The CW has built a reputation for making its popular TV shows easy to watch for free.
Whether you’re using their app or visiting their website, The CW app can stream full episodes of current-season shows such as “Grimm” and “Van Helsing” without the need for a cable or pay-TV login.
For the 2024 college football season, it might be less easy for some, but still free. The CW is set to bring 13 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) football games and about a dozen Pac-12 games to its network.
But these games, according to CW Sports, are designated as “broadcast only,” which means there will not be a free live streaming option. Of course, you could always opt for a live TV streaming service to watch these games.
YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, and Fubo all carry The CW as a broadcast network, but the starting price for the cheapest service is $72.99 per month.
Enter The CW Over-the-Air
The better way to get The CW is by using a TV antenna. The problem is that bad advice and unscrupulous advertising abounds when it comes to getting the right TV antenna.
Cord-cutting forums are riddled with unhelpful advice like buying “rabbit-ears” style of antenna as if they will miraculously work for everyone all over the U.S.
Online retailers aren’t any better, offering TV antennas that advertise the impossible: a simple leaf-style antenna that gets TV signals from hundreds of miles away.
So what do you do?
Go to the Federal Communication Commission’s website that has their DTV Reception Maps tool. Type in your zip code and see if your local CW station has a “strong” or “moderate” signal in your area.
Check to see if your local CW is broadcasting on UHF or VHF. If it’s a VHF station, then you definitely need an antenna with VHF elements, usually a longer rod or set of rods that helps pick up Very High Frequency signals that are typically channels 2 through 13.
Even if a signal is rated as “strong” in your zip code, you still might need an antenna in your attic for the best reception. However, there are some very reputable makers of indoor TV antennas that are worth considering if you live 20 miles or closer to broadcast towers.
While some reputable indoor TV antennas do advertise having a “range” of 30 or 40 miles, it really comes down to the design and gain built into the antenna that matters.
A multi-directional or directional antenna are the two designs that are typically the most effective. If you live further away from broadcast towers, then an antenna with a higher gain can help you get better reception.
For example, a “rabbit ears” style of antenna typically has low gain (1-5 dBi). These antennas are functional for urban areas close to broadcast towers where signals are already strong.
A moderate gain is about (6 to 10 dBi) and can help in suburban areas where there are obstacles such as trees or hills.
The best reception?
You should try an outdoor antenna, even if you just mount it in your attic. While the name “directional” antenna suggests that you can only get signals from one direction, nothing can be further from the truth. A directional antenna is simply a high gain antenna (11 dBi or higher) that can receive signals over longer distances.
Once you figure out your antenna setup, you will never have to pay for watching sports on The CW or other channels like NBC, CBS or FOX again.
