Watching live TV on the Roku platform

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Watching live TV on the Roku platform Posted: 12 Aug 2019 08:27 AM PDT We chat with different types of Roku customers every day – some cord cutters who strictly stream, others who have cable, and many cord shavers who fall somewhere in between. To share his perspective and expertise on cord cutting, we've invited Chris Brantner for a guest blog post series.  Sure, the on-demand streaming revolution is amazing. It's awesome to want to watch something and be able to find it and watch it immediately. Still, there is something magical about live TV. Watching something as soon as it's revealed can be great fun. Channel surfing is a great perk of cable or satellite, which involves being able to watch different live shows as well as finding new things to watch. Not to mention, who wants to watch sports or the news on demand? So, even though on-demand streaming is awesome, there is still a case to be made for live TV. It's just not going out of style. That's one of the best things about Roku streaming devices. While you can watch live TV with an antenna or on cable/satellite, there is also plenty of live TV available on various Roku streaming channels. And it's not just for cord cutters. If you're a cable subscriber, you can access a wide variety of cable content on your Roku streaming device. If you're looking for live TV, here are some of your best options when you're using a Roku streaming device. Live TV (channel bundles) Sling TV – Sling TV was made for cord cutters. If you don't have a pay TV subscription, Sling TV gives you access to a variety of live cable channels (anywhere from 25 channels to over 100). Depending on the Sling TV package you choose, it may be more affordable than a traditional pay TV subscription. You get channels like AMC, TBS, and TNT, starting at $25 per month. DIRECTV NOW – AT&T's video streaming service, DIRECTV NOW, which offers live sports, on demand, premium channels, popular shows, and hit movies – is now available on select devices. See here for the complete list of supported Roku players and TVs. PlayStation Vue – Vue is similar to Sling TV, though you pay a little more, while receiving more channels. Fans of channel surfing will like Vue. You get channels like Syfy, Bravo, FX and Food Network. The benefit here is that there is really something for everyone and a unique cloud DVR.   Hulu with Live TV – Subscribers to this plan can enjoy live and on-demand programming from more than 50 popular sports, news, entertainment, kids channels as well as local broadcast channels in many cities — plus Hulu's entire premium streaming library with limited commercials — all starting at $44.99 per month. YouTube TV – Watch and record live & local sports, news, and must-see shows from 60+ networks. Additional sports and premium networks are also available for an additional monthly charge. Philo – Channel surfers love this subscription service that delivers 40+ channels of live and on-demand entertainment (no sports), starting at just $20 a month. fuboTV – fuboTV is the perfect mix of sports and entertainment – live or on-demand. Packages start at $54.99/month and give you the option to stream 100+ channels. For a deeper dive on these live TV bundles, check out our cable alternatives guide. News (Free) The Roku Channel – The Roku Channel has live news offerings from ABC News, Newsy, PeopleTV, Cheddar, Newsmax, and Yahoo. Additionally, it features hundreds of movies and TV episodes and live and linear sports and entertainment from TMZ, FailArmy, AFV, and more. NewsOn – If you're looking for live news, NewsOn offers live, local news from over 150 local news stations. It's absolutely free and you can watch it live whenever you want. Haystack TV – 200+ trusted channels local and world news channels including a personalized view of your weather and trending topics you may be interested in – for free! Sports ESPN – In order to watch the ESPN channel you need login information from a participating cable, satellite, or live TV service provider. If you're looking for a way to watch sports in real time, this is a great way to do it. With ESPN you'll be able to watch whatever live sport happens to be on at the time on channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN+ (with an additional subscription) SEC Network, and many others. Although it's worth noting that which channels ESPN gives you access to depends on what's included in your pay TV subscription. FOX Sports – This channel also requires a pay TV subscription to give you access to live content. Once you've logged in you'll be able to watch a variety of sports based on your local area. FOX Sports offers everything from NCAA and NFL to MLB and NASCAR. NBC Sports – Stream your local teams’ games (availability may vary), as well as nationally televised NFL games and entertainment from NBCSN and more with a participating pay TV provider login. WWE Network – Wrestling fans can't get enough of the WWE Network channel. You just login with your subscriber info ($9.99 per month) and you'll be able to watch every WWE pay-per-view event live. You even can watch WrestleMania! The channel also includes documentaries and reality shows all related to WWE. NFL Sunday Ticket – With NFL Sunday Ticket you need a DirecTV login in order to watch live games. You will be able to live stream any out-of-market NFL games all Sunday long! You also have access to DIRECTV FANTASY ZONE which gives you game analysis, real-time stats and much more. However, it's only available to college students and those living in areas where you can't get DirecTV satellite service (check eligibility here). Live TV/Movies Pluto TV (free) – Pluto TV is a channel like no other, broadcasting over 100 linear streaming channels in a TV guide-like interface. From live news to movies to YouTube videos, there really is something for everyone here. STIRR (free) – Watch live feeds of channels like Comet TV, Buzzr, Dust, Dove Channel, and more along with your live local news. XUMO (Free) – Similar to Pluto TV, Xumo offers live linear TV in a TV guide format. Stream over 160 channels full of movies, news, comedy, cooking, and a ton of sports channels. All free of charge! Crackle (free) – Crackle offers a live stream of movies in a linear fashion, which makes it feel more like a television station as opposed to a standard streaming channel. Crackle offers a mix of TV, originals, and movies. Best of all, they are completely free. As you can see, there are a ton of live TV channels available on your Roku streaming device. I would like to make note that streaming live TV is a bit more taxing on your internet setup than streaming on demand content. So make sure you have a good Wi-Fi setup, and a fast internet connection for streaming. Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Subscribe to Roku blog The post Watching live TV on the Roku platform appeared first on The Official Roku Blog.

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