Jason Gurwin has has spent the last 10 years in the technology, media, entertainment industries. For The Streamable, he specializes in all things media like streaming services, devices, and cord cutting.
Ben Bowman is the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.
In 2023, you don’t need to have a cable or satellite subscription to watch live TV. You can watch streaming TV on most of your devices — all you need is an internet connection. A live TV streaming service will allow you to watch your favorite channels like major networks, live local channels, and live sports on ESPN and Fox Sports.
Most services offer a Free Trial, so you can test them out to see which you prefer. Another benefit is that a live TV streaming service is paid month-to-month, with no contract and no penalty for cancellation. You also don’t need a cable box. Most smart TVs are able to access these services, though some people prefer the interface of a small streaming device like a Roku, Fire Stick, or Apple TV.
These live TV streaming services are very customizable, so you can choose how much you pay. Do you need a lot of channels or just a few? Do you need live sports? What kind of DVR do you need? Those questions will narrow down your decision and help you to save money.
Which is the Best Streaming TV Service to Watch Live TV?
After testing the six live TV streaming services for thousands of hours, we found that each service is great for different reasons.
Most of the streaming TV services interfaces are well designed, they nearly all offer a DVR and shows on demand, and have minimal buffering with a good internet connection.
Depending on if you want locals (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC), sports, entertainment, or news — we think there is a great pick for you. If you want to find the best streaming TV service based on the channel lineups you prefer, try our Channel Finder.
If you just want one plan to satisfy your cord-cutting needs, Hulu Live TV is a fantastic choice. In addition to a wide channel lineup, you get free Hulu on demand, Disney+, and ESPN+. This assures you’ll have plenty of entertainment for all members of the family, including sports fans, kids, and grown-ups.
2. DIRECTV STREAM
This service features the best channel lineup of any service, which makes it a very easy transition if you’re coming straight from cable. It has more regional sports networks than any other live TV streaming service, making this a great choice if you like to watch basketball, hockey, or baseball.
3. Sling TV
The best budget option for cord-cutters, you can customize your channel lineup to save money. We love this service because of its flexibility and unbeatable live TV prices. The DVR is more limited than most services unless you choose to pay extra. You won’t get CBS on this service, and availability for FOX, ABC, and NBC varies, depending on where you live.
4. Fubo
A popular choice because of its wide array of sports channels, Fubo is a solid all-in-one streamer. Its higher cost may put you off, but it also includes many regional sports networks in its base package.
5. YouTube TV
You can’t go wrong with YouTube TV. It has a great channel lineup and the best user interface of any live TV streaming service. Its biggest fault is an inflexible channel lineup. Sports fans may also be frustrated with a lack of regional sports options.
6. Philo
If you need live TV, but you have a lot of budget constraints, Philo may fit the bill. You need to check its channel lineup carefully as you won’t get any sports or local channels. For fans of channels like A&E, HGTV, Discovery, and Hallmark, this may be the perfect solution, but it probably falls short for most users.
Ranking Each Service for Sports
1. Fubo
Only two live TV streaming services carry Bally Sports networks, and Fubo is the less expensive option. You also get access to lots of smaller sports channels, like international sports options. A lack of TNT and TBS may be a dealbreaker for some sports fans, however.
2. DIRECTV STREAM
No service offers more channels than DIRECTV STREAM, which makes this a great choice for sports fans. You can get almost any sports channel you need, from Bally Sports networks to ESPN, TNT, TBS, and much more.
3. Hulu Live TV
A lack of Bally Sports networks hurts Hulu here, but the addition of free ESPN+ means you’ll get a ton of hockey and other sports events. Hulu Live TV does just about everything well, so it’s a good all-around service. There are just better options for sports.
4. YouTube TV
Although it doesn’t offer the sports channels of Fubo or DIRECTV STREAM, YouTube TV’s channel lineup is very comparable to Hulu Live TV. Considering how close their prices are, Hulu’s free ESPN+ makes that a better choice for sports fans.
5. Sling TV
While you can get a ton of sports on Sling TV, the lack of CBS means you’d miss out on any sports on the network (unless you sign up for something like Paramount+, which offers live CBS). Still, you can get important channels like ESPN, FS1, NFL Network, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, MLB Network, and NBA TV.
6. Philo
You shouldn’t get Philo if you’re a sports fan. They keep costs low by not offering sports channels at all.
Ranking Each Service for Budget Cord Cutters
1. Sling TV
If you want a lot of important channels without breaking the bank, our research shows your best choice is Sling TV. You can start streaming for as little as $40 / month, and it’s easy to scale up to add more channels. Sports tend to drive up the cost of live TV streaming, so Sling solves this by allowing you to tailor your plan without a bulky sports lineup. But unlike Philo, you can still stream a ton of sports if you’d like.
Sling offers nearly every channel you could want, giving you lots of price points. One downside is that Sling doesn’t offer CBS — you could fix that by subscribing to Paramount+, which offers an option to watch your local CBS station. Sling does offer ABC, NBC, FOX, but those channels aren’t available in every market. If your market doesn’t have these channels, an antenna can solve that.
Sling also offers an included free service called Sling Freestream with tons of great movies and TV shows. It’s the only live TV streamer to offer a built-in free service like this. You don’t even need to subscribe to Sling to access it.
For almost every channel, Sling is the least expensive option. It’s a great choice and a popular one among The Streamable’s editorial staff.
2. Philo
Philo offers the best price of any live TV streamer, but its limited channel lineup is a dealbreaker in most cases. You won’t get local network affiliates and you won’t get sports. Philo does offer 18 of the 35 top cable channels. If you like the Philo channel lineup, it’s an unbeatable deal.
3. Hulu Live TV
On its face, Hulu Live TV’s price seems in line with the more expensive TV providers. But there’s a major hidden value. Every Hulu Live TV subscriber gets free Hulu on demand, Disney+, and ESPN+. You could make a case that this would be the only streaming subscription you need, since it covers both live and on-demand entertainment with a huge number of sports.
4. YouTube TV
Yes, YouTube TV’s price is a little lower than Hulu’s, but the channel lineup and features are nearly identical. And with YouTube TV, you’re not getting free Hulu, Disney+, or ESPN+. That means the value tilts in favor of Hulu Live TV. YouTube TV is a good all-around service, but its base tier is on the expensive side, so bargain hunters will want to look elsewhere.
5. DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM isn’t trying to appeal to deal hunters. It’s a robust service that replicates a traditional cable lineup. The huge number of channels makes this a pricier choice, but it’s still one of our favorites. With four primary tiers, you can scale your spending up or down. There’s even a plan that offers a half-and-half split of English and Spanish channels.
While DIRECTV’s base price is higher than many rivals, it also offers the option to add more regional sports networks than any other service. That explains why the higher tiers cost so much. It’s worth the 5-day free trial to see if this service is right for you.
6. Fubo
Fubo’s advertised price isn’t all that shocking, but there are hidden fees that drive the true cost higher than any other live TV streamer on the entry-level tier. If you’re looking for the Bally Sports networks, Fubo is your least expensive option. But for almost every other person, we’d recommend a different choice. Its free trial is also just 24 hours, which is disappointing.
Plans & Prices
You can try DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Philo, and YouTube TV each with up to a 7 day free trial depending on the service. Hulu Live TV no longer offers a free trial, but now includes The Disney Bundle as part of your subscription. Sling TV also no longer offers a free trial, but frequently offers a discounted first month.
Our Service Matchmaker will make sure you’re getting the right service with all the channels you need.
The Philo ($25) base plan is the cheapest option to get a wide variety of high quality entertainment content. While it doesn’t come with locals or sports channels, you will get access to A&E, AMC, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, and MTV and other channels at a fraction of the cost.
Hulu Live TV ($76.99) is the cheapest bundle that includes locals, regional sports, national sports (ESPN, FS1) and top cable channels from A+E, Discovery (Discovery, Food Network, HGTV), Disney (Disney Channel, FX, & Freeform), NBC (Bravo, E!, MSNBC), Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT, TBS, CNN, Adult Swim), and Fox (Fox News). It also includes The Disney Bundle (Disney+ & ESPN+) at no extra charge.
Fubo ($91.99+) has 25 of the Top 35 Cable Channels. You won’t have access to A&E Networks (A+E, History, & Lifetime), AMC Networks (AMC, BBC America, WE tv), Turner channels (TNT, TBS, CNN, etc.). They have some hard-to-get Regional Sports Networks like MSG in New York, NESN in Boston, Altitude in Denver, Space City Home Network in Houston, and ROOT Sports Northwest in Seattle. The service includes Bally Sports Networks in all plans.
Sling TV’s is a great option for budget streamers, as it includes up to 24 top cable channels Top Cable Channels for just ($40+) a month. This is a great option for those who want a good sampling of sports, news, and entertainment content for a low price.
YouTube TV ($72.99) offer 32 Top Cable Channels. At $72.99, it is fairly comprehensive for the price, but they don’t carry A&E, History, Lifetime, or RSNs in most markets.
DIRECTV STREAM is in most cases more expensive than the others ($79.99+), but includes 34 of the Top 35 Cable Channels. The biggest reason to subscribe is that they have many hard-to-get Regional Sports Networks (Bally Sports RSNs, AT&T SportsNet, Altitude, MASN, ROOT Sports) that aren’t available on other services as part of their Choice Plan ($108.99)
If you want to see if a specific TV Show or movie is available on a streaming service, you can use our TV Show Finder or Movie Finder tools.
Almost every service lets you stream content to at least 2 devices at the same time. “Sling Orange” is the one exception; it only lets you stream on 1 device.
Every service offers a cloud DVR, which lets you record streaming content to watch at a later time.
Each has slightly different restrictions on what can be recorded and when the recording will start. For instance, some will let you record from the beginning of the episode even when you tune in after it starts. Others will let you watch while the episode is still recording.
With all services, you can fast-forward through shows that you recorded to the DVR (unlike most on-demand content) with some exceptions.
Recording Capacity
• DTV STREAM
Unlimited
9 months
• Fubo
1000 hours
• Hulu
Unlimited
9 months
• Philo
Unlimited
12 months
• Sling
50 hours
• YouTube
Unlimited
9 months
Most services now include an Unlimited DVR with the service.
Fubo includes 1,000 hours of storage as part of their new base plan. Sling TV now includes 50 hours of recording space, but offers a $5/month upgrade to 200 hours of storage.
While both of these services have storage limits, the DVR content never expires, so you can keep it on the service as long as you have available space.
Oddly, Fubo and Sling TV are the only services that offer a way to record a single episode. Every other service makes you create a “series” recording, in which every episode of a show will be recorded.
Simultaneous Viewing
All of the services allow you to have at least 2 simultaneous viewers, with the exception of the Sling TV’s “Orange” $40+ plan (it only allows a single stream).
YouTube TV allows 3 simultaneous streams, with YouTube TV offering “Family Profiles” so up to six users can have a personal account.
Some offer the ability to add an additional viewer to your plan.
Hulu Live TV includes 2 viewers, but offers a $10/month “Unlimited Screens” upgrade, which allows unlimited devices to stream on your home network or 3 devices outside your home.
While subscribers to DIRECTV STREAM includes 3 viewers while traveling (Unlimited on your home network), those on legacy DIRECTV NOW plans can add a third simultaneous for $5/month.
Fubo includes 3 viewers, but will allow you 10 simultaneous viewers on your home network as part of their base plan.
Both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo, won’t allow you to stream to multiple TV devices outside your home network at the same time. You can however use a TV device and a mobile device (which can be Cast or AirPlay to the TV).
Concurrent Devices
More is better.
DTV STREAM
20 streams
Fubo
10 streams
Philo
3 streams
Sling “Blue”
3 streams
YouTube
3 streams
Hulu
2 streams
Sling “Orange”
1 stream
On Demand
All of the services offer video on demand (VOD), but require you to watch commercials (usually 5 minutes per half hour) during playback.
Hulu Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV make it the easiest to search for and watch on demand content. They have great show detail pages, which bundle the live, upcoming, and on demand episodes in one place.
Sling TV has improved their on demand experience, but sometimes their guide data will be inaccurate for on demand content. There are sometimes issues playing on demand content from DIRECTV STREAM. Videos will sometimes fail to start or spontaneously freeze during playback.
DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo also offer a “catch-up” feature, giving access to show episodes that aired within the last 3 days—that may not normally be available on-demand.
TV Everywhere
Similar to traditional cable and satellite subscriptions, these cord cutting services provide “TV Everywhere” logins to certain channels’ apps (e.g.: AMC, CNBC, FX, WatchESPN, etc.).
Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM connect to the most channel apps, with access for up to 51 and 37 channel apps, respectively. Other services offer access to roughly 30 channels.
For example, Hulu Live TV subscribers get access to The Disney Bundle (Disney+ and ESPN+), as well as the entire Hulu streaming library, including full seasons of many TV shows, movies, and its original shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale”. For an additional $13/month, you can watch their streaming library without commercials.
Xbox Hulu is the only service that supports Xbox 360. Sling TV supports Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and all Xbox One models.
Nintendo Switch
If you have a Nintendo Switch, you should consider Hulu Live TV because it’s the only service that works on that device.
Smartphones & Tablets
You will be able to live stream from your mobile device on iOS and Android using the streaming service’s app. Generally, you will need at least iOS 9+ or Android 4.4+, but check your specific service.
Web Browsers
You can stream via web using Chrome with every service. Some offer streaming in Safari and Firefox.
Other Live Streaming Services
While there are strictly on-demand services like Netflix and Max, there are other services offering live TV viewing beyond the major providers.
Paramount Plus is a streaming service that offers live NFL games, along with original shows like “Star Trek: Discovery,” “1883,” and “The Good Fight.” The service’s “premium” plan offers live CBS viewing.
Bally Sports+ is a sports streaming service that gives in-market access to Bally Sports RSNs. It is a good option for local sports if your team plays on a Bally Sports channel and you don’t get it with your live TV streaming service.
ESPN+ is a live sports streaming service that offers thousands of live events from UFC Fight Nights and PPV events, NHL, MLS, FA Cup, MLB, Grand Slam tennis, PGA TOUR LIVE, LaLiga, Top Rank Boxing, and more. Plus, a variety of college sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse, from 20+ conferences. Be sure to consider Hulu Live TV if you’re interested in ESPN+, since the sports streamer is included for free.
One of everyone’s favorite college basketball apps for the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament is NCAA March Madness Live. It lets you track your brackets, follow stats, scores, highlights, and stream all 67 March Madness games.
XFINITY Instant TV is a live TV streaming service for Xfinity Internet Subscribers. It allows you to add channel packages that can be watched from the Xfinity App, even if you don’t have cable.
Apple TV+ is a subscription streaming service that includes high-quality originals shows and movies. While the library is more limited than some competitors, Apple TV+ plans to add additional content every single month. You’ll also see some live MLB games. You can also add MLS Season Pass at a discounted rate if you subscribe to Apple TV+.
Peacock is a subscription streaming service that gives access to on-demand content from NBC, Bravo, E!, but with additional original shows, movies, and a library of classic shows like “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Law & Order.” Peacock is the exclusive home of English Premier League soccer and many WWE events like WrestleMania. Premium subscribers can watch their local NBC affiliate live.
PlayStation Vue
PlayStation Vue was a live TV streaming service that offered local TV, sports, news, and entertainment content. While it was previously our top pick for sports fans, Sony shut down the service in January 2020. You can learn more about PlayStation Vue here.
Free Live TV Streaming Services
In addition to the premium services that include major networks and cable channels, there are many free live TV streaming services. These services are called “FAST” — Free Ad-Supported Television, and they are a nice way to supplement any paid services you may have.
This service from Paramount Global provides more than 250 channels of live TV and thousands of on demand movies and TV shows. You’ll find channels dedicated to reruns of specific shows, like “Star Trek,” “Survivor,” or “Baywatch,” alongside live CBS News, Bloomberg Television, and Sky News.
You’ll find more than 200 live ad-supported channels on Tubi, alongside an impressive 45,000+ movies and television shows available on demand. Tubi’s ad breaks are less frequent and less repetitive than some other FAST services.
Check out 250+ channels and 50,000 free on-demand titles with Plex. The service also allows you to watch and share media from your computer with friends or family. It also allows you to create a unified watchlist that launches other streaming services as needed.
Jason Gurwin has has spent the last 10 years in the technology, media, entertainment industries. For The Streamable, he specializes in all things media like streaming services, devices, and cord cutting.
