How to Watch TCM Without Cable

Some things age well. That's why Turner Classic Movies, or TCM, is such a great channel: it recognizes the timeless classics of Hollywood's Golden Age. But, unfortunately, not everything ages well. Take your cable bill, for example. It made some sense back when cable was simply the only way to watch TCM, but that's just not true anymore – so why are you still paying top dollar? Paying for cable when there are better alternatives would be like watching a channel full of only the bad movies from the old days. It just doesn't make sense. You need to learn how to watch TCM without cable, so that you can ditch the outdated things while still holding onto the classics. Below, we'll lay out how to get a legal TCM live stream, so that you can watch your classic movies in the most modern (and most cost-effective) possible way.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to stream TCM:

	Price	Channels	Free Trial
#1	$5.99 – $85.96	68 – 88	7 or 30 days	See Offer
#2	$39.99 – $44.99	85 – 100+	7 days	See Offer
#3	$25 – $40	32 – 52	7 days	See Offer
#4	$44.99 – $79.99	49 – 100+	5 days	See Offer

The key to getting a legal TCM live stream is to turn to a new type of pay TV service: the live TV streaming service.

Live TV streaming services are sometimes called “skinny bundles,” because they tend to pare down the bulky and overpriced bundles that cable and satellite push and create leaner bundles that save subscribers money while still delivering the best that network television has to offer. Fortunately, a few of the skinny bundles in the market have seen fit to keep TCM in their slimmer selection — which makes them the perfect way to watch TCM without cable.

It's not just the slimmed-down bundles that make live TV streaming services cheaper than cable or satellite, though. There's also the fact that these streaming services compete with each other – there are no infrastructure concerns, and therefore there are no big regional monopolies of the sort that cable is known for.

And that's not the only benefit of using a streaming service to watch live TV. Since these services stream over the internet, you can watch them on just about any device you choose. Your phone, computer, and (of course) your big screen are all options when you use a live TV streaming service to watch TCM online without cable.

Let's take a closer look at the live TV streaming services that include a TCM live stream in their bundles!

Hulu with Live TV is a live TV streaming service from Hulu, a streaming industry veteran that has already won a big fan base through its streaming video on demand (SVOD) service, which competes with Netflix and other on-demand giants. Hulu with Live TV has quickly made its mark on the skinny bundle scene, and its $39.99-per-month bundle (the price will go up to $44.99 per month in late February) includes the channel we care about in this post: TCM. Click here to read our review of Hulu with Live TV, or check out the service for yourself by clicking on the link above and signing up for a seven-day Hulu with Live TV free trial.

fuboTV is a skinny bundle service that offers TCM in both of its major bundle offerings. About those two offerings: there's “fubo,” the entry-level package that costs $44.99 per month, and then there's “fubo Extra,” the larger bundle that costs $49.99 per month. Either bundle can be further expanded with add-on bundles. You can sign up for a free trial of fuboTV via the link above. Check out our fuboTV review to learn more.

The tricky thing about crafting a skinny bundle is, of course, that it's hard to get customers to agree which channels should be cut. Sling TV has figured out a great way to solve this problem: they simply have you design the skinny bundle for them.

You start with either Sling Orange ($25 per month), Sling Blue (also $25 per month), or both ($40 per month). Then you add in as many or as few “extras” as you'd like — the extras are little mini-bundles of channels grouped by type and priced attractively. TCM fans will want to sign up for the $5 per month “Hollywood Extra” bundle, which includes a TCM live stream. That makes the cheapest way to watch TCM without cable $30 per month, though you are of course free to come up with a different combination — that's the whole joy of Sling TV! You can try Sling TV for free for seven days by clicking the link above. To read our review of Sling TV, click here.

PlayStation Vue shares a name with a modern video game console, so you might not assume that it would be a good way to watch TCM without cable. But you'd be wrong, because PlayStation Vue works on a wide variety of platforms, not just the PlayStation 4. PlayStation Vue offers a range of bundles at different sizes and price points. “Core,” which costs $49.99 per month, is the first to include a TCM live stream, and all of the bundles larger than Core also include it. You can try PlayStation Vue for free for five days by clicking the link below. If you want our opinion on the service, read our PlayStation Vue review.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is an option that TCM fans should definitely consider. Not to be confused with regular old YouTube, YouTube TV is a full-fledged skinny bundle service offered by Google. It costs $40 per month and offers live streams of lots of great network television channels —€” including, of course, TCM. You can test out YouTube TV for freeby signing up for the service's free trial offer. For our take on the service, read our YouTube TV review.

DirecTV Now

The legacy pay TV services aren't dumb — they can see the advantage of live TV streaming services. So it's no surprise to find old-school telecom players like AT&T backing some of the biggest and best services on the live TV streaming service market. DirecTV Now includes TCM in each of its bundles, which range from the $40-per-month “Live a Little” bundle on up to bundles that are significantly larger (and a little less cheap). You can check out our take on DirecTV Now, or you can make up your own mind by signing up for the services risk-free free trial — it's seven days long.

Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now all offer great platform support, making it easy to watch TCM on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast.

Roku devices have apps for Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now.

Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now all have apps for Fire TV devices.

Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now each have an app for Apple TV, too.

Through their in-browser and/or mobile apps, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now work great on Chromecast.

Android TV users can choose between Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV.

You can watch on the go, too, of course: Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now all work on Android and iOS mobile devices.

You can also use the desktop and/or in-browser apps available from Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and DirecTV Now to watch TCM without cable on your desktop or laptop computer.

Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV all work on Xbox One video game consoles, while PlayStation Vue works on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. Hulu works on Nintendo Switch.