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.
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.
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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