How Can I Ditch Cable and Watch My TV Shows and Movies Online Dear Lifehacker,Id love to get rid of cable and stream all my favorite TV shows right from the internet. What do I need to know before I take the plunge Signed,Ready to Cut the Coaxial. Photo by sociotard. Join the club Some of us at Lifehacker HQ have already left or are ready to leave the cable company for 2. TV streaming, too. We get this question all the time, and weve examined ditching the monthly bill in favor of watching programs online occasionally in the past, and weve also looked at ways to get your TV fix with apps like Boxee and Hulu, plus there are cool set top devices like Roku and Ti. Vo, but this is a good opportunity to get exhaustive. There are so many great options for catching a show here or there, but can you rely on them to replicate the cable TV experience Well, yes and no. If youre going to unplug from the cable company, prepare to exercise some patience when it comes to watching your favorite shows as soon as they airit can take anywhere from a day to a week for them to appear online. Also, be ready to do some digging around to find whos streaming special events, sports, and other programming outside of the dramasitcom variety. Lets take a look at ways to find certain types of programming without relying on your cable company. Watch TV Online. You can watch most of your favorite network shows by simply streaming them directly from the networks web sites. Theyre often available a few hours after they air, and regularly have additional goodies like behind the scenes footage or teasers for upcoming episodes. In addition to official network sites, more and more useful tools are popping up every day to help you get your TV fix online. Clicker Bookmark this site to help you figure out where your favorite shows are airing around the internet. It combs through whats available on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming video sites, and is searchable by show or topic. Live NHRA Racing. Watch all Racing Motorsports events live on your PC, laptop, Mac, iPad, Smart Phone, iPhone,Android, Linux, Apple, Tablet, iOS and any other. Hulu This video streaming service offers the five most recent episodes of dozens of many of the most watched shows on television. Episodes are available for 3. Its also full of full seasons of older TV shows. CBS Episodes from lots of current programming, as well as some oldies but goodies Mac. Gyver. NBC Check out new episodes of current primetime, daytime, and late night programming, and some original online only series like Office parody show Ctrl. ABC Episodes of current shows, including daytime programming and archives of specials like the American Music Awards. FOX Full length episodes of many popular shows, including Family Guy and Glee. Netflix Best for catching episodes of your favorite shows from last season or from the last decade. While Netflix doesnt typically offer recently aired episodes of popular shows, its perfect for streaming episodes from previous seasons, or for getting your Murder She Wrote groove on. Theres a monthly fee to subscribe to Netflix but once youre signed up, you can stream an unlimited amount of shows. Tunes You can pick up new episodes of shows on i. Tunes hours after they air on television, but be prepared to pay for the privilege. Theyll usually set you back 1. On the other hand, buying through i. Tunes means you can drop the shows on your i. FaHLqJ7FZ0LoikhGTcAOic3rfI.jpg' alt='Watch Late Fee Streaming' title='Watch Late Fee Streaming' />Pod and watch them on the fly. Amazon Video On Demand Like i. Tunes, youll pay for most of the television shows you get from this site. The upside is, you can watch programs on your computer or convert them to a format thats playable on a mobile device. Gawker. TV Okay, so our association aside Gawker. TV is the all video site of our blog networks namesake, Gawker, Gawker. TV was the go to online destination we fired up every day during the recent Late Night debacle for comprehensive coverage of all the dramaand we didnt have to stay up all night to keep up with the latest. Gawker. TV isnt the only site out there that posts clips and synopses from shows and news events, but its got a quick turnaround and can really fill a gap you miss when you dont have access to the regular cable lineup. If youre nuts for Psych, The Daily Show, or other cable TV shows, Hulus got you covered. Some programs take a week to turn up on the web site, though, so youll have to exercise some patience and avoid spoilers for a few days. On the other hand, Hulu has a bunch of nice features that let you organize, queue, and search shows. Theres a desktop app that works with standard Apple or Windows Media Center Remotes. If youre sporting Windows 7 on your computer, dont forget to check out the Hulu Integration app for Windows Media Center. Windows only Free application Hulu Desktop Integration brings Hulus remote friendly desktopRead more Read. Watch Movies Online. Hulu Unlike television shows, current popular movies generally will take a while to turn up on Hulu. If you like to channel surf for movies until something catches your eye, then this is a great place to start. There are zillions of flicks to choose from and theyre all searchable by name or genre. Netflix Although much of the Watch Instantly movies at Netflix are titles that date back six months to a decade or more, there are a few newer movies if you hunt around a bit, and theyve been improving their Watch Instantly service regularly. With unlimited streaming for subscribers and a handy queue feature to remind you of what movies you want to watch, this is a great substitution for paid movie channels from your cable company. The Haunting Of Sunshine Girl Episode 1. Tunes As with television shows, youll pay per movie at i. Tunes. Buy a flick for about 1. HD. Most movies are available at i. Tunes the same day as the DVD becomes available in stores. Amazon Video On Demand Like i. Tunes, Amazon offers lots of newly released movies for purchase or rent. Youll find lots of independent and niche films here, as well as the option of pre ordering flicks a few weeks before they become available. Watch Sports Online. Watching professional sports without cable is a tougher nut to crack and, depending on the event, you may have no choice but to head to your local sports bar. Even with cable, however, theres no guarantee youll be able to access your favorite teams game. Fortunately, professional sports associations are getting in on the online action and streaming some or all of their televised games via paid subscriber network. MLB. TV Baseball fans can watch every regular season game live or on demand, and more than 1. Viewers also get access to game day audio, game archives, and real time stats. NFL Network Though this is actually the National Football Leagues official cable channel, its website has a ton of post game video footage for fans to check out. Due to licensing and TV restrictions, finding a legal way to live stream NFL football is next to impossible unless you live outside the US, but at least you can listen live to every game of the season with an NFL Field Pass. NHL Game Center Live Watch up to 4. Stanley Cup Playoffs, with a subscription to this service. It streams live in HD when available and includes DVR functionality so you pause, rewind, and fast forward during games. NBA All Access Basketball fans can choose from two types of season passes unlimited for access to all teams, or a league pass to follow only seven teams. Watch three games at once, and control the live action with full DVR controls. Yes, subscriptions that let you watch professional sports still cost you some coin, but a one time fee of 5. Of course, some events, like the Olympics, will have several viewing options to choose from. Dear Lifehacker. Im a huge fan of the winter Olympics and I dont want to miss a minuteRead more Read. Set Top Boxes and Gadgets. Set top devices like Roku and Ti. Vo let you stream movies and some television shows directly from Netflix, Blockbuster, and similar subscription services.