The 5 Best TV Apps for Streaming Your Shows and Sports Live So You Never Miss Out
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Don't be tied to cable any longer. These five TV apps let you stream all your favorite shows and sports anywhere and anytime as long as you have a speedy internet connection.
DIRECTV NOW TV App
from $35 / month BUY NOW
DIRECTV NOW offers four pricing tiers: $35 (60+ channels), $50 (80+ channels), $60 (100+ channels), and $70 (120+ channels). HBO, Cinemax, or Starz can be added to any package for just $5 extra per month. For the sake of comparison, HBO is a $15 up-charge on Sling TV.
DIRECTV NOW also includes on-demand access to 10,000+ titles, including both movies and television shows. The service is compatible with most streaming devices, but not Chromecast and the Xbox One.
Hulu With Live TV App
from $39 / month Shop Now
Hulu is a newcomer in the live TV streaming space. The service offers more than 50 broadcast and cable channels, but missing from the lineup are HBO, AMC Networks, Viacom, Starz, and Discovery Communications' channels.
Hulu has said it has no plans to add Viacom channels, which include Comedy Central, Nick, and MTV. However, it does allow you to add Showtime for $8.99 extra each month.
Currently, you can stream live television on Android, iOS, Xbox One, Apple TV, or your Chromecast. Hulu will add future support to more devices, but for now it doesn't support Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Smart TVs, or even your computer's internet browser.
YouTube TV App
$35 / month BUY NOW
YouTube TV includes access to 47 different channels at an affordable $35 each month. Live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, and sports channels like ESPN, ESPN 2, and Fox Sports are included. Fox News, FX, and CNBC are also included. What's missing? Viacom's channels are notably absent, as is CNN.
YouTube TV allows six separate accounts for each subscription, and each user also has unlimited DVR recordings.
You can add Showtime for an additional $11 each month. Currently, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area are the only cities that support YouTube TV. The app only works on smartphones, tablets, computers, Chromecast, and Airplay.
Sling TV App
from $20 / month Shop Now
Sling is the cheapest TV app. Its "Orange" package is only $20 per month for 28 channels. You get sports channels like ESPN, news networks like CNN, and cable networks like AMC, Comedy Central, A&E, Food Network, IFC, and Travel, among others.
Its midtier "Blue" package at $25 per month has 43 channels. Oddly enough, the Blue package doesn't include all Orange channels. Fortunately, you can subscribe to both packages if you'd like, but it'd be as pricey as a cable subscription.
Blue has a wider selection of cable networks, including, Syfy, FX, TruTV, NFL Network, and Fox Sports, in addition to broadcast networks like NBC and Fox.
What we like most about Sling is its flexibility and package selection. Not only does it offer support for the widest selection of streaming boxes and devices, you are also able to add different "extras" or channel add-on bundles to your package. For instance, there's a "sports extra" (with NHL Network, NBA TV, and ESPNU), a "comedy extra" (with Spike, MTV, and TV Land), and a "news extra" add-on for news buffs. Add-ons run just $5 extra each month. Premium ones like Showtime, HBO, Cinemax, and Starz will cost you $5-15 extra per month, though.
PlayStation Vue TV App
from $30 / month BUY NOW
PlayStation Vue has four separate pricing tiers that vary as far as which channels are included.
Its "Access Slim" plan costs $29.99 each month for 45 channels. Sports lovers will rejoice, as it includes sports networks like ESPN, ESPN 2, NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports 1, and Fox Sports 2, plus broadcast networks like CBS.
Sony charges $34.99 per month for its "Core Slim" plan, which includes more regional sports networks, ESPNEWS, ESPN U, the NFL Network, plus a larger cable network offering. In total, you'll get around 60 channels.
The "Elite Slim" plan is $44.99 per month for 90 HD channels. These include Access & Core Slim channels, in addition to even more sports, movie, and entertainment networks.
Lastly, the $64.99 per month "Ultra Slim" plan includes all of the above and access to HBO and Showtime. You can add standalone premium networks like HBO, Cinemax, Starz and Showtime to the other plans for an extra $15-20 each month.
Vue is supported on all major streaming devices, with the exception of the Xbox One. This should come as no surprise because Microsoft and its Xbox One console are one of Sony's main competitors.
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