Introduction

The FreeTV.Info website is a resource dedicated to showing you how to receive free television, legally, by using a TV antenna and through the use of streaming apps. You can reduce or eliminate your monthly TV bill entirely. By using a TV Antenna along with the available streaming apps., you will have access to almost 1000 live TV channels and thousands of on-demand movies & shows for free. This website provides a quick and easy to follow guide on how to select the proper TV Antenna for your area. You can also find tips on how to improve your existing TV Antenna's reception and improve your existing Over-the-Air TV system. The content, within this website, is contributed by licensed engineers, professional antenna installers, TV reception experts, and the general public. This website is updated hourly and new content is added very often. Be sure to check back often.

There are many false claims and false advertisements that many TV antenna manufacturers make when advertising their TV antennas. The Freetv.info website will educate, inform, and it can properly guide you through the process of installing a free, over-the-air (OTA) TV setup. After using this resource, the beginning cord-cutter will find that the process of installing a free, over-the-air TV setup is rather easy and inexpensive. The Freetv.info website can also help people who already have a over-the-air TV setup. This resource can help you troubleshoot and improve your reception on your existing OTA system. The freetv.info

How to Receive and Watch Free TV

1. Free, Over-the-Air TV - Often referred as "OTA" or "broadcast TV". Over-the-Air TV has existed, in the United States, since the 1920's. Over-the-air TV is and always has been free. It is still in use today and OTA TV is a popular way of watching TV among millions of Americans. To watch OTA TV, you simply need a TV antenna and a Television. Selecting a TV antenna is critical to receiving and watching OTA TV reliably. Selecting a TV Antenna is a very simple process, however, many cord cutters make many mistakes. As a result, many cord cutters go back to paying for tv because they unknowingly selected the incorrect TV Antenna for their location.

2. Free TV Streaming Apps. - These apps are commonly referred to as "Free Advertisement Supported Television" apps. They are also referred to as "FAST" apps. These apps are completely free. Some FAST apps require you to create a login and password before using. Some apps do NOT require this at all. Most FAST apps provide free live channels as well as free on-demand movies and shows. Pluto TV, Tubi, and Freevee are popular FAST apps. For a full list of known fast apps, see the table below.

3. Paid TV Streaming Apps. with a Free Tier - These apps cost money, however, they also have a free tier. They do not require you to pay any money to watch the free content. The free tier is almost always ad supported. Some of these apps refer to the free content as "unlocked" content. Other apps, such as Peacock, place a symbol in the corner of the image thumbnail showing that the show is "locked" and cannot be watch for free. The Peacock app places a small feather in the corner of every thumbnail image indicating that a subscription must be purchased in order to watch. Shows that do not display a feather are free to watch. This means you do not have to pay for and in many cases you do not need a login & password to watch this content. Depending on the app., the free tier includes live TV channels and/or on-demand movies & shows. Some examples of paid apps that have a free tier are Peacock, ABC, Sling, and YouTube TV. The National Geographic channel is a pay channel that is bundled within many cable services. The ABC app. contains a wealth of free content from the National Geographic channel.

Free Over-the-Air Live TV Channels
ABC	Antenna TV	REV'N	Bounce	FOX Weather	Movies!
CBS	MeTV	Start TV	Comet TV	Story Televison	Court TV
FOX	ThisTV	Fave TV	GRIT TV	Dabl	DEFY
NBC	Oxygen True Crime	Charge!	TBD	H&I (Heros and Icons)	Catchy Comedy
PBS	Lx Home	Fave TV	GRIT TV	COZI TV	LAFF
ION	MyTV Network	GET TV	ACE	Buzzr	True Crime Network
ION Mystery	Scripps News	HSN	QVC	SHOP LC	JTV
CW Network	The Grio	Sports News Highlights	SBN	Heartland	Retro TV
Local Stations	Law & Crime	NewsNET	Quest	HSN2	Create

The number of over-the-air channels and the availability of each channel may vary depending on the area you live in.

Free TV Streaming Apps.
Name	Number of Free Live Channels	Has Extensive On-Demand Library?	Has Exclusive & Original Titles?	Owner
Pluto TV	Over 300	Yes	Unknown	Paramount
Roku Channel	Over 350	Yes	Yes	Roku
Tubi	Almost 250	Yes	Yes	FOX
Freevee	Over 200	Yes	Yes	Amazon
Xumo Play	Over 300	Yes	Unknown	Comcast / NBC Universal
Local Now	Over 490	Yes	Unknown	The Weather Group
Plex	About 450	Yes	Unknown	Plex Inc.
Sling FreeStream	Over 430	Yes	Unknown	Dish Network
Crackle	----	Yes	Yes	CSSE
* ABC	About 40	Yes	Yes	Disney
** Peacock	----	Yes	Yes	Comcast / NBC Universal

Portions of the ABC apps are free. The ABC app includes a wealth of free content from The National Geographic channel. This includes live channels as well as on-demand content. Within the app, select "Browse" and then select "Nat Geo" for a wealth of free National Geographic content.

Portions of the Peacock apps are free. The Peacock app includes a wealth of free content from the NBC Network as well as various other NBC Universal channels. As you navigate within the app, a peacock if a feather appears in the upper corner of thumbnail images, then a subscription is required to view the content. If there is no peacock feather, then the content is free and can be watched without a subscription. Free content may still require you to create a login username and password prior to watching.

Beware of This When Shopping for a TV Antenna

1. There are a lot of poor quality antennas that have hundreds of good reviews.
Most people simply search for a TV antenna at well known shopping websites such as Amazon and Walmart. People often make a purchase decisions based on the number of good reviews an Antenna may have. There are an overwhelming number of poor quality TV antennas, that contain hundreds or thousands of good reviews, listed on shopping websites. As a result, poor quality antennas are listed toward top of search results at these well known websites. This due to the fact that the offshore companies, who make these poor quality antennas, incentivize people to leave good reviews in spite of their dissatisfaction with the antenna. This is no fault of the shopping websites because all of these reviews are placed by real people. To see how people are incentivize to leave good reviews watch this video.

2. Misleading Advertising and Misleading Advertising Keywords
There is no such thing as a specific "HD" TV antenna. There is no such thing as a "digital" TV antenna. There is no such thing as a "4k" TV antenna. In fact, the same TV antenna that was used, during the year 1940, could be used to receive over-the-air TV today. A paperclip could be used as a TV antenna if you are close to the broadcast tower. If you use a paperclip or if you use an old TV antenna, the video will always be digital. The video will also be high-definition (HD) as long as the TV station is broadcasting in HD. All of the major networks, such as ABC, NBC, and FOX, broadcast in HD.

Typical False Advertisment. The CNBC, A&E, Disney Channel, and CNN channels cannot be received by using any TV Antenna.

At this time, there are no TV stations nor TV networks broadcasting 4K video. Therefore, there are no TV antennas that will provide free 4K TV. Some televisions contain a 4K upscale feature. This feature attempts to create a 4K video picture by artificially modifying the original broadcast signal. This feature has nothing to do with the TV antenna.

Major networks, such as FOX, NBC, and ABC, also broadcast in surround sound. If your paperclip antenna can receive the TV broadcast from any of the major networks, you will be receiving HD video and surround sound audio. Most offshore antenna manufacturers use keywords, such as "Dolby Surround", "Dolby Surround 5.1", or "DTS" within their advertisements. There is no such thing as a specific "surround sound" TV antenna. As mentioned above, if a paperclip will receive the TV signal, you will get surround sound and HD video by using the paperclip alone. Avoid any TV antenna that suggests that it is a specific "Surround Sound" or "Dolby" antenna.

3. Misleading Consumers Into Thinking They Will Receive Certain Pay Channels for Free
Some antenna manufacturers will place well-known pay channel logos within their advertisements. This is done in an attempt to mislead the consumer into believing they will receive these pay channel(s) for free by using their TV antenna. For example, HBO, CNBC, and Disney Channel are all pay channels that are not available for free anywhere. These channels are only available by purchasing a cable TV subscription or by purchasing a paid TV streaming app subscription, such as YouTube TV or Hulu +Live TV. See the table above for a listing of well-known channels and well-known TV networks that are available for free by using a TV Antenna. Avoid any TV Antenna that displays pay-channel logos.

4. Misleading and False Antenna Range Distance
It doesn't matter how large of an antenna you have. It doesn't matter how high above ground you place the antenna. The maximum range any TV antenna can have is approximately 70 miles. This is due to the curvature of the earth. Refer to the image on the left. People have been able to receive TV broadcast from 100 miles away. While this may be true, however, the signal will be unreliable and it will come and go. Any antenna that claims a range, that is MUCH larger than around 70 miles, is misleading and should be avoided.

How to Select the Correct TV Antenna for Your Area

Selecting the right TV antenna, for your area, is a simple process. Following these guidelines will give you the best chance at having a reliable over-the-air TV system.

1. Decide if you are placing the antenna indoor, outdoor, or an attic. An outdoor antenna will always provide the best and most reliable signal reception. However, if you must use an indoor antenna reliable results can be achieved depending on several factors.

2. Go to https://www.rabbitears.info/searchmap.php. This tool will show the TV channels signal strengths as well as show how far away the TV Broadcast towers are from your location.

3. Move the push pin and place it directly on top of your exact location. You may need to move the pin to your general location and then zoom in on the map in order to place the push pin directly on top of your location. Once this is completed, press the "GO" button"

4. You will get a list of the live TV channel broadcast towers in your area. The list will look similar to the list on the right.

5. Under the Channel column, take note of each and every channel that is important for you to receive.

6. The number that is NOT enclosed in parenthesis is the channel number that is displayed on your TV. This is commonly referred to as the display channel number or the channel number. The number that IS enclosed in parenthesis is the actual channel that is used to transmit the the signal on. This is usually referred to as the RF Channel number. The RF channel numbers are the most important number to keep in mind when selecting a TV antenna.