ᐅ Is a "Free TV" Connection Still Worth It?

Sure. You need cables anyway. The main investment is the dish plus the LNB. In comparison, TV via Telekom or VF comes with an additional monthly fee. Also, with a phone contract, you lose some flexibility. DSL through Congstar won't work then.
Satellite TV is great for staying independent. And if something breaks, you can fix it yourself. An LNB costs about 25 euros. I always keep one as a spare. Replacing it is no problem. Not much else can break.

If you don’t watch free-to-air TV often, you don’t need to choose the TV option from your internet provider. Almost every new TV has a smart function. There are apps (e.g., Zattoo free) that allow you to stream live channels. It’s possible that an ad will appear when you start the app and that the stream is not in HD, but for occasional use throughout the year, it is sufficient.

Even the picture quality via satellite is no longer up to date. Today, devices with an average size of over 50" (127 cm) are sold. Naturally, people want to watch in 4K whenever possible. This is available on Netflix and similar services, but as far as I know, not via satellite.

hanse987 schrieb:
If you don’t watch free-to-air TV often, you don’t need to choose the TV option from your internet provider. Almost every new TV has a smart function. There are apps (e.g., Zattoo free) that let you stream the live broadcasts from channels. It may be that an ad appears when starting the app and the stream isn’t in HD, but for a few times per year, that is sufficient.

The channels have their own ad-free apps.

We have a satellite socket in every room and two in the living room for the twin receiver.
I’m not a heavy user of free-to-air TV (except for the baby channel and homebuilding series, which I love).
But since our little one became interested in the shows on Kika, I thank my satellite dish every morning. Especially on weekends, when our son is up at 6:30, I can put him in front of the TV without worries and turn over in bed for a bit longer. In the evenings, it’s the Sandman show. Occasionally on Friday evenings, the Kika requested movie. We used to pay 50 € for Entertain. I’m very glad we don’t have to anymore.
Otherwise, Prime and YouTube are our best friends. I think Netflix will be joining us soon as well.

Regarding the topic of having LAN connections everywhere, I would like to add that the newer WiFi standards have made an incredible difference. Fiber optic with 200 Mbit (200 Mbps) came into the house, and as a precaution (because it’s an older building), I had also installed a LAN cable from the ground floor to the upper floor.

Since I got a new laptop, the LAN port has remained unused. When using 5 GHz WiFi, I can stream multiple Full HD videos easily over the air instead of dealing with cables.