We live in the country where the only outside contact is via satellite. Remember C-band? We had a 12' dish about 300' from the house because we are in the woods. We have DISH with a second dish for internet. (Hughes, I guess) ...and at $200+ at monthly it is a scam - loaded with stuff we would never watch and a marginal internet connection. (we often have to step outside to get 2 bars on a cell phone)
So... what I do is download programming off my Comcast account at my business in town. We have a basic plan to the extent I don't know what it is - other than it always does what I need.
I use a little program from Germany called Audials Moviebox. Unfortunately, it is PC only so I had to buy a PC laptop to use it.
(a cheap laptop did not work because its processor was not capable - check the specs first) The program was a little fiddly a couple of years ago, but I don't have many problems now.
With my Amazon Prime account, and shifting from Netflicks and Hulu, I download all sorts of series and movies to a USB stick that I carry home. I will often download HBO programming (we don't have the DISH recorder) to play back at a better time.
I also upgraded my USB stick to a portable drive called a Passport from WD. It's $50 and 1TB and loads very fast compared to the typical stick. Movies on Audial will stop when they are over, but many series will keep downloading until the season is over.
Not having watched local network TV for at least two decades, I want to make sure we have plenty of books and alternatives for our first trip.
Jim
https://audials.com/en/moviebox/audi..._software.html