TV services. Help me.

Hulu, Amazon, Netflix have libraries of movies, recent and old TV shows, original programming. You just have to compare and decide if they have things you specificially want, because they are a bit different.

If you want to stream live TV, Hulu just entered into that market, too with a live TV service. There is also Sling TV, Direct TV Now, Youtube TV, Fubo TV (which started out just streaming soccer). Their packages start at around $20 for some very basic channel lineups. Typical is about $35/mo. ... they have the networks, ESPN channels, Food channel, CNN, Fox, etc. Then they have add ons for more money. You just have to look at each and compare the price relative to the channels they have, and decide what it is you want most. Some people who want a lot of TV channels, find that it isn't much cheaper than what they can get from their cable provider in an internet / TV package, when all is said and done.

If you are looking to completely cut the cord and knock down things to less than $10 a month, take a good look at Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. They all offer episodes of some recent shows, but their licensing deals differ slightly, so it depends on what you specifically like. Some people do a combination of two of them. Amazon is best on price. Netflix has the biggest library (including movies). Netflix is best on original content. Hulu is best in terms of latest episodes of network shows. They appear a day after they air, but they come with commercials unless you pay a bit more.

 

Kodi is just software. It's not a content provider. It's good home theater software. It acts as a hub, so you can stream things from various devices to a smart TV or to a TV with a streaming device on it. For that purpose, it's great. But you still need actual content in order for Kodi to be any good. That means you are going to have to find free sources of content for which Kodi has an add on, or you are going to need to subscribe to one or more of the services I mentioned. Kodi itself is useless without a library of things you already own and/or other sources of content.

 

You're not an amateur. You can find almost anything via bittorent, if that is how you want to spend your time, in order to save on a Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc. subscriptions. Of course, you are violating copyrights if you get your content that way. For live streaming, there are a few networks / channels that stream for free. For example, Bloomberg will stream to your computer of phone or streaming device. But most are going to charge you, and for the streaming services that work out licensing deals and sell packages, such as the ones you have tried, they area all in the price range you mentioned with similar channel lineups.