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Streaming video services are giving traditional cable and satellite TV stiff competition by delivering live sports and prime-time TV programming online, often for a drop in price, while premium channels like HBO and Showtime are available as separate streaming services or add-on bundles.
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Best live TV streaming services: PlayStation Vue, Hulu, Sling TV, and more
For those fed up with their cable or satellite TV company there has never been a better time to cut the cord. Streaming video services are giving traditional cable and satellite TV stiff competition by delivering live sports and prime-time TV programming online, often for a drop in price, while premium channels like HBO and Showtime are available as separate streaming services or add-on bundles.
Live TV streaming services have no hidden fees, and if you ever decide to cancel, it’s easy and painless — a refreshing change from the hassle of dealing with cable and satellite call centers — even if prices are on the rise. There are many services out there, however, and they all have different prices, channels, and features. To help you sift through the chaos, we’ve put together this handy guide detailing the pros and cons of each so you can make the right choice for you.
Hulu’s single $45-per-month plan (called simply Hulu Plus Live TV) gives subscribers around 60 live channels (the exact number will be dependent on your market). You will get ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, either live or on-demand depending on your location, plus dozens of other popular channels, which Hulu lists in full on its website. The service also added ABC News Live, CBSN, and Cheddar to bolster its news lineup. Premium channels, like HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax can be added for an additional fee, at prices that are significantly lower than competing services.
Sling TV currently offers the most flexibility of all the live TV streaming services out there, at least when it comes to your content and pricing options. Sling TV uses an à la carte model, with base channel packages and a bevy of add-ons. The base packages, while largely similar, do have some major differences — namely that ABC and Disney-owned channels (including ESPN, and therefore support for ESPN Plus) are only present in Orange, while Blue carries NBC, Fox, and other sports channels like NFL Network and NFL Redzone.
If you want all of those channels, you’ll need to spring for the $40 package, which includes everything in Blue and Orange, or you can augment either package with add-on channels. Add-on packages also vary in pricing and included channels, depending on which package you’re subscribed to, but you can expect to pay between $5 and $20 per month for each. In addition, a dispute over licensing with AT&T has resulted in a blackout of HBO and Univision channels on Sling TV and its parent company, Dish Network.
PlayStation Vue’s channel count is among the largest of any of the services on this list, but it’s also one of the most expensive, and its pricing structure can be confusing. Which channels you get — and even which plans are offered — will depend on your location. PlayStation Vue’s packages used to be scaled based on whether your market had access to local live channels or not, but now all pricing tiers are priced identically regardless of where you live. The vast majority of markets include at least some live local channels on PS Vue, as the service now offers more than 600 local affiliates. A specialized Fox feed curates Fox-owned channels like Fox News, FS1, Fox Business, Fox Soccer Plus, and local Fox affiliates into a single feed that includes both live and VOD content. You can find which local channels are available in your area on Sony’s PS Vue page. And also you can download office.com/myaccountby clicking this.
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