Best apps for watching live TV
The Olympics have come and gone, leaving nearly everyone in a temporary state of "What the heck am I going to watch on TV right now?" Besides old reruns of Golden Girls, but that goes without saying.
I say temporary because we're not too far away from the start of the new fall TV season, and even though the networks' decades old paradigm is becoming increasingly obsolete, there's no question that the seasonal concept still carries a lot of weight because of all the new and returning shows that will flood at us in fairly short order.
To prepare for the deluge, you're going to want to be able to watch as many ways as possible. That means apps, and while this isn't a true guide to cord-cutting -- because taking in live TV still requires a cable subscription sometimes -- it can at least help untether yourself from your living room this fall.
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"America's Most Watched Network" will let you do exactly that through its app, no TV necessary. Thanks to a subscription service called CBS All Access, you can pay a monthly fee (currently $5.99 for the privilege of watching everything you would see on your local affiliate on your iPhone or iPad instead. It offers on demand viewing as well, but since we're talking live TV here, you may want to check this listof 151 U.S. markets where the service is available before spending any money.
HBO Max: Stream TV & Movies
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For $15 a month, you can watch America's premiere pay cable network on the go. That includes super popular shows like Game of Thrones live -- or almost live, as it turns out. There's really no downside to it, and if you enjoy a lot of HBO's programming, the value proposition is there. Just don't pay for HBO at home and then plunk down for an HBO Now subscription, because all you need to do is use the HBO GO app instead if you're a home subscriber.
ABC (download for free from the App Store)
Similar to the CBS app, this will allow you to watch live network programming as it airs. You don't need a separate subscription, but there are two pretty big catches. One is that you need to prove you have a cable provider, and the second is that the live TV service is only available in eight different U.S. metropolitan markets. Not very handy for most of us.
NBC (download for free from the App Store)
You should be sensing a pattern here, because everything we said about ABC more or less holds true here as well. If you've got a cable login, you can watch a live feed of the station nearest you ... if you live in a handful of cities. The on demand library is fantastic, which might be reason enough to download this app, but live TV isn't its strong point.
Don't forget sports. While we are sticking to scripted and reality programming here, most sports networks, including ESPN, NBC Sports, and Fox Sports all have their own free apps that you can use to watch live sporting events airing on TV on your mobile device instead. You'll need that cable provider info again, but it's certainly a handy option when you are away from home.