After breaking the ribbons on the gifts boxes, another wave of streaming hardware will soon emerge to foster another generation of cord-cutters.
While it will be easy, intuitive even, for many Chromecasters and Roku recruits to load up the Netflixes and Hulu Pluses of the streaming world, there are other curated channels that can ease the pains of pay TV's phantom limbs -- and they're free.
Sky News (Roku, Fire TV)
While some world news apps offer live news selectively, Britain's Sky News delivers real-time content around the clock. Thanks to Roku's support for private channels, users can also find news channels from major U.S. cities. Other world news apps to consider include CNN, Fox, The Weather Channel, CBS and BBC News.
PBS and PBS Kids (Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, ROku)
The Public Broadcasting Service's main channel serves up its full catalog of programming, all for free. And its spinoff for children delivers more than 1,000 full episodes and video clips of its content to users all only of the major streaming devices.
New content rolls out on the channels each week and viewers can bookmark episodes and specials into their watch lists. Similar channels to consider include The History Channel, A&E, the Smithsonian Channel and Happy Kids.
Food Network (Roku)
It's due to Roku's private channels that streams like Food Network appear on cord-cutter's screens without having to navigate through a browser. Full episodes and clips from Food Network's site are available online, but Roku's privately created channels package them into a much more navigable app. Similar channels include HGTV (Roku) and AllRecipes.
Ustream (Roku, Fire TV)
It's YouTube for live streamers. From wildlife cameras in South Africa to conventions in Los Angeles, Ustream is an evolving community of live content that allows anyone with a camera to broadcast to the world.
The sheer amount of broadcasts on Ustream can be overwhelming, but the site, and subsequently its app, are curated by staff members. Viewers can browse featured content or check out whatever channels have attracted a large audience. Similar channels include Blit, YouTube and Twitch.
Comedy Central (Chromecast)
Hit shows like Key and Peele and many of its standup specials won't be available on Comedy Central, but there will be recent episodes from long-time favorites like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The free episodes produced by the Colbert Report may be filled by those produced by the upcoming The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore. Similar channels include Funny or Die and The Onion News Network.
