How to Watch TCM Turner Classic Movies Without Cable

You don’t need cable to watch Turner Classic Movies (TCM.) All you need is a streaming device like Roku and a streaming service that carries TCM. Below are all the streaming services that carry TCM.

Streaming Sevices with TCM

The streaming services below all allow you to watch TCM without the need for satellite or cable TV.

Watch TCM on Sling TV

TCM is one of the many channels on Sling TV. However, it’s part of their “Hollywood” add-on package. Sling TV offers two base packages with different channel offerings call the “Blue” and “Orange” package. Each cost $35 per month. Subscribers then add the “Hollywood” add-on at an additional $6 per month for a total of $41 per month.

That price includes cloud DVR service and a ton of other channels. Learn more about sling in our review of Sling TVor give their 7-day free trial a try.

Watching TCM on Hulu Live TV

Hulu is another way you can stream TCM. Previously Hulu was known for its vast on-demand streaming library. Recently, they have added a Hulu Live TV service for $64.99 a month that offers Live TCM Online Streaming. Hulu Live TV is one of the best live TV streaming services available. It includes the following features:

• The basic package comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. (Upgrades available)
• Watch on 2 screens at once. (Upgrades available)
• Comes with 6 customizable profiles
• Includes entire Hulu streaming library

Check out our full review of Hulu Live TV for more details.

Check out Hulu here.

TCM on AT&T TV

AT&T TV is another way you can watch TCM. Channel packages with TCM start at $69.99 per month. A subscription to AT&T TV includes the following:

• watch 3 streams simultaneously per subscription 
• a cloud-based DVR
• channels like TCM and more
• supported on AppleTV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more

You can check out this streaming service through this online offer or read about it in our AT&T TV review.

TCM on YouTube TV

YouTubeTV also carries TCM in its channel lineup along with limitless storage space for recording your shows. Your library of recorded shows can be streamed anywhere.

YouTube TV provides:

• BBC America, Local Network Channels, and over 70 other channels
• unlimited cloud DVR storage
• stream on three devices at once
• Youtube TV supports Roku, Android, iOS (includes AirPlay to Apple TV), and Chromecasts/Chromecast-compatible TVs, and more. 
• Includes Youtube TV on-demand
• offers a 1-week free trial.

After a 1-week free trial YouTube TV costs $64.99 per month. See our YouTube TV review for more details.

TCM on TVision

TVision is a new live TV streaming service from T-Mobile. The service is currently only available to T-Mobile customers. TVision’s “Live+” plan offers TCM along with 40 other channels for just $50 per month. Below are features included with this plan:

• 30+ live channels including TCM, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, and more
• includes 100 hours of cloud DVR
• stream to 3 devices at a time
• supported on Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more

See our review of TVision or visit T-Mobile’s website for more information.

Watch TCM for Free

Most of the streaming services that carry TCM offer a free trial. You can take advantage of those and watch free TCM for almost a month or longer if you use different email addresses. Let’s look at the free trials available.

• Sling TV – offers a 1-week free trial
• Hulu Live TV– offers a 1-week free trial
• YouTube TV –  offers a 1-week free trial

As long as you cancel before the free trial expires, you won’t be charged. You can cycle the free trials to get nearly a month of TCM free. If you get creative with email addresses and payment methods, you could watch free TCM even longer. Doing this would also let you test out the various live TV streaming services to see which one you like the best.

Watch TCM on Roku

To watch TCM on Roku, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries TCM (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, and AT&T TV)
2. On your Roku Menu, navigate to “Search” and press “OK” on your remote
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
5. Select “Add Channel” press “OK” on your remote. If the channel is already installed, “Go To Channel” will be an option.
6. The App is now installed on your Roku. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. TCM will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

Watch TCM on Fire TV

To watch TCM on Fire TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries TCM (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, and AT&T TV)
2. On your Fire TV Home screen, click on the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
5. Select “Download,” and the channel will install
6. The App is now installed on your Fire TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. TCM will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

Watch TCM on Apple TV

To watch TCM on Apple TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries TCM (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, and AT&T TV)
2. Scroll right to the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service click the cloud icon, and the channel will install
5. The App is now installed on your Apple TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. TCM will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

TCM is about the Classics

These days it feels like the biggest stars in Hollywood are green screens. The rise of CGI means movies can show just about anything their writers can dream up – and studios can vie for our dollars with increasingly-ostentatious spectacles of effects.

And then, there’s TCM. Turner Classic Movies is quietly, consistently offering up an antidote to this blockbuster mania. On that channel you won’t find much color – in fact, most of what it shows is black and white. Instead, you’ll get classic movies, generally but not always made before the 1960s. 

Our world was quite different then, and one might question whether these movies are relevant today. But check out the titles TCM offers on demand and the first to stand out might be the 1944 movie “Gaslight,” in which Ingrid Bergman plays a woman whose husband manipulates her into believing she is crazy. Modern feminists might be amazed to learn that women were thinking critically about “gaslighting” back in the World War II era – and those thoughts could inform today’s fight for equality.

Likewise, you’ll find 1962’s “The Manchurian Candidate,” another often-referenced film. Its subtlety and intricacy make for a powerful statement about the sinister motivations under those institutions that we think we can trust – showing, once again, that our modern day issues have been around a long time.

Then, of course, there is “Dr. Strangelove: Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb” from 1964, chilling in its depiction of an insane, immature man able to manipulate people into a nuclear war … ok, never mind, maybe I’ll just sit over here for a while and watch Marvel’s glittery modern “Doctor Strange,” instead, just for my personal sanity’s sake.

Classic movies aren’t all disturbing and profound, however. TCM offers plenty of lighter stuff, too, that provide a glimpse into the cultural world of the past. Its website does a good job of helping viewers to navigate it all by providing collections of movies (such as those with “meet cutes” or those with a certain star.) 

And more than many channels, TCM has crafted a community around its channel. For 10 years, TCM has hosted an annual film festival in Hollywood, bringing fans together to watch classic movies on the big screen. Year-round, you can join fans in sort of fan club called TCM Backlot: if you pay $7.97/month you can join a local chapter of fans and enjoy other benefits like streaming “rare videos,” touring the studios and even appearing on air. You can even join a TCM wine club in which you purchase bottles of wine that they say pair with their classic movies.

In any case, with wine or not, it’s easy to forget these old movies and leave them in the realm of college film classes. But they are a worthy addition to your streaming time if only to provide a bit of depth and historical perspective. And fortunately, you don’t need cable to do so.

For information on watching other TV channels online check out: How To Stream Specific TV Channels

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