Live News Streamer Level News Shutting Down
Level News sent notice to its subscribers that it was shutting down as of Saturday, Sept. 30.
Live news is one of the most highly sought-after programming segments on television. A recent survey found that even younger generations use their TV to watch local news frequently, and while streaming platforms are trying to fill in the gaps, cord cutters face limited options for getting live news.
Those options are being further reduced this week, as the news-dedicated streaming platform Level News is shutting down. Level news sent a note to its subscribers that the service was being sunset on Saturday, Sept. 30, when all customers would lose access.
“We created Level News to address the opportunity to deliver quality, balanced TV news at a low price,” the notice reads. “We believe this service is important, as it fills a gap for TV news as U.S. households increasingly drop their cable TV service. We have attracted a small, loyal audience and know that many people rely on us for their daily news. However, we have been unable to attain a sufficient number of subscribers or attract adequate financial support to sustain the costs of operating the service.”
Level News had an extremely limited lineup of channels; only NewsNation, [C‑SPAN], and [Law & Crime]; international news on NHK World Japan, France 24, and Euronews; and business news with Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Quicktake were available on the service. A subscription to the soon-to-be sunset service cost $5.99 per month.
Where to Stream Live Local News
The best way to watch your local news stations is with a live TV streaming service that carries local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates, as well as The CW, plus Telemundo and Univision for Spanish-speaking viewers. DIRECTV STREAM offers these channels to every subscriber in most markets across the country, and comes with a five-day free trial, as well as an extensive list of top cable entertainment and sports channels.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $94.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| ABC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| CBS | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| Fox | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Telemundo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| The CW | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
| Univision | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | - | ✓ | |
Where to Stream Live Cable and Financial News
If you’re looking for a hefty dose of politics with your news, channels like Fox News and MSNBC have it covered in spades. CNN now offers some of its programming on the subscription streamer Max, but that service does not offer a full livestream of the cable channel. Similarly, Peacock carries some CNBC and MSNBC content, but it does not carry full streams of either network.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $94.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| Bloomberg TV | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
| CNBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| CNN | ✓ | - | ✓ | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Fox Business Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | ✓ | |
| Fox News | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| MSNBC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NewsmaxTV | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | + $6 | + $6 | - | |
| One America News Network | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Where to Stream News for Free
If you’re a cord cutter who left cable because of the high and climbing costs, having a free streaming platform that offers local news would be a huge benefit. Gray Television recently expanded the reach of its Local News Live channel, and there are a ton of services that offer local news programming in select markets across the country.
-
Haystack News
Haystack News is a streaming service that pulls together news coverage from 400 local, national, and international providers. Users will see reports from ABC Owned Television Stations, CBS Television Stations, Cox Media Group, Fox Television Stations, Hearst Television, Hubbard Broadcasting, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps and more. You can use the service for free with ads or eliminate commercials for $4.99 / month.
-
VUit
VUit is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to content produced by 260+ local TV news stations around the United States. Its partners include Lilly Broadcasting, Heritage Broadcasting, and Gray Television. The service covers 78% of the nation’s DMAs.
-
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
-
Pluto TV
Known mostly for its popular free entertainment channels, Pluto TV also offers multiple news channels, including CBS News (national), and CBS affiliates from New York, LA, and Chicago. Other channels include CNN RePlay, NBC News Now, Today All Day, 60 Minutes, WeatherNation, Sky News, Bloomberg Television, Cheddar News, Scripps News, and multiple right-wing opinion channels.
-
Tubi
While Tubi is one of our favorite movie and TV streaming apps, users can also find ABC News Live, NBC News Now, LiveNOW from FOX, ABC Localish, Today All Day, USA Today, Cheddar Nwes, Scripps News, Euro News, FOX Weather, and many local affiliate newscasts.
-
Very Local
Very Local is a free streaming service providing local news, weather and exclusive local original series from all 27 Hearst Television markets.
-
Xumo Play
Although its primary focus is on-demand TV and movies, Xumo Play also offers news from 27 local affiliates.
-
Fox Local
FOX LOCAL is an ad-supported video streaming service for news, top stories, local and national coverage. The service presently offers local news from Detroit, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. It will soon expand to include Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St.Paul, Milwaukee, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Tampa.
-
NewsNation
NewsNation is a free standalone streaming app that mirrors the content on its linear channel. It includes news and opinion clips from shows like “CUOMO,” “Dan Abrams Live,” “Banfield,” and “On Balance.” The interface is identical to Haystack News, allowing users to follow specific topics and rate clips with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
-
LocalBTV
LocalBTV gives users the ability to watch free local broadcast TV without an antenna on their computer, phone, tablet, or TV (aka virtual-over-the-air or vOTA streaming). The platform is available in 53 US markets/DMAs, powers 704 local broadcast TV channels, plus 88 “hyper-local” Community Video channels. The service paused operations in November 2023. It is unclear if it will return.
-
Freebie TV
Freebie TV is a free streaming service featuring a small library of on-demand films and live channels.
