TV Q&A: If I drop cable but want to see Penguins games, what TV service should I add?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: I really need to dump the cable portion of my Comcast bill.

I saved your item about the Pens when AT&T SportsNet had their disagreement with Verizon’s FiOS TV, because even though I don’t have Verizon, I watch the Pens and was already considering cutting the cord when I read that.

Can you print a primer for folks like me who want to leave cable, but don’t know where to start? Also, how fast does your internet have to be?

— Conrad, Jeannette

Rob: If you plan to cut the cable cord in favor of streaming, you will need high-speed, broadband internet. How fast does it need to be? In my personal experience, we managed just fine using Netflix and other streamers with 20 Mbps internet service until the start of this school year and distance learning forced us to upgrade to 100 Mbps so we could have multiple children on Zoom at the same time without technical hiccups. With 100 Mbps multiple family members can use multiple streaming services simultaneously and we’ve seen no glitches (and we only saw them occasionally when we had 20 Mbps).

Once you have 20-100 Mbps internet service, the question becomes, what do you want to keep from your current cable lineup and what can you live without? This is where decisions get highly individualized depending on a viewer’s interests. Plan to do some online research to see what options suit you best.

First, confirm with your current cable/satellite provider that you’re no longer under contract as early termination fees can be expensive. You might consider an antenna to get local stations over-the-air, but the hilly terrain of Western Pennsylvania can make reception hit-or-miss depending on your location.

If you’re determined to keep local channels, you can try a live streaming service such as AT&T TV, FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV or YouTube TV. Not all options are created equal.

YouTube TV offers KDKA, WPXI, WTAE, WPGH, WPNT, WPCW and WQED and loads of cable channels (CNN, Fox News, ESPN, ACC Network, FX, HGTV, ID and Syfy) for $65 per month (including cloud DVR service) but not AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, which sounds like a must-have for Conrad.

To keep AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, Conrad’s options narrow to FuboTV ($65 per month but with a national ABC feed, not the local WTAE feed) or AT&T TV and its Choice or above tier (starting at $65 per month with a two-year contract or $85 per month with no contract but no WQED either way).

Bottom line: If you opt for a service with access to live, local channels, you’ll need to budget for at least $60 per month, not including the cost of internet (usually $50 or more per month), and that’s before considering whether to add Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, discovery+ or another streamer, each of which has its own monthly fee.

One tip for Netflix and the like: These services have no contract, so feel free to subscribe to one, try it for a month, then cancel and try a different streamer.

Q: I just watched a Hallmark Channel movie called “A New Year’s Resolution” and in a couple of the transition scenes they showed an intersection at William Penn Place and 10th Street in Downtown Pittsburgh. The movie was supposed to take place outside of Chicago. Who sells them video scenes of Pittsburgh to use?

— Katie, Scott Township

Rob: The film’s producers probably purchased royalty-free stock footage which is available from multiple companies, including Shutterstock and Pond 5. “A New Year’s Resolution” filmed in Manitoba, Canada.

Q: Will “Evil” ever be back on CBS?

— Fred via voicemail

Rob: It will but no word on when. Filming on season two began in late 2020 so the show might return in late spring or I suppose CBS could hold it until fall.