Disclosure: Household Advocate is an independent bill review service and is not affiliated with any internet, cable, or phone provider mentioned in this post. We do not receive compensation from any provider. Our only goal is to help you find savings.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. If you’ve cut the cord, or you’re thinking about it, you don’t need cable to follow the results. Most of the coverage is free, and the rest costs a few dollars for one month.
The free way: an antenna
Your local ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS stations all carry election-night coverage, and a basic HD antenna picks them up for free, with no internet needed. If you already have one, you’re set.
One tip: if you haven’t used your antenna in a while, run a channel scan on Monday, not Tuesday night. Reception varies by address, and you don’t want to find out at 8 p.m. that a station doesn’t come in.
Free streams: no antenna, no subscription
If you have internet and a smart TV, streaming stick, phone or computer, each of the major networks streams election coverage for free:
CBS News 24/7: coverage all day Tuesday, plus CBS’s main election-night special starting at 7 p.m. Eastern. Free on the CBS News app, CBSNews.com and YouTube.
NBC News NOW: NBC’s coverage starts at 5 p.m. Eastern and runs through the night. Free on the NBC News app, NBCNews.com, YouTube and free apps like the Roku Channel and Samsung TV Plus.
ABC News Live: around-the-clock election coverage, free on the ABC News app and YouTube.
LiveNOW from FOX: free on the Tubi app.
PBS: free at PBS.org and on the PBS app.
C-SPAN: commercial-free coverage starting at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Your local TV stations also stream results on their own free apps and websites. That’s the best place for local and state races.
Cable news channels
The cable news channels aren’t free, but each now has its own app, and you can subscribe for just the month you need:
CNN: full coverage streams with a CNN All Access subscription, about $6.99 a month.
Fox News: streams with Fox One, $19.99 a month. Fox One offers a short free trial.
MS NOW: streams with an MS NOW membership, about $7.99 a month.
NewsNation: streams its coverage on its website and app.
If you sign up just for election night, set a reminder to cancel. Monthly subscriptions renew automatically.
Quick cheat sheet
Local and network coverage (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS): antenna, free
National coverage with no antenna: CBS News 24/7, NBC News NOW, ABC News Live, LiveNOW from FOX, PBS. All free
Local and state races: your local station’s free app or website
Cable news: each network’s own app, by the month
Setting this up for Mom or Dad?
Do it before Tuesday. Check that the antenna picks up their local stations, or put a free news app on their TV and show them where it is. Election night isn’t the time to learn a new remote.
The bigger point
Election night is a good example of something that’s true most nights: much of what people pay cable for is available free or for a few dollars. If you’re paying $150 or more a month and mostly watch news and local channels, there’s a good chance you’re overpaying. That’s what we do at Household Advocate. Tell us what you watch and what you pay, and we’ll show you where the savings are.
