Must-have TV/cable stations

[golden eagle]

If you choose your own cable or satellite lineup, what channels are a requirement? Here are mine:

ABC, NBC, CBS & Fox
CNN
ESPN (all 50 dozen of them)
NFL Network
USA
TNT
TBS (though I don't watch much)
Comedy Central
Centric
TV One
Fuse
MSNBC
CNBC (only because of American Greed)
Weather Channel
Cloo

There are other channels I do watch, but only for certain programs, like WGN for Criminal Intent marathons on Saturdays, CNBC for American Greed and Big Ten Network for college football.

[1995hoo]

ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX
Whichever local channel carries ACC football in any given fall
ESPN (all)
Comcast SportsNet Washington
MASN and MASN2
NBC Sports Network (fka Versus)
CNBC and MSNBC because some Stanley Cup Playoffs games air there
NHL Network
Comedy Central (for South Park)
TNT (mainly because they air Dallas)
FOX News

I watch Parking Wars on A&E but wouldn't be devastated to lose it.

[cpzilliacus]

CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, but not FoX, except for their second-rate NFL and MLB coverage.

CNN, ESPN, MASN, MSNBC, Weather Channel (local especially), Discovery, History, National Geographic Channel (I know, it's partly owned by FoX), Food Network, IFC and probably a few others.

Channels that are locked-out in my home include the Big 10 Network and FoX "News."

[triplemultiplex]

Ones that haven't been mentioned that I'd add to y'all's.

Discovery
Science
History
NatGeo
FX
Spike
Syfy (grr at the respelling of that)
PBS
Cartoon Network (Adult Swim, baby!)
HBO
My regional version of Fox Sports

There may be more.
(Ah looks like someone snuck in while I was typing with some of those; oh well.)

[Takumi]

The networks
MASN/MASN2 (go O's)
MLB Network
ESPN/ESPN2
Speed Channel (soon to be Fox Sports 1)
NBC Sports
CBS6 Extra (WTVR auxiliary weather station)
Nick At Nite
TV Land
TBS
USA
TNT
The Weather Channel
BBC America

[1995hoo]

A year ago I'd have listed the Speed Channel, but not now that they no longer air F1.

[formulanone]

A year ago I'd have listed the Speed Channel, but not now that they no longer air F1.

The rumor I've heard is that all of the motorsports are going bye-bye, which is a shame. NBC Sports isn't doing a bad job with the coverage, having left the programming format alone, although they seem to let David Hobbs talk less (I prefer his color commentary).

So give me Science, NatGeo, a couple of news stations (they're all awful), NBC Sports, ESPNews + Classic, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, whichever local station has The Simpsons on syndicated reruns, CBS for SEC football, and whatever station has the NFL game I want to see.

Sounds like a lot, but I probably watch 3-5 hours of TV per week. Maybe 6-7 during football season. I'm not home enough, so I wind up erasing a lot of DVR'd stuff

[Duke87]

Absolutely none.

I do not have cable or satellite TV service in my apartment at all. Considering I have pretty much no interest in watching TV, period... why should I pay $50+ a month for a service that I'm almost never going to use?

[1995hoo]

Absolutely none.

I do not have cable or satellite TV service in my apartment at all. Considering I have pretty much no interest in watching TV, period... why should I pay $50+ a month for a service that I'm almost never going to use?

We have rabbit ears on the TVs in the master bedroom and guest room and they give an outstanding HD picture. Mostly up there we just watch the 11 PM news, Leno's monologue (and Headlines when he does that bit), and occasional weekend sports while cleaning house. I could probably do without a TV up there–we listen to the radio news in the morning instead of the TV–but I do like having the late night news on while getting ready for bed. The rabbit ears were around $15 at Best Buy and they do a surprisingly good job.

On the other two TVs, though, I'm too addicted to sports and the DVR to get rid of the satellite service (DirecTV). My wife really relies on the two DVRs because she likes three different Sunday night programs (one on PBS) that all air at the same time.

[kphoger]

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. 

[jp the roadgeek]

CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, TBS, FX (for The League), TNT, ESPN (all), NESN, YES (even for the enemy), A&E, FOX News, CSN-NE, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, VH-1 & VH-1 Classic, SNY (for UCONN), Fox Business News, NBC-SN (seasonally),

[corco]

NBC, ESPN, ESPN2, Root Sports NW

[on_wisconsin]

The "Big 4" networks
CNN/FNC/MSNBC
Weather Channel
Comedy Central
History and H2
NatGeo
ESPN (1&2)
FoxSports Wisconsin
B1G Ten
The Wisconsin Channel (WPT .2)
Spike
TNT
TBS
USA
Discovery (But could easily live without lately)
C-SPAN (1&2)(I like politics)
Madison City Channel (ditto)
I could probably think of a few more...

In my opinion having at least a pair of bunny ears on hand for local "Big 4" viewing is an essential health and safety idem. Also rolling severe weather coverage with a trained AMS meteorologist on local tv, cannot be beat by any smart phone app. IMHO

[citrus]

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. 

That just about sums it up for me too. And the occasional DVD series (The Wire, etc.).

[Stephane Dumas]

A year ago I'd have listed the Speed Channel, but not now that they no longer air F1.

Another channel who goes the way of MTV....    MTV is now a "must-not-have tv/cable" station since it jumped the shark years ago.  Come to think of it, we could mention A&E and some others who are a mere shadow of itself...

[jeffandnicole]

I'm a happy camper with Fox, Comcast Sportsnet Philly, and CMT/GAC.  Also, 6ABC in Philly for the news.  Rarely do I watch ESPN while home, but if I'm away I almost always turn it on in the hotel room.

[rte66man]

A year ago I'd have listed the Speed Channel, but not now that they no longer air F1.

Another channel who goes the way of MTV....    MTV is now a "must-not-have tv/cable" station since it jumped the shark years ago.  Come to think of it, we could mention A&E and some others who are a mere shadow of itself...

What? And lose Duck Dynasty?  Heretic!

rte66man

[Brandon]

Must-have channels?

In order for me on my system:

CBS
ABC (seems to be my most watched network of the big three)
WGN
EPSN (and its sister channels)
CNN
CLTV
Weather Channel
HGTV
Food Network
Travel Channel
NBC Sports (formerly Versus - NHL games)
History Channel (however, I can do without the reality series)
Smithsonian Channel
BBC America (cue the Doctor Who theme)
H2
HBO (as long as Game of Thrones is on)

[kphoger]

Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. 

That just about sums it up for me too. And the occasional DVD series (The Wire, etc.).

We play DVDs for the kiddos, but the only series my wife and I are making our way through on DVD is NCIS.

Ever since we ditched video cable in favor of Netflix and Amazon (basically all reruns), we haven't missed the programming.  Yet I'm reminded every so often how little I pay attention to news headlines now.

[Grzrd]

NFL Network Red Zone, particularly late in the season when playoff spots are up for grabs.

[oscar]

For me:

NBC
also CBS, ABC, Fox, TBS (mostly for sports coverage, and the Fox and ABC Sunday morning talking-head shows)
the main ESPN channels
NFL and MLB networks (during their respective seasons)
Fox News (for "Special Report" weekday evenings)
MSNBC (mainly weekday mornings)
Comedy Central ("Daily Show" and "Colbert Report")
NewsChannel 8 (cable-only local news in the Washington D.C. area)
MASN (local sports coverage)
History Channel (mainly for "Ice Road Truckers")

I gave up on CNN when Jon Stewart regrettably bulldozed it into canceling my favorite political combat shows like "Crossfire".  Also the Weather Channel, when it went over to reality shows, and on my cable system you can't even get its local weather forecasts.

I'm really a basic-cable kind of guy.  As an economy move, I get by without HBO and other premium channels, so a lot of chatter such as about "Game of Thrones" zooms over my head. 

[djsinco]

For several years, I have somehow survived without paying for TV. I have a middle of the road HD antenna, which picks up every local channel, with uncompressed HD, it looks and sounds better than what cable or satellite ever provided. I have an HTPC (Home Theater PC,) connected to my entertainment system, and can stream almost every cable show I am interested in. Windows 7 Media Center is great, and my computer is my DVR; with storage and functionality unmatched.

The only gaps in availability lie in occasional live sporting events that I cannot view. A couple of shows a month are not worth anywhere near the thousand dollars or so each year I save with my setup.

[doorknob60]

ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX
TNT and TBS (mostly for sports, but other stuff too)
ESPN (all of them)
Comcast Sportsnet NW
NFL Network and NBA TV
Pac-12 Network
Discovery
History

That's about it, really. I'll watch other channels, but those are the only ones I'd be annoyed to not have.

[thenetwork]

I have been without cable & TV for nearly 8 years now.  Only thing I pay for is Netflix-on-Demand, and am looking into HuluPlus.

With my 2 "rabbit ears" TVs, the network I watch most of is...

MeTV

Nothing can beat reruns of classic TV shows from the 50s-70s.  It's amazing how much better it is watching shows that don't try to put the words "penis" or "ass" or "fart" into every episode at least once...Although I still watch those modern shows from time to time.

[kphoger]

We only break out our rabbit ears (along with the Wal-Mart DCT we got back during the digital switchover) during tornado warnings and the Olympics.

Our computer is in the basement, so, when tornadoes get close enough for us to take cover, we just switch from upstairs rabbit-eared weather coverage on KAKE-TV to downstairs over-the-internet weather coverage on KAKE.com.  Then, when the power goes out, we go with a combination of the weather band on our walkie-talkies and texting our best friend, who is a hobbyist storm chaser.