How to Watch 'The Bachelorette' Even if You Don't Have Cable

Hannah Brown's season of ABC's The  (opens in new tab)Bachelorette (opens in new tab) is already underway, and it's looking crazy/great/crazy-great (opens in new tab). So much drama, and there's only been one episode! So if you don't want to feel left out in the office kitchen, or can't imagine your life without Hannah Beast, there are plenty of ways to catch up on the fan-favorite series—even if you don't have cable, or a TV.

Your location will essentially determine how and where you can watch. Major networks are often available for free without a cable subscription, but it depends, and you usually need a TV. Per the ABC website, "Anyone physically located in the U.S. or its territories (including Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands) with access to a broadband internet connection, and a supported web browser, mobile, or streaming TV device. If you subscribe to ABC through one of our participating TV providers (and your subscription is in good standing), you have access to additional content." Note that just having internet won't give you access to most shows, just some video snippets and the occasional episode.

Per Money (opens in new tab), "Check out DIRECTV’s channel guide here (opens in new tab), Xfinity’s here (opens in new tab), Optimum’s here (opens in new tab) and Spectrum’s here (opens in new tab) to find out what your local ABC channel is." To watch free TV these days, you usually need a digital antenna (opens in new tab), which will set you back about $50.

This service (opens in new tab) will require you to sign up for cable or a livestreaming TV service (more on that below), but it does provide a good option if you're starting from scratch, don't have access, and need a provider through which to watch the show.

According to the ABC website (opens in new tab), "The ABC live stream is currently available in the following markets: Chicago, Fresno, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco with a participating TV provider." More cities are available, but only through DirecTV.

You have to sign in and list a provider, so test it to see if it works for you.

You might have heard of these services like YouTubeTV and Hulu + Live TV (DirecTV and Playstation have services too). YouTubeTV is what I have, and it provides most stations we need at a lower cost than cable. Be warned, though: At least in the case of YouTubeTV, the latest Apple TV is the only version that the service is compatible with to sync with our television, so it may necessitate buying more equipment. You can watch these services on your computer, so you don't necessarily need a TV for this option.

The aforementioned services have free trial periods, so you could technically sign up and watch an episode or two before the cost kicks in. But you can't exactly watch the full series that way, so just be aware of that.

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