Have you ditched your cable provider, but still want to watch prime-time network shows and sports? Subscribe to one of these top live TV services and get all the coverage you want over your internet connection.
Live TV Without Cable Canceling your cable contract does not mean that you can no longer watch live TV, because there are many video streaming services that deliver live channels over an internet connection—though not all of them target the same audiences. For instance, some live TV services are good for general audiences, others offer the best sports coverage, and a few focus on entertainment and lifestyle channels. All of the options in this roundup are available across many platforms, including mobile devices, web browsers, gaming consoles, and media streaming devices. Depending on which (and how many) services you subscribe to, you may not end up saving money over cable, but not everyone leaves cable to save money. Some people may just cherish the freedom to build an à la carte channel plan (though this flexibility is becoming rare). Whatever your reason for leaving cable behind, know that the number of streaming options continues to rise. Network Shows, News, and More So long as the video streaming service you choose offers affiliate broadcast channels in your market, you can watch all 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 and Locast are the only services we’ve reviewed that include 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 those channels that 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, allows you to 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 News and Al Jazeera English. AT&T TV Now, fuboTV, and Sling TV, for instance, all offer international channels, though you will need to pay extra for some of them. Stream All Your Favorite Sports, Live 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 RSNs, but AT&T TV Now is the only one in this list that offers FOX RSNs (the majority of which may soon rebranded as Bally Sports networks) and AT&T-owned SportsNet RSNs, now. Which RSNs you need depends on your location and which sports you like to watch. Not all services include all the major league channels either, 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, though fuboTV does broadcast select events in 4K. A few services also have useful capabilities for sports fans. AT&T TV Now and fuboTV, for instance, both include features that respectively let you start over broadcasts from the beginning and watch games 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 and Yahoo Sports apps allow you to watch in-market and national broadcast 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. DVR 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.
