Not so long ago, parting ways with your cable or satellite
television provider left you with just a handful of viewing options.
Early cord-cutters could sign up for Amazon, Hulu or Netflix to
stream movies and previously aired TV shows, but they usually
missed out on live programming. Sports fans could use an antenna
to catch some games on broadcast networks, but they often had
trouble cheering on the home team because of rules banning cover-
age of games in a team’s local market. And people who waited for
their favorite shows to appear on the network’s website a few days
after they aired did their best to avoid spoilers until they could
watch the latest episode. // Alternatives to cable have grown more
attractive—and more plentiful—in recent years. Today, cutting the
cord comes with more solutions than sacrifices, thanks to an abun-
dance of high-quality streaming content ranging from must-see TV
ILLUSTRATIONS BY A. RICHARD ALLEN
10/2019 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 63