6 Live TV Streaming Services That Let You Cut Cable TV

Monthly bill: $100 to $204 per month

What you get: Formerly called DirecTV Stream, the DirecTV streaming service essentially gives you DirecTV without a satellite dish. The cheapest plans provide a mix of live TV stations and cable channels. The top-tier package adds premium channels such as HBO Max, Showtime, and Starz.

The entry-level Entertainment plan now costs $100 a month—$90 for the plan, plus a $10-a-month Gemini box lease fee—for about 90 channels. The Choice plan—the cheapest that offers a good number of regional sports networks and access to about 125 channels—costs $95 a month, though the actual price is $129 when you add in the required $24-a-month regional sports fee and the $10 Gemini rental. The Ultimate plan, with about 160 channels plus Starz, lists at $125 a month, though the regional sports and Gemini fees push the price to $159 a month. There’s also a Premier plan (with about 185 channels, plus HBO Max with ads, Cinemax, and Paramount+ with Showtime) for $170 a month, though the real out-of-pocket price is $204 a month. All services include on-demand shows and movies, and unlimited cloud DVR storage.

There’s also a Spanish-language plan, Óptimo Más, with about 110 channels for $75 a month.

HBO Max, which remains a separate entity within Warner Bros. Discovery, can be added to plans that don’t include it. HBO Max includes Discovery+ content, but you can still subscribe to Discovery+ separately. Paramount is currently trying to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.

The big news is the availability of several lower-priced Genre Packs, including My Sports, My Entertainment, MyKids, and MyNews, priced from $20 to $60 a month.

DirecTV has also now launched its own free ad-supported streaming service, MyFree DirecTV.

What you don’t get: Some local channels and regional sports networks aren’t available in all markets or in the most basic plan. And some channels, such as BBC News, CBS Sports Network, FXM (the FX movie channel), Logo, NHL Network, Oxygen, and the Smithsonian Channel, are available only in the pricier plans.

Sign up for DirecTV.

Monthly bill: $89 to $99 per month

What you get: Fubo is a sports-centric service that provides live and on-demand channels from ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC (until recently) in most markets. It recently raised prices by $5 a month. You also get cable channels (AMC, Bravo, Discovery, FX, HGTV, Syfy, and TLC) and sports networks (beIN Sports, FS1, Golf Channel, MSG, NBA TV, and SNY). Thanks to a deal with Disney, the service now has ESPN (ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3), plus the SEC and ACC networks in certain markets.

Last fall, Disney+ acquired a stake in Fubo and has combined it with Hulu + Live TV. Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available as separate and distinct services, each streamed via their respective apps.

The latest news is that Fubo has settled a dispute with NBCUniversal, which had pulled its networks from the service. Fubo has now added those channels back, but has upped the price by as much as $15 a month for some plans.

Under the updated structure, the Fubo Pro plan, which includes more than 200 channels, now costs $89 per month, plus any applicable regional fees. The Fubo Elite plan, with about 280 channels, is now $99. The dedicated Fubo Sports & News package, a streamlined plan that includes ESPN Unlimited content but no entertainment channels, is now $65 a month.

The Elite with Sports Plus plan has about 300 channels plus 4K video when available. This package adds the 55 additional sports, entertainment, and news channels you get with the Fubo Extra and News Plus add-on packages. Fubo’s Latino plan, $20 a month, offers more than 50 channels.

Fubo says that most of ESPN Unlimited’s content is now built into the app for its new Fubo Sports & News skinny plan, so subscribers can watch directly from the Fubo app instead of having to exit and use the ESPN Unlimited app. That plan, which costs $65 a month, has 20-plus sports and broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, and Fox, featuring national and local pro and college team coverage. It includes an unlimited DVR and video-on-demand titles. Customers in some markets will also get local broadcast sports channels.

Note that Fubo is currently the only streaming service that charges a fee for regional sports networks—up to $17 a month, depending on your area. Fubu will reduce the fee if any RSNs become unavailable.

You can also add several premium channels. One plan combines MGM+, Paramount+ with Showtime, and Starz for $21 per month. Separately, Paramount+ with Showtime costs $11 a month, Starz costs $12 a month, and MGM+ is $8 a month. Sports fans can get Sports Plus with NFL Red Zone, with NCAA games and RedZone from the NFL Network, for an extra $11 per month. An $8-per-month Fubo Extra plan adds more TV shows, movies, news, sports, music, and kids’ entertainment. There are also several Spanish-language plans and add-ons.

Fubo recently rolled out a new MLB.TV direct-to-consumer add-on package for an additional $30 per month that lets baseball fans stream out-of-market games, both live and on demand

What you don’t get: Compared with many other services, Fubo’s on-demand library is limited. Also, Fubo hasn’t been able to reach a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for its networks, including Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, and TLC, among others. Also missing are A&E networks, including A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, and Vice TV. It did reach a deal to restore the YES Network, home to Yankees games.

Sign up for Fubo.

Monthly bill: $90 to $100, depending on ads

What you get: Hulu + Live TV offers about 100 channels, including the major broadcast channels—ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC—in a growing number of markets. You also get cable channels such as A&E, BET, CN, CNN, Disney, Fox News, FX, HGTV, TBS, and TNT. The lineup includes CBS Sports, ESPN, and Fox Sports, plus some regional sports networks. You also get access to Hulu’s streaming library, with original content like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Bear.”

Hulu recently renewed a deal with Fox to keep programs such as “The Masked Singer,” “The Simpsons,” and “Family Guy.” Hulu also recently added 14 channels, including Hallmark and The Weather Channel. 

After a price hike, Hulu + Live TV now bundles Disney+ (with ads) and ESPN Select for $90 a month. Another plan, Hulu Premium + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Select, is $100 a month. It has no ads in the Hulu streaming library, and ads only in some live and linear content.

The basic service lets you create six separate profiles—though only two people can use the service at a time—and includes an unlimited cloud DVR. You can pay more to add premium networks, get additional sports and entertainment content, and upgrade to unlimited screens.

As noted above, Fubo and Disney announced that Disney is combining Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, though Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to subscribers as separate services via their respective apps.

What you don’t get: The service lacks AMC, BBC America, and NBA TV. Also, it lost some NBC programs that were available on Hulu to NBCUniversal’s own Peacock service. Hulu has a deal with Discovery for several channels, including Food Network, HGTV, and TLC, but some popular shows, such as “90 Day Fiancé” and “Fixer Upper,” will be available only on the company’s newer services, Discovery+ and HBO Max.

Sign up for Hulu + Live TV.

Monthly bill: $25 per month for Essential and $33 per month for the Philo+ Bundle.

What you get: Philo can be a great option if you get local channels via an antenna.

For $33 a month, the Philo bundle includes more than 70 channels from partners, including Discovery, Paramount (CBS and Viacom), and AMC Networks, plus access to the ad-supported versions of AMC+, HBO Max with ads, and Discovery+. The company also recently launched a less expensive Essential plan for $25 a month, which doesn’t include those add-ons. Both plans include more than 130 free streaming channels, 80,000-plus on-demand titles, and an unlimited DVR. You can access the free channels without a subscription. Philo recently announced that you can now browse and stream Discovery+ programming directly inside the Philo app.

The company now has the Smithsonian Channel and Pop, which airs older network shows such as “House” and “NCIS: New Orleans.” It also has a deal for 11 Warner Bros. Discovery channels. Philo also has a few original series, including “Boss Moves,” with “Love and Hip-Hop” star Rasheeda Frost. The service has a deal with Kin Community for access to that company’s women-focused lifestyle content.

You can add premium channels, such as MGM+ ($8 a month) and Starz ($11 a month).

Philo now also offers 100 free, ad-supported channels that you can get without a subscription.

What you don’t get: Philo has no local channels and doesn’t offer live news (CNN, Fox News) or sports networks such as ESPN or NFL Network.

Sign up for Philo.

Monthly bill: $46 to $70 a month

What you get: You might consider Sling TV if you can find another way to get CBS local channels, since the service doesn’t offer them. ABC locals are available only in some regions (see below). The Orange package is now $46 and includes 30-plus cable channels, including Disney and ESPN, plus A&E, the Food Network, and TBS, but no local broadcast TV. It supports one user at a time. Sling Blue, $55 per month, supports three users and has a different mix of 40-plus channels, including some local broadcasts and regional sports. (Among other differences, Sling Blue doesn’t include ESPN.) A combined plan costs $70.

Sling TV carries ABC, Fox, and NBC in some markets with the Blue and the combined Sling Blue and Orange plans. But CBS locals aren’t available at all.

Sling also has some Basic plans, including Essentials ($20 a month), Select ($30), and Essentials & Select ($45), with either 10 or 20 channels, but no local broadcasts. Sling also offers one-day, three-day, and seven-day passes to Sling Orange, which cost from $5 to $15.

Sling is now offering its first sporting events in 4K in some markets. The company says it isn’t charging extra for them.

You can add premium channels, including HBO Max ($18.50), Paramount+ with Showtime ($10), and Starz ($11). Sling TV offers a large number of add-on packs, which provide extra genre-based programming (sports, news, lifestyle, Hollywood, etc.). They cost an additional $6 to $21 (for a bundle with several packs) each month.

Sling beefed up its cloud DVR, so everyone now gets 50 hours of free DVR storage, up from 10 hours. The DVR Unlimited add-on gives you unlimited storage for $5 per month.

Sling now also has a free ad-supported service, called Freestream, which doesn’t require a subscription or credit card info.

What you don’t get: You can get ABC, Fox, and NBC in some markets but not all, so check before signing on. But CBS is still missing from any plan. Subscribers outside of several major markets can no longer get NBC on-demand channels. (Sling had provided on-demand NBC channels in markets where the live NBC channel wasn’t available.)

Sign up for Sling TV.

Monthly bill: $83

What you get: YouTube TV offers access to more than 100 channels, including all the major broadcast networks, cable channels (AMC, Bravo, Disney, ESPN, FX, Fox News, Fox Sports, MSNBC, National Geographic, Turner, USA), and major sports networks such as CBS Sports, ESPN, and Fox Sports, along with the MLB, NBA, and NFL league networks. It recently added a bunch of Paramount channels, including BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Network. The service has also expanded its Spanish-language content, including three Univision channels and two new add-on packages. A cloud DVR with unlimited storage for up to nine months is included.

The big news is that YouTube TV now offers a lower-priced Sports plan, which costs $65 a month. It includes major broadcast networks and dedicated sports channels, including ESPN (and ESPN Unlimited) and FS1. A $72 sports and news bundle includes news networks such as Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, and C-SPAN. A $55 a month entertainment plan features programs from Bravo, Food Network, FX, Hallmark, and others. All include an unlimited DVR and YouTube’s multiview feature.

With an additional fee, you can also access NFL Sunday Ticket, which lets you watch out-of-market Sunday games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket supports YouTube TV’s multiview feature, enabling subscribers to watch multiple games simultaneously.

Last year, YouTube upgraded its multiview feature for all YouTube TV subscribers, letting you choose which games to watch. It also upgraded the video quality of 1080p content on 4K devices that support the VP9 video codec. Google says it’s working with the NFL to show all league games in 1080p, including those shot in 720p, which will then be upconverted to the higher resolution.

There’s a Spanish-language plan that costs $35 a month, and you can add more with a $15-a-month add-on pack.

What you don’t get: YouTube TV’s biggest content holes are some cable channels, including A&E, CW, DIY Network, History Channel, and Lifetime.

Sign up for YouTube TV.

Before signing up, browse each service’s channel listing carefully to ensure you’ll be able to watch the channels you want. Some services are more limited than others, and content can vary by region, especially for local channels. To find out what you can receive, go to each company’s website, plug in your ZIP code, and see what’s available in your area. (Philo doesn’t have this option because it doesn’t offer local stations.)

In general, video streaming services have been adding more local broadcast channels, such as ABC and CBS, but these channels aren’t available everywhere. If you’re missing some local channels, consider adding an antenna to get free over-the-air broadcasts. In our indoor TV antenna ratings, some testers received dozens of channels and subchannels at home, and the picture often looked even better than what they were getting from cable TV.

In addition, consider the features each service offers. If you can’t watch a lot of your favorites live, you’ll want a generous DVR feature. Some services offer from 200 to 500 hours of recording with your base plan and may offer more with add-on packages. You’ll also want to consider the availability of add-on packages and special live broadcasts, such as NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and pay-per-view sporting events on Fubo.

Many of the cable replacement services offer a free trial period. Because most require a credit card number, you’ll have to keep track of when the trial period ends and cancel if you don’t want to continue the service.

Prices for many packages continue to rise. These hikes typically range between $1 and $5 at a time, but they can add up over the years. Consumer Reports will keep this article updated with the latest pricing information as changes occur. Be sure to check back for the latest pricing before deciding whether to subscribe.

All of these services are available on top streaming devices from companies like Amazon, Apple, and Roku. Here are four recommended streaming boxes and sticks that’ll pair perfectly with a 4K TV.