How to watch The Weather Channel without cable
How to watch The Weather Channel without cable
Get crucial breaking weather coverage any time, anywhere with our handy guide.
If you live just about anywhere in the United States, you know just how variable the weather can be from season to season. Spring and summer can bring violent storms and oppressive heat, while fall and winter can usher in extreme cold and deep snow, depending on where you live.
Having access to The Weather Channel is crucial for viewers who live in areas where the weather can be particularly volatile. The channel tracks breaking weather alerts, offers unparalleled hurricane coverage in exposed regions, and tracks national trends every day to keep viewers ahead of the storm.
If you don’t have cable, but you want to ensure you have access to The Weather Channel, we’ll explain how to stream the channel with a live TV streaming service below! Check out all the options and see our favorite way to stream The Weather Channel without a traditional cable plan.
How to watch The Weather Channel without cable
What are all the services that stream The Weather Channel?
If you want to watch The Weather Channel with your internet connection on a live TV streaming service, there are several options available. You can seek out The Weather Channel app, which comes with a subscription fee of $5 per month, or watch The Weather Channel on one of five live TV services: DIRECTV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and the skinny channel bundle Frndly TV.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| The Weather Channel | + $44 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | - | - | + $18 | |
How to get The Weather Channel with a live TV streamer
DIRECTV
DIRECTV carries The Weather Channel in its Signature packages, starting with the CHOICE package. CHOICE costs $95 per month before taxes and fees, and comes with 125+ channels, including local broadcast channels, top cable news, sports, and entertainment networks, and access to ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost. The CHOICE plan also includes regional sports networks in most markets, though an additional fee is included in these areas.
Viewers can also find The Weather Channel in DIRECTV’s ULTIMATE and PREMIER packages. The cheapest Signature package — DIRECTV’s ENTERTAINMENT plan — does not carry The Weather Channel, nor do any of its Genre Packs. New DIRECTV streaming subscribers get a five-day free trial of the service.
DIRECTV
DIRECTV is one of The Streamable’s top choices for the best live TV streaming service overall in 2026, especially for users who want the most channels or want to watch the most live sports. With an unbeatable lineup of local, news, sports, and entertainment channels, three main signature packages, an unlimited DVR, and 20 simultaneous streams at home, DIRECTV remains a premier choice for any cord-cutter.
Fubo
Fubo offers The Weather Channel in its Pro, Elite, and Deluxe channel packages, which range between 200 and 300 channels. Each plan includes a large selection of live sports networks, as well as local channels, and plenty of news and entertainment options as well. The Pro plan starts at $74 per month, but like DIRECTV, Fubo charges a regional sports network fee with every plan that carries The Weather Channel.
The channel cannot be streamed in the Fubo Sports plan, which offers only sports and news networks. But all of the Fubo Pro, Elite, and Deluxe packages include ESPN Unlimited, and Fubo offers a free trial that can last between one and seven days, depending on several factors.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service offering a robust lineup of approximately 150 premier channels, with plans starting at $63.99 per month. This entry-level package provides access to local broadcast affiliates 18 of the leading 35 cable channels channels, and valuable regional sports networks (RSNs).
Hulu + Live TV
The Hulu + Live TV core package offers The Weather Channel, along with 90+ other networks. It’s a well-rounded package, with all of the most popular sports and news channels, entertainment networks from A to Z, and affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC in nearly all markets.
Hulu + Live TV also includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited access with all plans starting at $90 per month. The service gives new customers a three-day free trial, as well.
Hulu Live TV
Hulu Live TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 70 channels for $89.99 per month. Hulu + Live TV base plan includes local channels 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). Subscribers get free access to Disney+ and ESPN Select at no extra charge.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV’s core channel package looks a lot like Hulu + Live TV’s, but does not include any on-demand streaming services in its price. It does offer The Weather Channel, however, as well as 100+ other networks for $83 per month.
Like DIRECTV, YouTube TV does not include The Weather Channel in any of its Genre Packs. The core package is required to stream the channel, but it does include a free trial that can last as long as 21 days for new customers.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV is a live TV streaming service with more than 60 channels for $82.99/month. This plan includes local channels 32 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs) in select markets. The base plan includes more than 100 live channels, including major broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, as well as popular cable channels such as ESPN, CNN, FX, USA Network, and TNT. Local channels are included in most markets, making YouTube TV a full replacement for traditional cable for many viewers.
Frndly TV
Frndly TV is a smaller-sized channel package that includes networks like Hallmark Channel, History, Lifetime, and The Weather Channel. You won’t find sports channels, local broadcast networks, or cable news networks on Frndly TV, but you will get a starting price of less than $10 per month with a subscription.
Frndly has monthly and annual plans available and multiple tiers to choose from. It’s the cheapest live TV streamer that carries The Weather Channel, though it has far fewer channel options than the other services on this list.
Frndly TV
Frndly TV is a budget-friendly live TV streaming service in the United States that focuses on family-friendly and lifestyle programming. Launched in 2019, the service offers a curated lineup of channels that includes Hallmark Channel, UPtv, Lifetime, MeTV, INSP, The Weather Channel, Game Show Network, and dozens more. It’s designed for viewers who want wholesome content without the’ high cost or complexity of larger streaming bundles.
Stream The Weather Channel directly on your TV

The Weather Channel also offers a direct-to-consumer service, but it’s operated a bit differently from the DTC platforms of other programmers. Viewers have the option to stream The Weather Channel on their smart TV with The Weather Channel App, but not on other devices.
The Weather Channel App allows viewers with Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Google TV, and Samsung Smart TV devices to watch the cable network 24/7. It costs $5 per month, but it’s important to note that it cannot be transferred to your smartphone or other devices. It can only be watched on your smart TV.
What’s our favorite way to watch The Weather Channel without cable?
While all of the options above are perfectly good ways to watch The Weather Channel, we think YouTube TV is the best way to get access to the channel at all times and on all devices. YouTube TV is quite a bit more expensive than the cheapest option, Frndly TV, but it comes with a lot more content, including major sports channels like ESPN, FS1, and TNT, news networks like CNN, Fox News, and MS NOW, and much more.
Anyone who keeps up with The Weather Channel regularly will also value the news access that YouTube TV provides, as well as the ability to monitor local weather forecasts on broadcast channels. And on the cost front, YouTube TV is still less than DIRECTV CHOICE and Hulu + Live TV, as well as all of Fubo’s base plans once the regional sports network fee that most customers will have to pay is included.
Once again, there are no bad choices on this list to stream The Weather Channel live. But if you want our opinion on the best choice, YouTube TV offers the superior combination of price and content, as well as availability on smart TVs, phones, web browsers, and other platforms.
Can you watch any Weather Channel content for free?
Many large-scale weather forecasters, such as Fox Weather, offer free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels that allow viewers to access some live weather coverage at no cost on platforms like Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Tubi. Unfortunately, The Weather Channel does not provide a branded free channel at this time.
However, it’s worth noting that The Weather Channel is owned by Allen Media Group, which also owns the free news and weather streaming service Local Now. While Local Now doesn’t stream any actual Weather Channel programming, it uses the same weather technology and data from its parent company in automated weather feeds and regional loops in over 200 markets. It’s not a free stream of The Weather Channel, but it is a way to get some of the same information at no cost.
Local Now
Local Now is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to movies and TV shows. The service also provides several virtual streaming channels, including newscasts from New York, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. Over 220 cities in the United States have a localized feed. Local Now offers live severe weather coverage from The Weather Channel to people viewing in areas impacted by the severe weather event
