The best live TV streaming services to tune into in 2025, tested and reviewed
I'll admit it: I miss channel-surfing. While on-demand streaming (Netflix, HBO Max, etc.) lets me watch what I want, when I want, there's still something special about hopping around the "dial" to see what's on right now. (Second act of Moneyball? I'm in. Bob's Burgers reruns? Perfect.) Yes, live TV still means sitting through commercials, but I consider those opportunities for bathroom breaks, snack runs and, if I'm being good, a few sets of squats. The best live TV streaming services do a great job of recreating the cable/satellite viewing experience, serving up as many as 100 hundred (or more!) channels for my surfing pleasure.
Indeed, you'll get not only popular networks like Comedy Central, CNBC, FX, Food Network and TNT, but also some local stations as well: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and sometimes PBS. In many cases these services add extras like DVR and on-demand movies and TV shows.
But, wow, there are a lot of different choices, with different channels, features and pricing models. Lucky for you, I watch a lot of TV — Alone, Animal Control, Bob's Burgers, Shark Tank, you name it — and I've put all the top services to the test: DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Philo, Sling and YouTube TV. (Note: A growing number of "traditional" streaming services, including Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock and Netflix, are dipping toes into the live-TV waters — usually with sports or special events — but given their fairly limited offerings at this writing, we're not yet considering them as candidates.)
How did we rank these things? Find out below in "How we tested." What are some important factors to consider when shopping for a streaming live-TV service? They're below as well, along with answers to frequently asked questions.
Update, August 15, 2025: We checked all service prices and updated those that changed. We added Sling TV to our list, but our overall pick for the top live-TV streaming service is unchanged.
Philo flies under most viewers' radar, and that's a shame: The service is arguably the best-kept secret in streaming. For those who miss basic-cable networks like AMC, Comedy Central, History, Hallmark and Nickelodeon, Philo serves them up in all their live-TV glory.
Your $28 monthly subscription includes over 70 well-known channels, plus around 100 (!) specialty ones like Chicken Soup for the Soul, Game Show Central and multiple Vevo music-video channels. Recently the service added all of AMC+ as well, fair compensation for its modest $3/month price increase. If you want sports, however, look elsewhere — and the only notable news channel is BBC News.
The service mixes old-school and new, with unlimited cloud-based DVR for shows you want to keep for later and some 70,000 shows and movies (from the aforementioned networks) available for on-demand viewing. The interface isn't great, though, with a blah design and some awkward navigation elements.
Nevertheless, anyone still clinging to a pricey cable subscription just for, say, The Food Network will find Philo an affordable and comprehensive alternative. More cord-cutters should know about it.
Read our complete Philo review to learn more.
Free trial: 7 days | Channels in base tier: 100+ | Streaming resolution: 1080p | DVR: Unlimited | Regional sports networks: Limited
Not to be confused with regular YouTube (home of user-created content), Google's live-TV service delivers over 100 channels — the second-largest roster in the group — including local ones and a decent selection of sports. Most of them stream at 1080p, and you can add 4K (for select channels) for an extra $10 monthly.
Hulu + Live TV also streams at 1080p, but doesn't currently have any 4K content (except for its on-demand library). Fubo also lets you add 4K for a $10 upcharge, but starts at 720p, not 1080p. The upshot: YouTube TV is your best option if you want higher-resolution streaming.
The interface bucks convention, dividing everything into just three sections: Library, Home and Live. That's simple enough, but by placing these options at the top, it creates extra work navigating back to it. (Most services employ a side menu that's quicker and easier to access.) Also, the order strikes me as odd; wouldn't Home be the more obvious first option, followed by Live and then Library?
Similarly, the DVR aspects are a bit confusing at first; you don't select shows or movies to record, but instead "add to library". And when you do that with a TV show, you automatically get the entire series; there's no option to record just one episode. Thus, when you visit the Library page, it can be a little confusing to figure out what's recorded, what's coming up, and what might be available on-demand.
Speaking of which, I often found myself confused by YouTube TV's on-demand content — namely, what you can actually get. For example, from the Home page I browsed my way to the Movies section, then drilled into Drama. This returned a lengthy row of "picked for you" titles (based on what, I'm not sure) in no particular order; I chose First Man and had the option of watching it. Then I scrolled down to a section labeled "Thriller movies" and selected The Town, but could only get info about it; there was no watch-now option.
I do like that you can reorder the channel guide to your liking: alphabetical, backwards-alphabetical, most watched, even a custom layout (though you have to set that up on a computer or in the mobile app).
Although it has nowhere near as many regional sports networks (such as Bally Sports) as Fubo, YouTube TV does offer NFL Sunday Ticket. It costs extra, but should allow you to watch your favorite team(s) no matter where and when the games take place. (Note, too, that you can get Sunday Ticket as a standalone package.)
There's also a nifty option called Multiview, which lets you watch four (select) live events at once. And I love the "key plays" option that appears when you tune into certain games that are already in progress; it'll show you a highlight reel of the big plays and then return you to the live broadcast.
Given YouTube TV's most recent price hike (to $83/month, up $10), I'm even more annoyed that a subscription doesn't include YouTube Premium (meaning ad-free regular YouTube). You still have to pay for that separately. I know they're separate entities, but they're also both YouTube products; seems like just the value-add Google should include to give it a boost over the competition.
As it stands, YouTube TV is a solid live-TV service that's notable for its 1080p streaming and available 4K add-on.
Read our full YouTube TV review.
Free trial: 3 days | Channels in base tier: 95+ | Streaming resolution: 1080p (select devices) | DVR: Unlimited | Regional sports networks: Limited
Let's do some basic math: Hulu + Live TV costs $83 monthly, same as YouTube TV (and within spitting distance of most others). But the former includes not only "Hulu proper" (with all its original content and on-demand movies and shows), but also Disney+ and ESPN+.
That means you're effectively getting four streaming services for the price of one, and if you value those additional three, there's a very compelling case to be made for choosing Hulu.
Thankfully, the quantity doesn't come at the cost of quality. Hulu's live-TV lineup includes a generous selection of channels (close to 100), among them the five major locals (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS) and a solid helping of sports — though no regional sports networks like on DirecTV and Fubo. (Channel selection varies depending on your location; you can enter your ZIP code on Hulu's site to see exactly what's available.)
Alas, at this writing there's no 4K live TV content available, though some of Hulu's on-demand stuff is indeed 4K. And although Hulu + Live TV can stream in 1080p, for the moment it does so only with a handful of TVs and devices (including Apple TV 4th-gen and later, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick and select Samsung TVs). Android TV, Google TV, Roku and other devices top out at 720p.
I appreciate Hulu's polished, easy-to-navigate interface, though it does reveal a few quirks once you venture into the live-TV area. Among them: an alphabetical channel guide with no way to change the order and inconsistent category menus. (Some show a channel-guide subset, others just rows of "what's on now".) It's also unnecessarily chunky; only five channels fit onscreen at a time.
Much more annoying: If you pause live TV and rewind prior to a commercial break, even one you've already watched, you can't fast-forward past it; you have to watch that same break again. (Fortunately, this didn't seem to be an issue with recorded shows.)
One important note for parents: Although the Hulu app doesn't incorporate any Disney+ content, the Disney+ app (which you sign into using your Hulu credentials) now mixes in Hulu's on-demand library (but not live TV). This is not only confusing, but also off-putting: You may see the likes of The Handmaid's Tale alongside Bluey and Toy Story. Fortunately, you can create child profiles to keep kids away from decidedly adult Hulu content.
Hulu's free trial is the shortest in the group — just three days — so you'll need to decide quickly if you like the value proposition. Given that it's really the only live-TV bundle you can get, by default it's also the best.
(Note: Hulu + Live TV is merging with Fubo, with the former expected to get absorbed into the latter, but the timetable has yet to be determined. Could happen later this year, or it might be delayed to 2026. We'll update our review accordingly when the time comes.)
Read our full Hulu + Live TV review.
Free trial: 5 days | Channels in base tier: 90+ | Streaming resolution: 720p | DVR: Unlimited | Regional sports networks: 30+
Every other streaming service here has its own take on replicating cable, and not always for the better. DirecTV (formerly DirecTV Stream) is replicating itself — or, rather, its eponymous satellite service — and that's a good thing. The interface reflects the simplicity and polish of one built on years of development, which is why I think it's the best option for anyone seeking the familiarity of cable (or even of DirecTV itself).
For example, on your first visit to the channel guide, you're given the option to sort it alphabetically or by channel number, the latter a welcome nod to cable days (and especially helpful for finding your local stations). I like that the guide includes full-color channel logos as well; they're easier to recognize at a glance.
Another small but welcome amenity: Whatever item you navigate to on the channel guide, a lovely summary — including title, time, description and a thumbnail image — appears at the top of screen. And it's a snap to add channels to your "favorites" list for even faster "what's on" browsing.
The sports selection here is rivaled only by Fubo's, and there's a nifty auto-forwarding option that will attempt to work around a game blackout if one is detected: DirecTV will attempt to find the game on another channel. (For information on DirecTV's recently launched MySports service, see below.)
The service also offers robust parental controls: You can create individual profiles for different family members and limit viewing based on separate TV, movie and "unrated" content ratings.
I did encounter one usability quirk: With other services, time-shifting live content (i.e. rewinding or fast-forwarding) is a simple matter of tapping left or right on your remote's direction-pad. Do that here and you'll actually change the channel. It took me a while to figure out that you must first tap the center button to bring up the status menu, then tap left or right to skip back or forward.
That's not a huge deal (and you don't need this extra step for recorded content), but I couldn't find a way to actually scan back or forward; it's all just 15- or 30-second hops (respectively). Also known as "scrubbing," this is something I use often and definitely miss here.
The search feature has room for improvement as well; entering "Tom Cruise movies" produced nothing, but searching "Tom Cruise" yielded the expected results.
It's certainly not perfect, but I think DirecTV offers one the better overall user experiences, especially for those accustomed to a cable or satellite box.
Read our full DirecTV review.
Free trial: 7 days | Channels in base tier: 130+ | Streaming resolution: 720p | DVR: Unlimited | Regional sports networks: 30+
If sports is your thing, Fubo is almost certainly your best bet. The service carries not only most local and league channels, but also around three dozen regional sports networks. On top of that, it has the highest total number of channels in its base tier than any other streamer, giving it a slight edge over the similarly sports-rich DirecTV.
Take note, though, that while a smattering of that content (think: World Series baseball and Premier League soccer) streams in 4K, most live TV tops out at 720p. And you don't even get access to 4K unless you upgrade from the Pro plan ($85 per month) to Elite ($95). Those tiers also buy you even more channels, but if you want the likes of CNN, TBS and TNT (which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery), you'll have to subscribe elsewhere; they're not available in any Fubo plan.
(Worth noting as well: The Essential Plan is also $85, same as Pro, but doesn't include the regional sports networks. So why would anyone choose Essential? Because then Fubo doesn't have to charge you the added fees for those RSNs.)
The Fubo fast, attractive interface revolves around eight main categories easily accessible from a fly-out side menu. The channel guide makes it a breeze to filter the listings based on a particular genre — local, sports, movies, family, trending, etc. — but there are so many choices to scroll through (over two dozen, by my count), it's almost cumbersome. Plus, they're all in a seemingly random order, instead of alphabetical.
Another UI complaint: When you're watching live content and want to access the channel guide (or anything else), playback stops — with no immediate or obvious way to resume what you were just watching. There is a pop-up menu you can access without leaving your current program, but it lists only categorical "more live TV". It would be nice to have the option of a pop-up channel guide.
I also found Fubo's search feature to be a bit lacking, as it doesn't support parameters like actor or genre: You can search for Top Gun and see a result, but "Tom Cruise movies" will return nothing.
Those wrinkles aside, I found Fubo fairly intuitive overall and a very pleasant live-TV viewing experience.
However, the recent merger announcement between Fubo and Hulu + Live TV could mean changes coming to one or both services. For the moment, Fubo definitely has the sports edge.
Read our full Fubo TV review.
Free trial: None | Channels in base tiers: 34/44 | Streaming resolution: 720p | DVR: 50 hours (extra charge for unlimited) | Regional sports networks: None
Got $5? You can get a day's worth of Sling TV — which might be just what you need to watch, say, a particular sporting event or some other live broadcast. (I enjoy the Emmy Awards, for example — but don't want to subscribe for a whole month just for that.) This new option is unique to Sling, and it's ingenious enough to earn the service a spot on Yahoo's best-list.
Previously, we'd relegated it to the "Other services we tested" section, below. That's because, on the whole, Sling offers a comparatively modest channel selection without a significant savings to justify it. You have to choose between two confusing, partially overlapping, tiers (dubbed Orange and Blue), each priced at $46 monthly or $61 for both. At that point it's worth spending a little more to get something like Hulu + Live TV, which provides considerably more bang for the buck.
But Sling's new Passes are a game-changer. In addition to paying $4.99 for a 24-hour subscription (a day-pass, essentially), you can get a Friday-Sunday pass for $9.99 or a one-week pass for $14.99. Assuming Sling has the channel that carries the thing you want to watch, it's a no-brainer impulse-buy.
Alas, there's the rub: For now, Passes are limited to the Orange tier, which nets you the likes of ESPN, TBS and TNT but leaves out the various Fox Sports channels available in Blue. (Here's a thought, Sling: How about a $5 "game pass" that includes all your sports channels but dispenses with everything else?)
So Passes aren't perfect, but they're a huge step in the right direction for people seeking an inexpensive, a-la-carte way to watch live TV.
Read our full Sling TV review.
DirecTV MySports: This new service is basically a sports-oriented offshoot of DirecTV, with the same interface, video resolution, DVR features and so on. But with only 20-plus channels and a $70/month price tag (after a 5-day free trial), it's hard to recommend this over the likes of Fubo, Hulu and YouTube TV — services offering 4-5 times as many overall channels for not a lot more money.
Frndly TV: An undeniable bargain at just $7/month, Frndly offers over 50 channels, unlimited DVR and "72-hour lookback": access to any show or movie for up to 72 hours after it airs. However, save for a few cable staples like A&E, The Hallmark Channel and The History Channel, the selection is pretty anemic. Many of the channels have direct or adjacent equivalents on free services like Pluto TV. You can keep this one in your back pocket for the holidays if you want cheap access to all those Hallmark movies. But take note that Roku recently acquired Frndly TV, so changes may be afoot.
All these services can be streamed just about anywhere there's a screen: TV, tablet, phone, web browser, etc. While the bulk of our testing took place on TVs, we also looked at each service's mobile app; we can easily envision wanting to catch, say, a big game or other live event when you're not able to be home in the living room.
Our testbed TV, a Sansui S55VOUG, runs the Google TV operating system. There might be minor differences in user interface and/or features on platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. Thus, if something shown or described here doesn't exactly match what you're seeing, that's likely why.
Obviously we considered things like price and number of available channels, but for actual testing, we spent time evaluating each service's interface, channel guide, search capabilities, time-shifting (pausing and scanning live TV) and image quality. This last is often dictated by streaming resolution: 720p tends to look a little soft and grainy; 1080p is reasonably sharp; and, of course, 4K looks best (but has limited availability).
What's important when deciding where you put your streaming dollars? These are some of the key factors to consider:
Free trial: All the services here will let you kick the live-TV tires for a few days free of charge — usually seven, though Hulu + Live TV limits you to just three days, DirecTV to five. It's definitely worth taking advantage of these offers to be sure you're comfortable with the interface, features, etc. Try them all!
Channel lineup: Which ones are most important to you? For many viewers, local TV channels (CBS, ABC, etc.) rank highly; others want news or live sports or favorite cable stations. If you can't get everything you want from a single service, choose the one that gives you most of what you want.
Interface: Most of these services rely on a familiar design: a home screen populated by various categorical rows ("On now," "Recommended for you," etc.) and a side menu for access to things like search, DVR and channel guide. Some are definitely better than others, though, both in terms of appearance and navigation.
4K: You probably own a 4K TV; it stands to reason to choose a streaming service that can deliver 4K content. However, at this writing, not many channels actually broadcast in 4K, and not all services offer it from those that do. The bigger question might be 1080p versus 720p; the former is available (on select channels) only from Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.
DVR: If you like to record shows to watch later, look for a service with DVR included — ideally unlimited DVR, so you don't have to worry about running out of room. Most of the major ones offer this, and at no extra charge.
Sports: Modern sports streaming is a colossal mess. Different sports (football, baseball, hockey, etc.) air on different networks, and different live-TV services have different selections of them. Meanwhile, some games air only in some regions, and local games can be subject to market blackouts. To further complicate matters, there's FanDual Sports Network (formerly Bally Sports), a standalone streaming service offering live games from around 30 NBA, NHL, MLB, and WNBA teams. Sadly, there's no single one-service-for-all-sports solution right now; be prepared to do some research and planning in order to watch your favorite teams' games.
Yes, but... it gets a little confusing, especially with regard to what's available and where to find it. Remember that these services aim to be cable TV alternatives, so at any given time, there are movies showing on various channels. In some cases you'll see a selection of those you can join live or "in progress". And even if a movie is halfway through, you might be able to start it from the beginning. Meanwhile, many of these services have rotating selections of movies you can watch on-demand (with ads, but at no extra charge). To find them, try browsing the movies section or searching for a particular title.
Yes, because remember that they're giving you the same channels you get via cable TV, and those stations all have commercial breaks. In other words, this is still ad-supported television. Where it gets a little confusing is with Hulu + Live TV, because there's an ad-free tier available. However, that option eliminates the commercials from "regular Hulu" content, not from the live channels.
When watching recorded content, you should be able to fast-forward past commercials — though there may be exceptions here and there depending on licensing and other regulations.
At a basic level, yes: Each one provides a channel guide that should be fairly familiar to anyone who has used a cable or satellite service. But expect a learning curve, especially with regard to things like time-shifting (i.e. pausing or rewinding live TV), DVR features and overall navigation. For example, I often struggled to remember how to access the channel guide while already watching a show. With some services you press the up button on the remote; others use the down button. And what appears after that is sometimes just a channel subset, not the full guide. All this can get a little frustrating; I recommend taking notes as you learn your way around the interface.
To watch these services, you just need a smart TV, streaming device, phone or tablet — anything that has the necessary app(s). Indeed, DirecTV, YouTube TV and the like exist are exactly that: apps, just like on-demand services such as HBO Max, Hulu and Netflix.
Yeah, this is another area where things get mighty confusing. Peacock, for example, includes live NBC local programming, which is great if that's the slice of the live-TV pie you like. No need to subscribe to, say, YouTube TV to watch your local news station or, say, the Olympics, as Peacock will be streaming most of it. But that's just one network. Here's a rundown of what you can find elsewhere in terms of live, simulcast channels:
Peacock: Live NBC local programming
Paramount+: Live CBS local and Showtime programming
ESPN Unlimited: All live ESPN channels
HBO Max: Live HBO channels and some live TNT and TBS sporting events
Fox One: Live Fox local, Fox News and Fox Sports programming
Take note, however, that in some cases you may need to subscribe to a higher service tier to get those channels. And even if you subscribe to all four of those services, you'd get only a portion of the live programming of, say, Fubo — and potentially at a higher total price.
Check out Yahoo's latest streaming advice, based on hands-on testing.
Yahoo Streaming Guides: Best streaming services | Best live TV streaming services | Best streaming services for sports | Best streaming deals | Best free TV streaming services | Best VPN for Streaming
Yahoo Streaming Reviews: Amazon Prime Video review | Apple TV+ review | DirecTV Stream review | Disney Plus review | ESPN vs. ESPN+ review | Fubo TV review | Hulu review | Hulu + Live TV review | Max Streaming review | Netflix review | Paramount Plus review | Peacock Review | Philo Review | Sling TV review | YouTube TV review