All the live TV streaming services compared: Which has the best channel lineup?

By: DAVID KATZMAIER

Article originally published in CNET Magazine on July 26, 2018. The original article can be found here.

 

With the runaway popularity of on-demand streaming video services like Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video and Hulu, more people are deciding to stop paying for cable TV. But just because you cut the cord doesn’t mean you have to give up live TV.

Right now seven major services offer live TV steamed over the Internet: Hulu with Live TV, Google’s YouTube TV, Dish Network’s Sling TV, Sony’s PlayStation Vueand AT&T’s DirecTV Now, Philo and Fubo TV. They cost $16 per month and up.

Unlike standard cable or satellite plans, there’s no annual contract and you can cancel and re-up anytime. Of course, you’ll need a good broadband plan that can support HD video streaming, as well as a supported phone, tablet, computer or TV streaming device to actually watch on.

All of them offer different slates of channels for various prices. None have as many channels as most traditional cable or satellite TV packages, especially when it comes to sports, but maybe they have enough for you.

And if you’re wondering which service has the most channels in its base package, that’s DirecTV Now with 59 out of 100.

The big chart: Top 100 channels compared

Below you’ll find a chart that shows the top 100 channels across all seven services. There are actually eight listed, because Sling TV has two different “base” tiers, Orange and Blue. And if you’re wondering, I chose which “top” channels made the cut. Sorry AXS TV, FYI, GSN and Universal HD.

Some more stuff to know about the chart:

• Yes = The live channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier (listed next to each service name).
• No = The channel isn’t available at all on that service. One popular channel, PBS, isn’t available on any service but I listed it anyway.
• $ = The channel is available for an extra fee, either a la carte or as part of a more expensive package or add-on.
• Regional sports networks — channels devoted to showing regular-season games of particular pro baseball, basketball and/or hockey teams — are not listed. That’s a disadvantage on the chart to Fubo TV, which carries more RSNs than anyone, and an advantage to Philo, which doesn’t offer any sports channels, period.
• ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, MyNetworkTV and The CW networks only available in certain cities, and availability varies widely per service. In some cities, some services only offer video-on-demand shows from the networks, not the live local channel itself. (Note: CBS is the parent company of CNET.)
• Overwhelmed? An easier-to-grok Google Spreadsheet is here.

PHILO VS. SLING TV VS. DIRECTV NOW VS. YOUTUBE TV VS. HULU VS. PLAYSTATION VUE VS. FUBO TV: TOP 100 CHANNELS COMPARED

Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($40)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
Total channels:	32	23	34	59	54	52	46	43
ABC	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CBS	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NBC	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
A&E	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
AMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Animal Planet	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
BBC America	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
BBC World News	Yes	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	$
BET	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Big Ten Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Bloomberg TV	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Boomerang	No	$	$	$	No	Yes	$	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
Bravo	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cartoon Network/ Adult Swim	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CBS Sports Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Cheddar	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Cinemax	No	$	$	$	No	$	$	No
CMT	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
CNBC	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CNN	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Comedy Central	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Cooking Channel	$	$	$	$	No	No	$	$
CSPAN	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
CW	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Destination America	$	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
Discovery Channel	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Discovery Family	$	No	No	$	No	No	$	No
Discovery Life	$	No	No	$	No	No	$	No
Disney Channel	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Disney Junior	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Disney XD	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
DIY	Yes	$	$	$	No	No	$	$
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
E!	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EPIX	No	$	$	No	No	No	$	No
ESPN	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ESPN 2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ESPN 3	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
ESPNEWS	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
ESPNU	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
Food Network	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Business	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox News	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Sports 1	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Sports 2	No	No	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freeform	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
FX	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FX Movie Channel	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
FXX	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Golf Channel	No	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Hallmark	No	$	$	Yes	No	No	$	Yes
HBO	No	$	$	$	No	$	$	No
HGTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
History	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
HLN	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
IFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
Investigation Discovery	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Lifetime	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Lifetime Movie Network	Yes	$	$	$	No	Yes	No	Yes
MLB Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	No	$	No
MSNBC	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MTV	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
MTV2	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
MyNetworkTV	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Nat Geo Wild	No	No	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
National Geographic	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NBA TV	No	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
NBC Sports Network	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Newsy	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
NFL Network	No	No	Yes	$	No	No	$	Yes
NFL Red Zone	No	No	$	No	No	No	$	No
NHL Network	No	$	$	$	No	No	No	No
Nick Jr.	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Nickelodeon	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Nicktoons	$	$	$	$	No	No	No	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
OWN	Yes	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
Oxygen	No	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Paramount Network	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
PBS	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Science	Yes	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
SEC Network	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
Showtime	No	$	$	$	$	$	$	$
Starz	No	$	$	$	$	No	No	No
Sundance TV	Yes	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
Syfy	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TBS	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Telemundo	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tennis Channel	No	No	No	$	Yes	No	No	No
TLC	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
TNT	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Travel Channel	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
TruTV	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Turner Classic Movies	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	No
TV Land	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
Univision	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
USA Network	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
VH1	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
Viceland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
WE tv	Yes	$	$	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Weather Channel	No	No	No	$	No	No	No	Yes
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)