Live Tv Streaming Services For Free

Jul 3, 2018 - Comparing the seven major live TV streaming services for cord cutters. 'Unlimited &More' data plans, in which case the service is free.

• Free Live Tv Streaming Channels

These days paying for cable TV can seem a lot like paying for a landline phone: an unnecessary expense shacked by outdated hardware. All the kids, and a lot of the grownups, are cutting the cable TV cord. If you want to join them but don' want to ditch live TV completely, you've come to the right place. Live TV streaming services like Sling TV and let you get most if not all of your favorite live TV channels delivered over the Internet, for a monthly fee that's likely far less than you're paying the cable company. Prices start at $15 per month - or $25 a month if you want sports channels. In place of a cable box you'll use an app on your Smart TV, or a like a,.

And you can also watch outside the home on a phone or tablet, or even a PC browser. These services have plenty of benefits - no more cable fees, no more contracts, yay! - but the such as internet fees, DVR restrictions, buffering and a lack of things to watch, especially live sports.

Chances are your local cable service has more channels. With all that in mind, here's a guide to wacky new world of live TV streaming over the Internet, as well as other cord-cutting options available today. Affiliate disclosure: CNET earns commissions from the services featured on this page. How to shop for cord-cutting services In ascending order of monthly price, the five big live TV streaming services available today are:. Sling TV ($25/month).

DirectTV Now ($40/month). Hulu With Live TV ($40/month).

YouTube TV ($40/month). PlayStation Vue ($45/month) Each offers a different mix of channels, so your first step should be choosing a service that carries your can't miss channels and shows. Other important factors include cloud DVR - yes, all five now allow you to record and play back shows, just like a traditional cable or satellite DVR - and the interface itself. This may make it difficult to pick a service from a list, but thankfully, as all of them are available contract-free, it's easy to try each of them one at a time to see which you prefer! Keep in mind that, especially if you have more than one person watching at once, you need to make sure you have great broadband.

A 100Mbps download service will cost around $50 to $60 a month, and here's where the savings of cutting cable can get swallowed up. At the end of the day, if you're cutting cable to save money, you may not see much improvement after you subscribe to one of these services - especially if you opt for a step-up channel package or feature. Here's a TV streaming shopping list to consider:. Does the service offer your 'must have' channels?. Does it offer local channels in your area?. How good is the cloud DVR?. Does the interface make it easy to browse for shows?

Read more. What streaming TV services won't give you Streaming TV services are great, but there's 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. The big one is PBS, as it to all of the shows that it airs. (You'll find Ken Burns' iconic documentaries on Netflix, for example.) The other MIA channels include - not without an extra charge, or not at all in the case of - and NFL Red Zone and NHL Network, which also are either not available or only as part of a package. In some cases, cable-based channels are available as a separate app, such as, and attract their own monthly fee. If you're used to the 5.1 surround offered by cable or even OTA then you'll probably be disappointed that all of the services only include stereo sound on live broadcasts.

DirecTV 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, CBS All Access, which is mentioned below.) The Big Five compared Best for: Current subscribers who want to add Live TV Starting price: $40 Step-up packages: Optional 'enhanced' DVR and multistream plans Missing channels: AMC, BBC America, Comedy Central, Discovery, MLB Network, MTV, NBA TV, NFL Network, Nickelodeon The Good: Includes Hulu's massive on-demand library, including exclusives such as.

The Bad: Terrible interface, including a program guide that only lists one show at a time. Standard DVR doesn't let you skip commercials. The least cable-like of the 'Big 5,' Hulu's greatest asset is the integration of live TV with its significant catalog of on-demand content. Unfortunately, the interface frustrations apparent with the standard service are amplified once you add live TV. The app generally confuses 'simple' with 'incomplete.' It technically offers a guide, for example, but it's extremely bare-bones.

Another issue is that you'll have to pay extra, a hefty $15 per month, to get the ability to skip commercials on Hulu's cloud DVR. Screenshot by David Katzmaier/CNET Best for: Channel selection Starting price: $40 Step-up packages: Three other packages with progressively more channels for $55, $65 and $75 Missing channels: Nothing of note The good: Comprehensive list of 'A-level' channels; TV-like interface including the ability to swipe left or right to change channels; numerous discounts and offers, especially for AT&T Wireless customers.

The bad: DVR is limited and the Roku app is pretty poor. As you might expect from its namesake satellite TV service, DirecTV Now is one of the most traditional offerings here. Its base $40 package has more worthwhile channels than any of the others, and you can get pretty much any channel as you step up. A recent redesign brought with it a DVR and enhanced on-demand options. The Roku app still doesn't work as you'd expect - you can't pause live TV, for example - but in its defense, the service offers the very cable-like ability to channel surf by swiping left and right. It also offers and benefits for AT&T Wireless customers, including discounts and being able to stream on your phone without using mobile data.

PlayStation Best for: Commercial skippers and PS4 owners Starting price: $45 Step-up packages: Three other packages with progressively more channels for $50, $60 and $80 Missing channels: A&E, Comedy Central, History, Lifetime, MTV, Nickelodeon The good: Solid DVR with unlimited storage that doesn't replace recorded shows with the on-demand version (ahem, YouTube TV). PlayStation 4 users can split-screen multiple channels at once. The bad: More expensive than others with a worse channel selection. PlayStation Vue is the slickest of all the major streaming TV providers with a pleasant, evolved interface that is also easy to use. Its DVR is excellent, with unlimited storage and the ability to skip commercials on any show - although unlike YouTube TV, shows in 's DVR are deleted after 28 days. The biggest knock is that it's now the most expensive basic package, but it has fewer channels than any of the Big Five aside from Sling TV, and local channel coverage is less comprehensive, too.

You don't need a PlayStation 4 to watch it - just like the others, Vue has apps for numerous streaming devices including Roku, Apple TV and Fire TV as well as and PCs - but a PS4 is the only way to get its sweet multiscreen view. Sarah Tew/CNET Best for: Saving money Starting price: $25 Step-up packages: Sling Orange + Blue for $40 month, $5 cloud DVR add-on, numerous $5 minipackages, including in a few cities (Orange only) Missing channels (all packages): CBS, Animal Planet, Fox News, MLB Network, Nickelodeon, TCL Missing channels (Sling Orange): Fox, NBC, Bravo, FS1, FX, MSNBC, USA Network Missing channels (Sling Blue): ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN The good: Relatively cheap, flexible channel packages. The bad: Can only stream to one device (TV, phone, tablet) with Orange package; very little support for local stations; cloud DVR costs extra. Sling is the company that kickstarted the TV streaming category and still has the cheapest offering of the Big 5 (although sports-free options from Philo and Watch TV are cheaper at $16 and $15 monthly; see below).

The main reason Sling can offer such low prices is it carries very few local stations (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC), so many subscribers supplement the service with an antenna. 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, including two base channel lineups (Orange and Blue) and numerous add-ons, so check out for all the details. Sarah Tew/CNET Best for: Local channels and unlimited DVR Price: $40 Step-up packages: N/A Missing channels: A&E, Comedy Central, Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, History, Lifetime The good: Intuitive interface and comprehensive program guide; includes all four local channels in the 99 markets it's available; unlimited storage on cloud DVR.

The bad: Only available in those 99 markets, not fully nationwide. DVR shows replaced by on-demand versions. Was comparatively late to the game but it's carved out itself a nice little niche with YouTube TV. Its interface is no-nonsense, even drab, and yet it offers most of the features a cable service can give you - namely, a robust channel lineup including local channels in just about every area it serves. It also has a very strong DVR, including unlimited storage, with one catch: If an episode you've recorded appears in YouTube TV's VOD library, it gets replaced by the on-demand version - so you lose the ability to fast-forward through commercials.

And unlike Sling and others, it's dead simple: one package, one price, done. Live TV streaming services compared. 2:03 Price: Starts at $45 per month Fubo TV is a sports-centric service that also offers a number of other channels including local OTA stations (except ABC) - and more RSNs (regional sports networks) than any other service.

Free Live Tv Streaming Channels

Especially for fans of professional baseball, basketball and hockey teams, Fubo might be the only way to watch regular-season games without cable. There's no ESPN, however, and a convoluted user interface and high price mean it's not the first service we'd choose.

Price: Starts at $16 per month Another cheap service with no sports or local channels, Philo has bread-and-butter cable offerings like AMC, Comedy Channel, Nickelodeon and BBC America. Unlike Watch AT&T, it includes a cloud DVR. Don't care about live TV? More cord-cutter staples - One of the first streaming TV services and it's so popular that it's become a catch-all term in the same way as 'Magic Marker' or 'Coke' in the South. Plans start at $11 a month (HD) and it covers thousands of TV shows and movies including originals like Daredevil and Orange is the New Black.

The 'other' major streaming service, which is included as part of a $99 Prime Membership or $9 a month. The interface isn't as user-friendly as Netflix, but the service often offers shows not on Netflix, including originals like. Amazon Prime also has (HBO, Starz and more) making it a potential one-stop shop. Vudu/ - A digital library (or locker) that incorporates both and streaming movies and TV that are only available for purchase, like new releases. It's also worth investigating free, ad-supported services such as Roku Channel, Pluto and Crackle, which offer a wealth of content. Sarah Tew/CNET Is 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; see. 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. A solid, lower-cost alternative to live TV streaming services is the combination of antenna for live local channels with an on-demand service such as Netflix or Hulu. 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/CNET Conclusion Streaming live TV services are still in their infancy, and the industry is still in flux. For example, most services recently upped their prices by $5 a month in 2018, and, according to a June report. While streaming is undoubtedly the future, it will be some time before both prices and the services offered settle in.

Within the last few years there's been a new explosion of TV in our lives. Before, we were content to watch television on a schedule dictated by the broadcasters, but things have moved on a long way since then. We now have a huge range of services that let us get our fix of programmes and movies at any time and through a multitude of devices.

No longer are we confined to the living room; the internet lets us watch TV anywhere in the house, while portable media devices like smartphones and tablets keep us entertained on the move – some even with downloads. Viewing habits haven't quite kept pace with technological advancement, so although the amount of time we spend watching television is increasing every year, we're still a long way from ridding our homes of the big TV. Just 0.2 per cent of people in the UK watch TV exclusively online, but with 12 million tablets currently in use in the UK, the second screen is here to stay.

As the number of services increases, along with the number of ways we can access them, the future of TV becomes ever more muddled and confusing. Which service do you trust to supply your programmes? Do you really need catch-up TV? Do you buy your movies through your TV provider, or should you stream them online? Do you want to watch TV on a laptop, phone, tablet, or TV? Most importantly, how much should you pay for it all?

Answering these questions isn't an easy task, and the service providers scrapping for world domination don't help either. From Netflix, Lovefilm and Blinkbox to YouTube, iTunes and Now TV, we're here to cut through the jargon and tell you what's worth a second look. We'll look at what traditional content providers like Sky and Virgin are offering, and what they're doing to keep pace with an ever-evolving industry. We'll also take stock of what the plethora of online services, apps and new platforms like YouView are offering to see if they can compete with the big guns – even, while is also gathering pace on a few LG TVs for 2013.

Are we looking at a future without linear TV at all? Catch-up apps and on-demand streaming services are certainly about more than just replacing DVDs, but will the likes of Sky, Virgin and even YouView one day be mere apps themselves on the smart TVs of the future? BBC iPlayer The BBC, with its publicly supported TV empire, is a long-standing British institution, so it should come as no surprise that its digital service – BBC iPlayer – was the first of the online catch-up facilities to appear as broadband internet connections hit the mainstream. This is part of the reason for iPlayer's popularity, but it's also head and shoulders above the rest in terms of content and delivery.

At least for now. In December 2012 alone the BBC received 174 million requests for iPlayer, a rise of 22% on December 2011. IPlayer's content is made up almost entirely of TV shows, along with the occasional film, which have already aired on terrestrial TV and can be watched for a week after they're made available online, though some landmark BBC series are available for 30 days or even in perpetuity.

What makes iPlayer even better is downloads – at least if you use the new apps for iPhone and iPad, or the browser-based service's desktop counterpart. The chance to take a laptop, tablet or smartphone full of downloaded BBC programmes (which expire after 30 days) makes iPlayer a dream come true for commuters and frequent flyers.

The desktop and iOS apps have another significant advantage over the browser version – and other catch-up services – because it lets you 'favourite' content and thereby set a series link. IPlayer will do the rest of the work for you. IPlayer's other celebrated feature is high definition content, which is ripped straight from the BBC's two HD channels. However, if you have a keen eye for quality you'll notice that HD programmes seem to have been compressed somewhat so they can be streamed down the pipes without causing any hiccups. With these impressive features available to anyone free of charge, iPlayer is clearly ahead of the game. Provided you don't have to watch something the minute it's broadcast, iPlayer will meet all your needs. If you're happy sticking to BBC content, it could even make Freeview TV redundant.

More than just catch-up TV iPlayer doesn't just offer catch-up TV either; it airs a reasonable amount of live TV as well, mainly sports broadcasts and the like. It's started to provide HD streaming too, and has promised that in 2013 it will broadcast around 100 hours of content exclusively via iPlayer. Although its Android apps (which require a messy additional download of a BBC Media Player app) and its streaming-only catch-up service for the BBC's radio stations are a poor relation, iPlayer's myriad versions are a thing of wonder. Found on Xbox360 and, iPlayer apps crop-up on every smart TV platform as well as on YouView, Sky and Virgin and countless other third party devices. To date, no other catch-up service has managed to branch out to such a diverse range of media-consuming platforms, and iPlayer looks set to further capitalise on its growth as the BBC looks at ways of improving its mobile broadcasting. One feature that might see the light of day is DVB-T2-Lite, which will let the BBC offer reliable live broadcasts on mobile devices with less impact on battery life.

We have yet to see whether this will work with 3G networks and allow truly mobile TV consumption. The iPlayer is a national obsession and the gold standard – worldwide, even – for streaming TV. Verdict: 5/5 2. YouTube Ask someone what they think was the biggest internet revolution of the 21st century and they'll probably say it was.

And with good reason - the user-generated video-blogging site has changed the online landscape forever. It lets anyone, however well known they are (or not), whatever the quality of their content and wherever they hail from, upload their weird and wonderful videos for anyone around the world to watch at their convenience. The beauty of YouTube is that in the blink of an eye it's taken the broadcasting power from the bigwigs and placed it right in our hands.

OK, so it might not have stopped people wanting to watch a high quality, professionally made production in their living room TVs, but it's an insight into how TV might be produced in the future. After all with YouTube you don't need a big budget – or indeed any budget at all – to produce your own TV series and establish a massive following. YouTube also lets you share high definition content all the way up to the mighty 1080p, and the site has even started experimenting with 3D viewing. The service isn't just dedicated to amateur video bloggers and filmmakers either - it also has a section where you can watch catch-up TV from the likes of Channel 5 and 4OD, as well as a variety of films and live TV events. Although it's at a disadvantage in terms of the amount of relevant content it can offer through these channels, YouTube's key strength is its ability to find something you're interested in watching quickly and easily. If YouTube's catch-up function doesn't offer what you're looking for, chances are you'll be able to find it elsewhere on the site - after all, its users upload a staggering eight years' worth of content every day.

Multi-platform YouTube has universal appeal, and it's no surprise that you can access its video-sharing resource almost anywhere, no matter what the device you're using. There are apps available for just about any mobile device, media player and smart TV, but the unique thing about YouTube is the way its content is shared between users.

The site is a social powerhouse, with around 17 million people sharing their videos with an accompanying social network like Facebook or Twitter. Although it might sound like an excuse for one of your friends to annoy you with yet another video of a dog being beaten up by a cat or a dancing parrot, the sentiment is important: if everyone shared the programmes they watched live or via catch-up with their online associates, their viewing figures would no doubt increase dramatically. The latest HTML5 versions of YouTube apps across all devices allow secure pairing; browse for video on one device (say, a smartphone or tablet), add it to your 'watch later' list and it's instantly available on another device (including a smart TV's YouTube app, the YouTube app on a TiVo box, games console, tablet or smartphone).

Verdict: 4.5/5 3. Netflix If you're a connoisseur of movies and/or TV, there's only one game in town – and that's between Amazon's Lovefilm. It is, however, something of a race to the bottom, with the truth being that there's not a lot of truly must-have new movies and TV to stream from either; both operate in a different window to Sky, Blinkbox and iTunes, so get their movies a little later. Not all smart TVs have both Netflix and Lovefilm apps – most do – but on most devices, be it an iPad, a smartphone or a games console, it's a straight choice between the two. The quality of the movies and TV we tried – mostly streamed in 'super HD' – on both TV and on tablets is exquisite.

The problem of content is most pressing for Netflix, which charges £5.99 per month for unlimited streaming, but doesn't offer downloads. Netflix runs on a PC and Mac, Apple TV, the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3, Android phones and tablets, Windows Phones, iOS devices, internet-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players, and streaming players from, Roku and Western Digital. The most recent addition to the list is the Kindle Fire HD. Trying to find a film you actually want to watch, and that's less than a few years old (and often decades) is tricky, but Netflix is trying hard to bolster its brand – and its reputation for being the place to go for if you're into TV dramas, rather than movies (though it claims 6,000) – by hosting exclusives.

House of Cards aired on Netflix alone during February 2013, and the CEO is. Good luck to him – the availability of the latest content is really the only complaint we have about this otherwise splendid service. Verdict: 4/5 4. LoveFilm Instant Is it any better than Netflix?

Yes, it is, but only if you consider its core old-fashioned-but-reliable postal add-on service. It's a bit ludicrous in our digital age, but such is Hollywood's conservative attitude to the internet (why do they hate it – us – so?) that only the postman can bring you the latest releases. Is available for PC and Mac, the Kindle Fire HD, iPad, Xbox 360, PS3, internet-enabled TVs and Blu-ray players, Sony's Home Cinema system, Sony's Network Media Player and the Onyx Digital Stream set-top box. For the moment we'll gloss over Lovefilm's peerless selection of DVDs and Blu-ray discs (not that you don't have to wait for top-line discs – you certainly do) and consider Lovefilm Instant A streaming-only service, it offers north of 4,000 titles, though entire series are rolled into one, so there's actually closer to 9,000 individual episodes and movies. A new 4OD selection of comedy (think Peep Show, Spaced, The Inbetweeners etc) is bolstering Lovefilm's non-film content, but it's also beginning to test the waters with pilot episodes of new comedies from its own Amazon Studios. It will soon host 11 original TV series test pilots for members to stream for free, with viewer response helping to determine which series go into full-season. A nice idea, but until the movie selection on Lovefilm Instant can rival that of its disc library, it can only ever equal Netflix in terms of streaming.

However – and call us old-fashioned – but the chance to have a couple of Blu-ray discs at home puts it just ahead of its rival; streaming is great, but Blu-ray still rules and it makes sense to have it as part of the mix if you're seriously into movies. Verdict: 4/5 5. ITV Player, previously known as ITV Online, is the place to go if you want to sift through the range of programmes available on the broadcaster's channels, but it's getting more and more commercial. It's a popular service, with 321m views for first nine months of 2012, a 23% increase on 2011.

The service couldn't be simpler to use and everything you could want is within easy reach. When you open a program, you might find yourself getting a little annoyed at the two adverts that play at the beginning, as well as subsequent adverts that play throughout the show, but this is how the channel is funded. This is ITV after all, not the BBC, and it doesn't benefit from TV licence fees. February 2013 saw its first online premiere, of 666 Park Avenue, the day before its linear TV broadcast on ITV2, though in future it will charge for that service. ITV also charges for shows older than seven days from their initial broadcast – typically around 69p – as well as older archive content, though it does have a habit of populating the 'recommended' section exclusively with pay-for content.

We can't argue with the commercial realities, but what happened to free-to-air broadcasting? We're probably not the only ones who would only pay for a show if it could be downloaded. That said, ITV Player is searching for a workable business model and has made a decent stab at universality; aside from its streaming-only iOS apps, PS3, YouView, Virgin and Sky versions, ITV Player as a smart TV app is presently exclusive to Samsung's smart TVs and Android devices. PS3 users can watch via a channel on YouTube. Verdict: 4/5.