Retro TV Guide: Where to Find Classic TV Shows on Over-the-Air Digital Channels

These days, there are so many different options for new television shows and streaming services it can be difficult to find a show you want to watch at the end of a long day — but instead of scrolling through yet another endless streaming menu, the answer might be found on one of the many over-the-air digital channels that air for free across the U.S.
Over-the-air channels can be a great pick if you want a good old comfort show like Leave it to Beaver or The Brady Bunch. You know the one … a show that you grew up on, or one that you’ve watched a million times and will never get sick of. Or perhaps you’re tired of streaming and have become (or remain) a cord cutter.
No matter your reason, we have rounded up a list of some of the best over-the-air, free digital channels that carry classic shows, for the next time you’re unsure of what to turn on.
Not sure what channels are in your area?
Use this link to see what free antenna channels are available in your area.
Antenna TV
Antenna TV is a free over-the-air network featuring sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1990s. Some of these classic shows include:
Archie Bunker’s Place
Bewitched
Designing Women
Family Ties
Hazel
I Dream of Jeannie
The Jeffersons
Maude
Three’s Company
Wings
BUZZR

Play along with classic game show episodes around the clock with BUZZR’s lineup, which includes:
Beat the Clock
Family Feud
Match Game
Password
To Tell the Truth
What’s My Line
Catchy Comedy
“Catch all the laughs” on Catchy Comedy, whose schedule is full of classic sitcoms, headlined by the groundbreaking women and men of comedy. Here are just a few:
The Bob Newhart Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
Good Times
I Love Lucy
M*A*S*H
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Rhoda
Taxi
That Girl
Comet TV
Comet TV is the destination for fans of sci-fi and fantasy. They show movies, and also feature these series:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Stargate SG-1
Tales From the Darkside
The X-Files
Cozi TV
Cozi TV provides an easy-to-watch, comfortable lineup of all-time great TV hits, including:
Columbo
Frasier
Highway to Heaven
Little House on the Prairie
The King of Queens
Married… With Children
Monk
The Munsters
The Nanny
Roseanne
DABL
Get into it! On DABL, catch up on Black sitcoms from the 1990s and 2000s, including:
Girlfriends
The Jamie Foxx Show
Living Single
Moesha
Sister, Sister
fetv
Also known as Family Entertainment Television, this network carries a variety of beloved and timeless television series, such as:
Adam-12
Barney Miller
Emergency!
Leave It to Beaver
The Lone Ranger
My Three Sons
Perry Mason
Quincy, M.E.
getTV
Great Entertainment Television features classic TV shows from the 1960s through the early 2000s. These include:
All in the Family
Bret Maverick
Fantasy Island
Good Times
Hart to Hart
Kojak
Magnum, P.I.
Sanford and Son
The Rockford Files
Walker, Texas Ranger
Grit
Grit is home to your favorite legendary heroes, showcasing action-packed storytelling through its iconic classic Western series:
Bat Masterson
Death Valley Days
The Lone Ranger
Tales of Wells Fargo
Tombstone Territory
Zorro
Heroes & Icons
True to its name, Heroes & Icons’ schedule is chock-full of heroic characters and iconic series. Here are a few:
Adventures of Superman
Batman
Black Sheep Squadron
MacGyver
Nash Bridges
Rawhide
Star Trek: The Original Series
Wonder Woman
INSP
Tune in to INSP for all the Westerns you could ask for, including:
The Big Valley
Bonanza
Cheyenne
Gunsmoke
The High Chaparral
Laramie
The Rifleman
Wagon Train
Laff
Various sitcoms from the 1990s through today are featured in Laff TV’s lineup:
ALF
Grounded for Life
Home Improvement
That ’70s Show
The Connors
MeTV
MeTV (Memorable Entertainment Television) provides viewers the best in timeless and memorable television favorites, which include:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
The Andy Griffith Show
Beverly Hillbillies
The Brady Bunch
Gilligan’s Island
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Hogan’s Heroes
Laverne & Shirley
The Waltons
MeTV Toons
MeTV Toons is your TV destination for the greatest classic animation of all time, featuring:
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends
Bugs Bunny and Friends
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
The Flintstones
Inspector Gadget
The Jetsons
Scooby-Doo
Super Toons
The Tom and Jerry Show
The Underdog Show
Rewind TV
Rewind features classic TV shows from the ’80s and beyond. Here are a few:
227
Becker
Caroline in the City
Growing Pains
Head of the Class
Mork & Mindy
My Two Dads
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Suddenly Susan
Wings
Start TV
Start TV showcases strong and resourceful female leading characters in a lineup of contemporary and proven procedural dramas, including:
Any Day Now
Murder, She Wrote
Providence
Touched by an Angel

1970s Fall TV
September 2023
Take a trip back to the ’70s by looking at the TV Guide Magazine Fall Preview primetime lineups.
Buy This Issue