Top Channels Roundup: YouTube TV vs. Hulu Live vs. DirecTV Stream and More – A handy guide to which live streaming service has the most popular channels.
Pricing and channel lineups for live TV streaming services continue to increase, closing the gap to what you’d pay for a cable package. For cord-cutters, live streaming apps not only offer a wider range of channels than antennas, but also make it easy to watch on desktops and mobile devices.
Six major streaming services are in the rotation: YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Philo. Our comprehensive live-TV streaming guide provides details about prices and features, but the channels they offer is what it’s all about. That’s why we’ve sifted through these services to compile a list of which ones offer the top lineups.
The main difference between the services is their channel selection. All of them offer different lineups of channels for various prices.
Below you’ll find a chart that shows the top 100 channels across all six services, but note that not each service has a worthy 100. There are actually seven 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, Discovery Life, GSN and Universal HD.
Plenty of live TV streaming choices are available to anyone who wants to cut the cable cord. Sling TV’s basic packages are $40 in most cities. But costs have increased everywhere. YouTube TV is now $73 per month. Fubo’s base bundle is $75, and DirecTV Stream increased its plan subscriptions as well. Those changes are reflected in the chart below where applicable. But prepare for Hulu with Live TV to raise its rates in October, to $77 a month with ads and $90 without ads.