTV raising rates to $65 will lose a customer soon. TCM will be the biggest loss for us. Please TCM, get your streaming service started! Reply
It appears that Fubotv cut out TCM today, as it doesn’t appear on their line-up anymore. I checked their add-ons and it isn’t listed there either. It is the only reason I even watch any tv. I’ll be doing some research on where to find it and cancel my Fubotv subscription. Reply
Hello, I am currently with Verizon and our current contract is up in 4 months. I am currently looking at other TV viewing options. I was considering Xfinity. I was checking all the channels and noticed TCM was missing. I watch TCM on occasion. It would be nice to have, but I will not pay extra $10 for a Sports package just to get one channel. Besides there are other movie channels that show classic movies (FXM, The Movie Channel). Reply
Comcast is applying a $15.82 “courtesy adjustment” refund on my bill from my regional sports network due to the unique circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. Reply
