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Ditching an expensive cable contract doesn’t mean giving up live TV. Video streaming services, such as Editors’ Choice winners Hulu and YouTube TV, deliver live channels via an internet connection, though they cater to different viewers. For example, some platforms are good for general audiences, others offer top sports channels, and a few focus on entertainment and lifestyle content. Our tested options are available across many platforms, including phones, tablets, web browsers, gaming consoles, and media streaming devices. Although these services are on the pricier end of the streaming video spectrum, you may still spend less money per month than you did while subscribing to cable. Besides the potential financial savings, these live TV services sometimes offer à la carte channel plans (though this flexibility is becoming rare). Whatever your reason for leaving cable behind, know that the number of live TV streaming options continues to rise.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best for a Mix of Live and On-Demand Content
Hulu
Hulu is one of the best all-in-one services for cord cutters, given its diverse set of streaming options. In addition to a strong library of classic shows and a good selection of movies, Hulu has a robust live TV option (more than 70 channels of news, sports, and entertainment programming). After adding several Viacom channels to its lineup, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Hulu picked up NFL Network and NFL RedZone.
Anyone seeking streaming convenience without abandoning traditional, live TV. Hulu’s basic on-demand streaming plan currently costs $9.99 per month, while the ad-free version is $18.99 per month. College students can get Hulu’s ad-supported version for $1.99 per month. The Hulu + Live TV plan costs $82.99 per month, and combines Hulu’s live TV service with the ad-supported streaming plan. All subscribers now enjoy unlimited Cloud DVR. You can also add the Unlimited Screens package (it allows an unlimited number of concurrent device streams in your home, and up to three outside of it) to your plan for $9.99 per month.
Starting Price
$9.99 per month; $81.99 per month
Sports Coverage
International*, National, & Regional
DVR Storage & Retention
Unlimited; 9 Months
Concurrent Streams
2 or Unlimited (at home) and 3 (mobile devices)
Best for Replacing Cable
YouTube TV
YouTube TV offers an excellent selection of live sports and news channels, as well as many popular entertainment options. A few of the top networks available include ABC, AMC, CBS, CNN, Discovery, ESPN, Fox, FX, NBC, and PBS. Of course, this channel variety doesn’t come cheap; YouTube TV’s latest price hike raised the monthly subscription cost to $72.99 per month.
YouTube TV is your best option for replacing cable. If YouTube TV’s library still doesn’t meet your needs, you can add other packages, such as Acorn TV, CuriosityStream, and NBA League Pass to your subscription. The Entertainment Plus package bundles HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz for $30 per month. YouTube TV’s 4K Plus add-on ($9.99 per month) unlocks 4K streaming, support for an unlimited number of simultaneous streams, and offline viewing of DVR content. With YouTube TV, you get unlimited cloud DVR storage, too. The service keeps your recordings for nine months, and you can stream your content from anywhere in the US. YouTube TV is currently testing a cool multiview feature that lets you check out four select channels at once.
Starting Price
$72.99 per month
Sports Coverage
National & Regional
DVR Storage & Retention
Unlimited; 9 Months
Concurrent Streams
3 or Unlimited (at home)
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Best for Sports Fanatics
Fubo
Fubo is a great option for cord-cutting sports fans. Its base subscription plan, called Fubo Starter, costs $74.99 per month and grants you access to about 150 channels, with the exact number depending on your location. For national sports events, there’s CBS, FOX, NBA TV, NBC, and NFL Network. For international sports, you get channels from the beIN network and Univision. If you’re ever not in the mood for sports, Fubo offers a wide variety of entertainment channels, such as FX, National Geographic, SYFY, and USA. You not only get to watch live events and programs from the included channels, but there are also a ton of on-demand shows and movies.
Television lovers who don’t want to miss a second of the programming. Fubo offers excellent unlimited DVR capabilities and supports three simultaneous streams (this limit expands to 10 via an add-on). The Lookback feature lets you watch anything you may have missed up to 72 hours after it first aired, while the Startover capability enables you to watch currently airing events from the beginning no matter when you tuned into the program.
Starting Price
$79.99 per month
Sports Coverage
International, National, & Regional
DVR Storage & Retention
Unlimited
Concurrent Streams
2 or 10
Best for Entertainment and Lifestyle Channels
Philo
Most live TV subscriptions cost much more than the typical streaming video service, but Philo is a far more appealing investment at $28 per month with free channel options. Even with the cheaper price tag, Philo delivers an impressive channel lineup with reliable streaming performance and intuitive DVR functionality.
Although it lacks local news and sports coverage, Philo’s live channels satisfy entertainment and lifestyle fans. With Philo, you can access content from AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BET, Cooking Channel, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, IFC, Lifetime, Logo, and The Travel Channel.
Starting Price
$28 per month
Sports Coverage
None
DVR Storage & Retention
Unlimited; 30 Days
Concurrent Streams
3
Best for Add-On Channels
Sling TV
Sling TV has multiple, flexible plans that let you create the live streaming plan that works best for you. You can even watch some on-demand content for free. Its highest tiers have increased in price over time, topping out at $60 per month for the combined plan. Still, we appreciate any service with robust viewing options.
Sling TV has add-on channels for viewers who want many options to explore. The base service offers local channels and sports broadcasts, but only in limited forms. You’re better off checking out the Blue and Orange tiers that include AMC, CNN, BBC America, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, Disney, ESPN, Food Network, HGTV, IFC, TBS, TNT, and Travel Channel.
Starting Price
$40 per month; $60 per month
Sports Coverage
International*, National, & Regional
DVR Storage & Retention
50 or 200 hours; Indefinitely
Concurrent Streams
1 (for Sling Orange channels), 3 (for Sling Blue channels)
Learn More
Best for RSN Coverage
DirecTV Stream
Formerly known as AT&T TV, DirecTV Stream is a premium live streaming service with the features to match. It supports 20 simultaneous streams, parental control options, and improved DVR functionality with unlimited storage (plus the ability to save 30 episodes for up to nine months). Just be prepared to spend at least $100 per month (and potentially more than twice that, depending on your plan and add-ons).
Looking for a true cable replacement? DirecTV Stream is your service. Its high price comes with a hefty channel lineup. In fact, the service’s top option has 185 channels. In addition, DirecTV Stream is one of the only live TV streaming services we’ve reviewed that offers regional sports networks (RSNs) from Comcast, Sinclair, and Spectrum. It also has all the local broadcast affiliates (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC).
Starting Price
$101.98 per month
Sports Coverage
International*, National, & Regional
DVR Storage & Retention
20 hours or Unlimited, nine months
Concurrent Streams
20 (at home) and 3 (away from home)
Learn More
Buying Guide: The Best Live TV Streaming Services for 2024
(Credit: YouTube)
Network Shows, News, and More
So long as the video streaming service you choose offers affiliate broadcast channels in your market, you can watch your favorite network shows from the likes of ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. Most of the services here, including YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, host these networks. YouTube TV is the only service we’ve reviewed that includes local PBS channels.
Other television channels aren’t dependent on your geographic location. Philo is an excellent option for watching such entertainment networks, including AMC, Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, and Travel Channel. Many video streaming services with entertainment channels also include on-demand content from channels you can watch at your leisure and record to DVR storage. Other services combine live TV with more traditional on-demand libraries. A subscription to Hulu + Live TV, for instance, lets you watch all the shows and movies from Hulu’s on-demand service, including its original shows.
Although news channels may not be the primary way people stay informed about the world these days, they are still a good resource for live coverage of national and international events. For complete news coverage, make sure the service you choose includes both commercial broadcast affiliates (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) and cable news channels (such as BBC America, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and MSNBC). Some services also include news networks not based in the US, such as BBC World News. For instance, DirecTV Stream, Fubo, and Sling TV offer international channels, though you will need to pay extra for some of them.
Some services claim to offer “live TV,” while really just offering 24/7 online marathons of preprogrammed existing material. We skipped those. Every service covered here is truly live.
Stream Live Sports
To watch all the sports that you previously could with your cable subscription, you should consult our roundup of the best sports streaming services. When picking a service, verify that it carries all the channels you want to watch in your area, including regional sports networks (RSNs) for coverage of local MLB, NBA, and NHL teams. Most services offer the NBC Sports RSNs. DirecTV Stream offers Bally Sports RSNs (previously FOX Sports networks) and SportsNet RSNs (formerly AT&T), too. Which RSNs you need depends on your location and the sports you like to watch.
Not all services include all the major league channels, such as NFL Network, NBA TV, or MLB Network. Ensuring that a service covers all the affiliate broadcast channels in your area from ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC is also important, since many games air on those channels. Know that you are not exempt from local market restrictions or coverage blackouts.
We assume that you want the best streaming quality for watching your favorite teams no matter what device you use. YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV support 1080p/60fps live streams on select platforms. Fubo was the first of the live TV services to broadcast select events in 4K, but an add-on brings that capability to YouTube TV. A few services also have useful capabilities for sports fans. DirecTV Stream and Fubo, for instance, include DVR features that respectively let you start broadcasts from the beginning should you jump into them mid-game, and watch matches that have aired in the past few days. Note that these features are only available on select channels.
If you are an NFL fan, check out our roundup of the best NFL streaming services to make sure you can watch all the games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. If you don’t want to pay additional fees every month to watch NFL games, there are some free options. For instance, the NFL Mobile and Yahoo Sports apps let you watch in-market and prime-time games, including Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, and Monday Night Football. Subscribers to Amazon Prime can also watch Thursday Night Football games at no additional cost, while Peacock subscribers can stream Sunday Night Football broadcasts.
We also have roundups of the best NBA streaming services, MLB streaming services, and NHL streaming services.
(Credit: Fubo)
DVR, Simultaneous Streams, and Apps
All of the streaming services in this roundup offer some DVR capabilities. If you are the kind of viewer that likes to save and rewatch significant TV moments, you should ideally look for a service that lets you record many hours’ worth of shows and keep them indefinitely. Robust DVR capabilities are useful for sports fans too; some games may air at an inconvenient time. YouTube TV is unique in that one of its available add-ons lets you download DVR content for offline viewing on mobile devices.
The ability to stream on several devices at the same time is also highly useful for large households. Most of the services let you pay more for higher concurrent streaming limits.
The best live TV streaming services support mobile devices, game consoles, web browsers, streaming devices, and smart TVs. With some services, you also get greater control over accessibility settings and parental controls than with cable. DirecTV Stream and Sling TV let parents restrict what their kids can watch by rating, for example.
Recommended by Our Editors
Live TV Options That Missed the Cut
We don’t include single-channel options, such as Paramount+, or services that only stream live sports and limited events, such as Amazon Prime Video, Dazn, ESPN+, and Peacock. Those services are all too narrow in scope to be reasonable alternatives to cable. The same goes for a service like Medici.tv, which only broadcasts live classical music concerts.
We also don’t include services like Pluto TV and Xumo in this roundup, since they primarily offer preprogrammed content, rather than live TV channels. However, some people may appreciate channels of endless content streams (and that they are free streaming services). Plex also offers preprogrammed content and can serve as a live TV interface if you set up the correct hardware.
You could absolutely set up a digital antenna and tuner to pull down local channels over the air on your own, too. If an event is popular enough, such as a political debate or the Olympics, the broadcast may be free to stream online from the organizer’s website.
Video Streaming Services: What You Should Know
On-Demand Streaming Services
Although you may intend to replicate your cable experience on a 1:1 basis with video streaming services, we recommend that you don’t. Take some time to determine which channels you actually watch on a regular basis. On-demand services open up an entirely new world of content, with many shows that don’t air on traditional cable. These on-demand shows also tend to be the subject of pop culture discussions and critical acclaim. Amazon Prime Video‘s The Wheel of Time, Disney+’s Hawkeye, Netflix’s Stranger Things, and Paramount+’s Star Trek: Discovery are just a few examples. Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, and Max also feature original content that you can’t get anywhere else. Cinephiles should check out our roundup of the best movie streaming services, too.
For even more on streaming, check out five reasons to ditch your video subscription and keep cable. Learn how to pick streaming services that fit your budget, and enjoy all sorts of reality show trash. Finally, check out our recommended streaming video guides if you don’t know what to watch.
Ben Moore also contributed to this roundup.