On your TV remote, try pressing the Home or Menu button. If your TV screen shows logos for apps like Hulu, YouTube, and Netflix, this indicates you have a smart TV. You can also check to see if the back of your TV has an ethernet port. If it does, this also indicates you have a smart TV.

With live TV, the service provider typically selects the specific date and time a show can be viewed. With on-demand services, you can select and view the shows at your leisure. In addition, you can pause, play, fast forward, rewind, and rewatch shows as often as you’d like.

The most popular ones are DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, Philo, Fubo, and Frndly TV. Each of these also offers on-demand movies and shows except YouTube TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Sling TV. 

Parent companies of streaming services providers, in many cases, provide newer content only to their own streaming platforms. Often times, the parent companies or their affiliate companies who created the content have limited what’s allowed to be streamed on other services. They want to keep the content “in-house” for a determined period of time. It’s much more expensive to purchase the rights to newer TV shows, just like newer movies. Plus, there may be license agreements that conflict with the selling of the content. The subscription streaming services get first crack at streaming their newer original programming.

Currently, yes. However, Netflix came out with a new lower-priced tier that includes ads. To see Netflix’s pricing for current package offerings, click here.

With the lower-priced tier, you’ll see ads before and during select TV shows and movies. Some newly released movies only have ads before they begin.

Peacock Premium gives you more TV shows and movies, next-day viewing of select shows, first-season NBC shows, next-week access to current seasons of returning NBC broadcast shows, live sports and live events including WWE, and Peacock Originals. Peacock Premium Plus for the most part doesn’t have ads (with limited exclusions), you can download and watch offline content, and you can watch your local NBC channel live. 

A season pass gives you the option to pay upfront to purchase an entire season of a current or a soon-to-be-airing TV show. As new episodes air, they’ll be automatically added to Your Video Library, usually within 24 hours of the initial broadcast.

There are three main ways to view content from DIRECTV STREAM: 1) With an exclusive DIRECTV STREAM Device (sold separately) or smart TV device, i.e. Roku, 2) On a smartphone or tablet via the DIRECTV STREAM app, 3) Via a computer web browser, i.e. MS Edge, Chrome, or Safari.

You’ll need to subscribe to the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME to view the local CBS station content. Here’s the list of CBS stations across the U.S. that provide local streaming viewing vis the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME tier.

Yes. You’ll continue to see the commercials when viewing your local CBS live stream. 

Due to streaming rights, some shows are required to have short promotional interruptions. If you’ve recently upgraded to the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME tier and are seeing regular commercials, try signing out of your Paramount+ account and signing back in. 

You can download shows and movies if you subscribe to the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. You can’t do so if you subscribe to the Essentials plan. 

Your subscription allows you to login to watch on another TV only four times per year. You’ll need to sign out of your home TV’s network and sign onto the Airbnb’s network to watch there. You’ll then need to sign back into your home’s network when you return home. You can, however, stream on other devices (smartphone, tablet, or PC) while on vacation (up to two devices simultaneously) but you will need to check in every 30 days in order to avoid any interruption in your service.

Yes. Hulu offers a kid-friendly section where parents can set up PIN protection to prevent kiddos from switching out of their Kids Profiles area. For more information, click here. 

Hulu only allows two simultaneous streams with their service. That’s the lowest number of the major on-demand streaming services. If you want to enjoy Hulu + Live TV simultaneously on more than two supported devices, you can always add the Unlimited Screens option for an extra $9.99/month.

All six seasons and a one-hour special are available for streaming with a subscription to Peacock. You can also stream Downton Abbey on Prime Video, Britbox and Roku with Premium subscription.

American Pickers is NOT available on YouTube TV. However, streaming service providers that offer the History channel (home of American Pickers) include Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, Philo, Sling Blue, Frndly TV, Pluto TV, Roku, Amazon, Apple TV, discovery+, and Peacock.