Cable TV can seem a lot like a landline phone these days: an unnecessary expense that's shackled to outdated hardware. All the cool kids and a lot of the cool grownups are.If you want to join them but still want to keep live TV, you've come to the right place.
Live TV streaming services like and let you watch most if not all of your favorite TV channels - from ABC to NBC to CNN to ESPN to Fox News to Nickelodeon - streamed live over the internet. And they probably cost far less than you're paying the cable company for TV.Prices with no extra fees or contracts. In place of a cable box, and the monthly fee to rent it, you'll use an app on your smart TV, or game console. And you can watch at home or on the go via a phone or tablet, or even a PC browser.
Sarah Tew/CNETYouTube TV has than any competitor, including all four local channels (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC - note that CBS is the parent company of CNET) in most areas of the country. It also has the best cloud DVR of the bunch, including unlimited storage and a generous nine months to watch recordings (most are 30 days). YouTube TV's interface is no-nonsense, if a little drab, and yet it offers most of the features a cable service can give you.
And unlike Sling and others, it's dead simple: one package, one price, done.With its best-in-class channel selection and cloud DVR, YouTube TV is our favorite option for cord-cutters who want the perks of cable without the hassle. Like all premium-priced ($50-ish) services, however, its relatively high monthly fee makes it more difficult to save money over a traditional cable subscription.Top channels not available: A&E, Comedy Central, History, Lifetime, NFL Network, Nickelodeon. Sarah Tew/CNETSling TV costs more than ($15) and ($20) but has better channels, more options and a better interface, so it's worth the extra money in our opinion. And it's still dirt-cheap compared to the other services, let alone cable.Sling is cheaper than premium services like YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV because it has very few local stations. Confusingly, it also has two $25-per-month channel packages, Sling Orange and Sling Blue.
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While some channels are available on both, the two differ significantly with other channel offerings: Orange is basically the ESPN/Disney package, while Blue is the Fox/NBC package.Sling's interface isn't much to look at, but it offers all of the options you need without cluttering the screen. The only real letdown is its arcane live pause and DVR exceptions (you can't record Disney-owned channels like ABC, for example). Its options are myriad, so check out for all the details.Top channels not available on Sling Blue: ABC, CBS, Animal Planet, Disney Channel, ESPN, Fox News, Nickelodeon.
Fox and NBC.Top channels not available on Sling Orange: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Animal Planet, Bravo, CNBC, Discovery Channel, Bravo, Fox News, Fox Sports 1, FX, MSNBC, USA Network. PlayStationAfter YouTube TV the best premium option is PlayStation Vue., period.
That's because it includes all of the numerous channels with live football: locals for Sunday games, ESPN for Monday Night Football and NFL Network (which isn't on YouTube TV at all) for Thursday night games. And if you stream with a PS4 or Apple TV you can get, which lets you watch up to 4 live channels at once.Despite the name you don't need a PlayStation to watch it: there's a Vue app for every major streaming device except Xbox. The service has an excellent interface, a DVR with unlimited storage and the ability to skip commercials on any show. The biggest knock is that has fewer channels than any of the Big Five, aside from Sling TV (which is much cheaper) and AT&T TV Now (which includes HBO).Top channels not available in base package: A&E, Comedy Central, History, Lifetime, MLB Network, NFL Network, Nickelodeon.
Sarah Tew/CNETWhy is Watch TV so cheap? It lacks locals, much like Sling TV, doesn't have any dedicated sports channels and, with the exception of CNN, is missing news channels, too. And many of the shows on the channels it does have can be watched on-demand with a Hulu subscription for less.On the other hand, it's solid for the price. Its lineup of include 30 channels, some of which - like AMC, HGTV, and BBC America - are no longer available on the more expensive AT&T TV Now. The interface is fun and easy to navigate.
It's available on most other major streaming platforms, except for Roku, and some AT&T wireless plan customers get it for free.Top channels not available: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Bravo, CNBC, Disney Channel, ESPN, Fox News, Fox Sports 1, FX, MLB Network, MSNBC, NFL Network, Travel Channel, USA Network. Sarah Tew/CNETWith the least cable-like interface of its competitors, Hulu's greatest asset is the integration of live TV with its significant catalog of on-demand content for one price. Unfortunately, the interface frustrations apparent with the standard service are amplified once you add live TV. Another issue is that you'll have to pay another $10 per month to get the ability to skip commercials on Hulu's cloud DVR (the base cloud DVR, included, doesn't permit skipping ads). Its channel count is solid, however, and with Hulu's catalog included it's a top competitor, especially since it costs at least $5 per month less than other premium services.Top channels not available: AMC, BBC America, Comedy Central, MLB Network, MTV, NBA TV, NFL Network, NFL Red Zone, Nickelodeon. Sarah Tew/CNETFormerly known as DirecTV Now, AT&T TV Now has one major extra the other premium services lack: HBO included in the price. That means you don't have to pay another $15 per month to get it.
If HBO is a must-have for you, AT&T TV Now is a very solid choice and can definitely save you money over competitors.On the other hand, if you don't care about HBO it's not a good deal. First off, it's missing more of the top channels from its base $50 package than any competitor (although you can pay extra to get most of those channels if you want). Its DVR is also a step behind those of our top choices. The traditional-style interface is good, however, including the flipper-friendly ability to swipe left and right to change channels.Top channels not available in base package: A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, HGTV, History, Lifetime, MLB Network, NFL Network, Travel Channel. Read more.What streaming TV services won't give youStreaming TV services are great, but there are some things they can't do compared to a traditional cable box.First, it's worth looking at the channels that you can't get with any of these services. A big one has been PBS, as the broadcaster reportedly that it airs.
However, the good news is that.Another biggie is sports. Sure, most services carry ESPN and local channels for NFL football, but if you follow a professional baseball or basketball team, chances are you'll need their specific channel - called an RSN, or regional sports network - to watch regular season games. RSN coverage varies widely for each service.And fans of live sports beware: every live TV service's video streaming is a few seconds to a minute or more behind the 'live' stream you'll get from your local cable or satellite provider.
That means you could get a preview of scores or big plays from Twitter, phone alerts or phone calls from friends slightly before you see the action on-screen.Read more:While as part of its base subscription, most other services either sell it as an add-on or require you to sign up separately for. In addition, NFL Red Zone and NHL Network are either not available or only as part of a package.If you're used to the 5.1 surrounds offered by cable or even OTA, then you'll probably be disappointed that all of the services only include stereo sound on live broadcasts. AT&T TV Now and do include 5.1 audio on some on-demand material, though.(Note that CNET is owned by, which is a compensated programming provider on all cable, satellite and online TV services that offer CBS channels, which include Showtime, Pop, CBS Sports, and The CW, among others. CBS also owns and operates its own online service, which is mentioned below.) Other optionsPrice: Starts at $20 per monthAnother cheap service with no sports or local channels, Philo offers bread-and-butter cable channels like AMC, Comedy Channel, Nickelodeon and BBC America.
Unlike Watch AT&T, it includes a cloud DVR, but it lacks a big-name 24-hour news channel like CNN.Read more. It's also worth investigating free, ad-supported services such as, TuBi TV, Pluto, and Crackle, which offer a wealth of content.Sarah Tew/CNETIs an indoor or outdoor antenna a viable option?If you have a TV in your house - that is, a screen that incorporates a tuner - you're part-way to cutting the cord already. An affordable indoor antenna hooked up to your TV will let you watch free TV over the air from any channel you receive in your local broadcast area.
Antennas cost as little as $10.You can also add a DVR such as the or if you want. Then you can record those live TV antenna channels, play them back and skip commercials, just like on a standard cable TV DVR. Here's.A solid, lower-cost alternative to live TV streaming services is the combination of an antenna for live local channels and an on-demand service such as Netflix or Hulu (which is ). That way you'll still be able to watch live programming and also have a choice of on-demand content.Amazon's Fire TV Recast DVR is a cord-cutting antenna user's friend.Sarah Tew/CNETConclusion: Try it yourselfStreaming live TV services are still in their infancy, and the industry is still in flux. Since launch, every service has increased prices by at least $5 a month, channel selections and cities with local channel access are changing all the time, and reports persist about some services losing money. While streaming is undoubtedly the future, it will be some time before both prices and the services offered settle in.That said, if you want a cable-like experience both at home and on the go without the dead weight that a cable subscription brings, then a streaming service is worth a look. There's no contract to sign, and if you don't like the service you're on, you can easily switch.
So whether you're looking for a basic package such as Sling TV or want to pay more for a deluxe experience from the likes of PlayStation Vue, there should be a streaming TV service to suit you.