Since cord-cutters started substituting streaming services and online material for conventional cable, a whole new breed of TV viewers has emerged. The growth of live TV apps, which enable you to relive the glory days of channel browsing without even requiring a real television set, has allowed cord-cutting to advance since those early days and become an even more viable choice.
Because they provide popular live material such as news, sports, and award programs, live TV apps have an edge over streaming titans such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. Apps like Peacock and Paramount+ have carved out their own market share in recent years, but their live channels are restricted to those controlled by their parent firms. (like NBC and CBS, respectively). There is also an increasing number of sports-specific apps, providing sports fans with more choices for watching every event. There are plenty of good choices for viewers who want a wider variety of channels, including Android support, enabling mobile users to watch what they want, when they want.
YouTube TV: One of the first significant applications to make watching live TV popular was YouTube TV, and since then, it has only improved its offerings. One of the most extensive selections you can get from a streaming app, the service presently claims over 85 channels in its basic plan. One of the relatively few programs to do this is your neighborhood PBS station.
In its early years, YouTube TV made an obvious play for sports fans, and it will still be a wonderful option for them in 2023. It’s the only app that presently has NFL Sunday Ticket and offers 4K choices for a ton of games. A more limited but still noteworthy level of Spanish-language material is also available on YouTube TV.
YouTube TV has a simple, user-friendly UI. Because it is controlled by Google, it integrates smoothly with your Google account. On the negative, YouTube TV is one of the most expensive streaming choices available. The base package is presently $73 per month, with add-on channels and other à la carte premium choices increasing the cost by providing a wider range of material.
Hulu + Live TV: Hulu + Live TV is the only program on this list to incorporate a significant streamer into its main services, allowing you access to original content. Since Disney acquired Fox in 2019 as well as a majority stake in Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ are now both included in the basic Hulu + Live TV plan.
However, if you’re looking for live TV, these benefits might not matter to you as much as the stations you can watch right now. At the time of writing, Hulu’s basic plan includes more than 80 networks in this respect. Because Disney controls ABC, FOX, FX, National Geographic, and several other big networks, you won’t see these stations disappear from Hulu’s lineup due to a contract dispute. You can also pay to access premium and other add-on networks.
Hulu + Live TV’s base package costs $70 per month, making it one of the more expensive choices available. The basic package includes Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ in addition to live TV, as well as limitless cloud DVR and two simultaneous screens per user. For an extra $15 per month, you can upgrade to unlimited simultaneous screens, making Hulu + Live TV an appealing choice for larger families eager to spend the extra money.
Sling TV: Sling TV provides two separate base packages, Orange and Blue, each with various networks and features, so it might be a good option if you’re looking for a streaming program that is a little bit more customizable. Both plans provide optional features that you can purchase, and you can commit to both plans at once to receive a reduction.
Sling TV is currently less expensive than YouTube TV and Hulu plus Live TV. Blue costs $45 per month with 10 extra networks, while Orange costs $40 per month for 30+ stations. You can purchase both options for $50 per month. Furthermore, Sling TV provides a free service called Freestream, which is similar to Pluto TV and related services in that it enables you to view a feed of free channels and contains limited on-demand material.
When Orange is combined with the Sports Extra add-on, sports enthusiasts can watch events on multiple networks. The absence of limitless DVR is one of Sling TV’s main drawbacks; the basic plan only includes 50 hours, and spending an extra $5 per month only raises that limit to 200 hours. The Blue plan allows for three displays at once, while the Orange plan only allows for one. Because of the absence of user accounts, Sling TV may not be the best option if you intend to share the account with your family.
Philo TV: If you’re seeking to watch live TV on a tight budget, Philo TV is a choice you should take into account. It’s one of the most inexpensive choices for real live TV streaming available at $25 per month. Although the base plan can be customized with premium and add-on channels, that fee is for its one grade, which includes more than 70 channels.
Of course, compared to the more expensive competitors, this comparatively low price has some drawbacks. Live sports or the main news networks are not included in the stations included in the basic package. Philo TV might not be the greatest option for cord-cutters since many of them use live TV applications to make up for the news and sports gaps in their programming.
However, Philo TV has a few advantages for a low-cost live TV app, including limitless DVR storage in the cloud, the ability to watch on three separate devices at once, and a maximum of ten individual user accounts. If you take advantage of those benefits and split the cost among members of your family, you could be spending only a few dollars per month for live TV.
Pluto TV: Pluto TV gives users more than 250 stations for no cost. Why is there a catch? The majority of these networks offer a constant stream of carefully chosen material rather than live TV in the conventional sense. For instance, “The Walking Dead” station continuously airs new segments of the television series. While some stations, like MTV, are identical to what you’d get from cable, many others, like CNN and CBS News, are a carefully curated playlist of segments and programs from those networks.
Despite the abundance of leisure and entertainment networks, anyone seeking live sports or news will probably want to turn elsewhere. However, because this program is free, you can anticipate ads to interrupt the material every few minutes. If you can live with these limitations, Pluto TV can be a very helpful tool for cord-cutters.
Unlike most sites, viewing material does not require the creation of an account. It has a good selection of on-demand movies and TV programs in addition to its live options. Because Pluto TV is controlled by Paramount, you can watch popular programs such as “Star Trek” and “Degrassi.”
