LOVE telly but hate paying for it? There are loads of legal ways to stream TV for free.
And if you’ve got an Apple gadget or a Samsung device, you’ve got some bonus treats to check out too.
‘FAST’ APPS
For most people, your first port of call should be FAST apps.
FAST stands for free ad-supported streaming television, which does what it says on the tin.
They’re apps and services that are stuffed with free telly, with the main downside being that you’ll have to put up with ads.
But plenty of paid-for services now show you ads on the cheapest tiers, including Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Video.
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And if you were watching regular telly, you’d be sitting through commercials too.
The other point to note is that often, FAST apps will offer you a mix of both live channels and on-demand content.
So they really can work as all-round telly solutions, giving you live telly plus a selection of watch-anytime movies and TV shows.
There are loads out on the market, but there are five that are especially worth a mention.
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One of the bigger names is Pluto TV, which has somewhere between 100 and 150 channels, plus over 20,000 hours of on-demand telly.
It’s good for reality TV and American channels.
Then there’s Tubi, which is a major US player that recently debuted in the UK.
It’s a brilliant option for movies, and serves up more than 40,000 movies and TV episodes.
Third is Xumo Play, which is also a US operation that’s available for Brits.
It has upwards of 75 channels and a catalogue of over 15,000 movies and TV shows.
And there’s a decent selection of reality TV and sports channels.
A fourth option is Rakuten TV, which is owned by a Japanese tech giant.
You can get over 150 channels plus more than 10,000 movies and TV episodes.
There’s a good selection of child-friendly telly, and there’s even a dedicated The Graham Norton Show channel.
Finally, it’s worth trying out Plex TV.
Plex started life as a way to stream saved media files (like your home movies) to a TV.
But now it also offers a free telly service with more than 600 channels, plus over 50,000 on-demand movies and TV shows.
It’s probably one of the best options for free live TV.
APPLE BONUS
If you’ve recently bought an Apple gadget, there’s a good chance that you can claim free Apple TV+.
It’s a streaming service created by Apple that rivals the likes of Netflix and Disney+.
Normally you’d have to pay £9.99 a month to access it.
But if you’ve recently bought a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac, then you’ll be able to claim three months of free Apple TV+.
Just go into the Apple TV app within the first three months of setting up the device to access it.
You can’t claim the offer if you’ve already accepted an Apple TV+ three-month-free or one-year-free promotion.
And you can’t combine it with other deals like Apple One.
If you are able to claim it then you’re saving £29.97, which is a decent freebie.
SWAP YOUR STREAMS TO SAVE!
Here’s some bill-slashing advice from The Sun’s tech editor Sean Keach…
If you’re like me, you’ll be paying out more than you’d like on subscriptions each month.
It’s easy to lose track of where all the money goes, and the fear of missing out makes it hard to bin Netflix.
But if you’re paying for several streaming services, you’re making a big mistake.
Instead, try something called stream swapping.
Cancel all of your TV subscriptions except for Netflix, then burn through all of the telly you want to watch on the app.
Then cancel that and sign up for another service, like Disney+.
Watch all of the good stuff there and then move on, perhaps to Amazon Video.
Do this with three or four apps and then cycle back to Netflix at the start.
This way, you get to watch all of the top content on each app but you’re not paying for them all at the same time.
And you might even get to take advantage of some attractive sign-up offers too.
It could save you hundreds each year if you stick to it.
SAMSUNG BONUS
Samsung offers its own FAST app for loads of the gadget maker’s own devices.
That includes Samsung Smart TVs from 2016 onwards, as well as Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets running Android 11 or higher.
There’s a vast library of both live channels (some of which are in 4K) and on-demand TV.
You should be able to find the app pre-installed on Samsung devices.
But if it’s not, just head into the Galaxy Store or Google Play Store to download it.
It’s totally free, and you don’t even need to make an account.
But if you do create a Samsung account then you’ll get some extra personalisation features.
They include:
- Continue watching
- Favourite channels
- Edit channels
- Set watch reminders
- Create watch lists
But you can use it account-free if you’d rather.
