How to get local channels on a smart TV - The Free TV Project (2024)

Did you know you can get all your local channels on a smart TV without spending money on any monthly subscriptions? With over-the-air TV (OTA), you can catch all your favorite live shows, sports and events — for free! While smart TV manufacturers spend a lot of time showcasing their screen resolution, they often neglect to highlight the built-in features that make OTA reception a breeze.

If you’ve been wondering how to get local channels on a smart TV, you’ll either need to purchase a high-definition TV antenna. Using an antenna only has a one-time cost and doesn’t even require an internet connection. Alternatively you, may be able todownload a free app or two from your TV’s app store.

While smart TVs typically come with built-in antennas, they are used for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity — not for picking up free over-the-air channels.

How To Get Local Channels On A Smart TV With An OTA Antenna

If you’re interested in trying OTA TV as a way to get local channels on your smart TV, you’ll find that it’s pretty easy to get started. Use our handy tool to find out which type of antenna might grant you the best results.

Getting started with watching free, over-the-air TV using an antenna is fairly simple. In most cases, you can take the antenna out of the box, connect the cable to your TV, run a channel scan, adjust the antenna for optimum reception and you’re good to go! But other times you might need to do a little more finagling with the antenna’s precise location to optimize its performance. To make sure you’re getting the most channels for free, it’s a good idea to run a rescan on your TV every three to four months.

Here’s a look at some of the equipment that can help you get started with free OTA TV viewing, including ways to record the shows and watch them whenever you please.

If you live in an urban area or nearby suburb:

Antennas Direct ClearStream Eclipse Amplified TV Antenna

$49.99 from Amazon

This highly-rated indoor antenna is designed to receive frequencies 50+ miles away from broadcast towers. It easily grips smooth surfaces like walls or windows for optimal placement to pick up as many channels as possible.

Recommended antenna if you live in a far suburb or rural area:

Antennas Direct ClearStream 4V TV Antenna

$130.20 from Amazon

This powerful antenna has a range of 70+ miles and can be installed inside, outside or in the attic. It has UHF and VHF multi-directional elements designed to deliver reception in remote areas.

Pair your antenna with an OTA DVR to record your favorite shows:

You can record, pause, rewind and fast forward with an OTA DVR device. Here are the products we recommend:

• Tablo, 4th Generation OTA DVR (2-Tuner model, no antenna): Watch and record up to two channels from your HDTV antenna simultaneously on any compatible smart device in your home. Included with the one-time purchase is the ability to record up to 50 hours of shows, a 14-day TV guide and an additional 60+ free streaming channels through the TabloTV app.
• Tablo Total System, 4th Generation OTA DVR (2-Tuner model, with antenna): Same bells and whistles as the above 4th gen model, plus a 35-mile indoor antenna is included in the package.

If you have an external hard drive sitting at home collecting dust, consider adding it to your Tablo set up to record even more shows. Simply connect your antenna and portable hard drive to a Tablo device and you’re ready to go.

If you want to purchase a portable hard drive for more recording capacity, Tablo recommend’s USB-connected portable hard drives (USB 2.0 or 3.0, 1 TB to 8 TB in size). These are the ones their team recommends: WD 1TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive and the WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive.

How To Get Local Channels On A Smart TV With Free Apps

If you have a strong internet connection and prefer watching TV that way these days, you might be surprised to know that there are apps that allow you to tune in to your local networks for free. Depending on what media market you live in, your local news broadcasters may each offer dedicated apps for their station. Open your smart TV’s app store and run a search for the city where your local channels operate and you should get a list of apps from various channels that will allow you to watch their broadcast feed live online.

If you’re only interested in catching the local news, you can also download the NewsOn app to watch live and recorded broadcasts from your local networks on your smart TV.

Now that you know how to get local channels on a smart TV, are you interested in trying it for yourself? The monthly savings could really add up!