More than 100 million people are expected to tune in to this year’s Super Bowl broadcast airing February 11 on CBS, and if past years’ viewership numbers are any indication, at least 20 million of them will catch the big game via their streaming platform of choice. If that’s your plan, be warned that the lag time in your streaming provider’s live TV feed could render your game day experience spoiled by incoming tweets or texts.
Live-TV streaming services such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and Fubo generally deliver live video much more slowly than cable, satellite, and especially an antenna—slow enough that social media posts and other notifications might alert you to a game-deciding touchdown or turnover well before you see it on your TV.
One way to avoid this, of course, is to drop a bunch of money on a cable or satellite subscription. Or, you could simply turn off your cell phone, tablet, or laptop and instruct everyone in the room with you to do the same, resigning yourself to a low-tech Super Bowl Sunday. (But really, how likely is that?)
Here’s a better idea: Get an indoor HDTV antenna like the Best Buy Essentials Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna, which we recommend in our guide to the best TV antenna. For roughly $20 and with minimal setup, you can enjoy a great picture at a speed no streamer can match.
Our pick
Of all the antennas we tested, this passive, non-amplified antenna gave us the best results on average, and it’s affordable and easy to install.
