By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.
TV Answer Man, I have a Samsung Smart TV and I don’t watch TV much. I definitely don’t want to pay for cable. So, what is a Fire TV stick and does it give you access to cable TV? — Bree, Las Vegas.
Bree, for starters, a Fire TV streaming stick is a small device from Amazon that is connected to an HDMI port in your television. Once installed, you can use it to connect your television to your Internet’s WiFi network, which allows you to stream thousands of TV channels on the Net such as Netflix, Max, Hulu, DIRECTV Stream, Sling TV, and Amazon’s Prime Video, among many others.
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Now to your second question: Can you access cable TV on the Fire TV stick? The answer is yes and no.
Comcast’s Xfinity TV service has an app (“Xfinity Stream”) available on Fire TV devices that enables you to watch live channels and On Demand programming. But you need a subscription to Xfinity to use the app.
Cox and Charter’s Spectrum TV have similar apps, but they are not available on Fire TV devices. Cox is on Apple TV while Spectrum TV’s app is on a variety of devices including iPhones, Xumo and Roku.
If you already have a cable subscription, most cable TV services (and satellite TV) will enable you to watch some subscribed channels via apps on the Fire TV stick. (This service, known as TV Everywhere, is also available on numerous other devices including Apple TV, Roku and the IPhone and iPad.) You can download an app for channels such as Max and Fox on your stick and watch them on your TV without need of another cable set-top.
You could argue this means the Fire TV stick gives you access to cable. But, again, I suspect from your question that you are looking to watch a cable service such as Comcast or Charter without getting a cable subscription. And that you cannot do.
Last note: There are live streaming services such as DIRECTV Stream and Sling TV that sell cable-like multi-channel programming bundles starting at $40 a month. You don’t need a subscription to a cable TV service to watch them so this might be a solution. Also, some cable channels sell their programming online directly to consumers. You can subscribe to them on your Fire stick without getting a full subscription to a cable TV service.
Bree, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
