Live TV streaming is a great way to stay updated with the latest news, sports, and entertainment. However, many streaming services offer live channels for different viewers. For instance, some are great for general audiences, while others provide specific sports, lifestyle, or entertainment content streams.
Thankfully, all the recommendations in this guide are available across many platforms, such as web browsers, mobile devices, media streaming devices, and gaming consoles. So regardless of the service you select or subscribe to, you may save significantly more than when using cable TV.
This article covers 21 of the finest live TV streaming platforms, ranging from free to paid.
Top websites for online TV streams – Quick list
Are you short on time to go through the entire article? Check out this summary of the 10 best live TV streaming websites before we start looking over all the 21 sites later in this article.
- Stream2Watch – Has live TV channels in several Americas states and European countries. Allows you to switch to sports channels.
- YouTube TV – Offers over-the-top (OTT) content and hosts TV channels like Fox, CBS, ABC, ESPN, CBS, etc.
- Sling TV – Gives you value for money with decent-priced packages and many live channels and on-demand content.
- DAZN – It is available in many countries and provides on-demand content and live TV channels, especially for notable sporting events like UEFA, English Premier League, etc.
- Hulu – Has live TV, exclusive content, and popular titles from other networks as well.
- Pluto TV – Licensed to offer content, so there isn’t a risk of streaming its content.
- Now TV – Hosts live TV channels, movies, and programs belonging to the Sky Network. It also offers live sporting events.
- Disney+Hotstar – The best streaming platform for Indian content from dramas, soap operas, tv shows, movies, and more.
- 123TV Now – Dependable online TV streaming portal as it doesn’t display ads, and you don’t even need to create an account.
- Xumo TV – Offers live TV plus thousands of on-demand titles ranging from documentaries, movies, TV shows, etc.
Best sites for live TV streaming online – Detailed list
Like torrent websites and free movie sites, live TV streaming platforms (especially free ones) tend to get shut down and become offline continuously.
But we ensure all websites listed below are working and available for use (with constant content updates). So here are the top websites for online live TV streams, free and paid options.
1. Stream2Watch
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://reddit.istream2watch.com/
Stream2Watch is a popular live TV streaming site that hosts high-quality links from different sources. It has live TV channels from Canada, the US, Russia, Spain, Italy, the UK, Spain, and other European countries. The website is also among the best sports streaming sites as it allows you to switch to sports streaming channels at will.
However, some of the links may not work consistently as they are from unreliable sources. Also, you may be bombarded with advertisements, but it is a pain worth bearing, given the multitude of free channels you can access. Not to forget, many good ad blockers exist today that you can use to get rid of nasty ads.
2. YouTube TV
- Price: Paid, you can try it for free
- Website URL: https://tv.youtube.com/welcome/
YouTube TV is a subscription-based streaming service that offers over-the-top (OTT) content. It hosts popular channels like CBS, ABC, Fox, The CW, NBC, ESPN, Golf Channel, NESN, FXX, and more, which you can stream directly on your PC or phone. Unfortunately, the site is only accessible in the US, but you can bypass YouTube TV geo-restrictions with a VPN.
While the service offers a free trial, it costs $54.99 for your first 3 months and $64.99 per month thereafter.
3. Sling TV
- Price: Paid
- Website URL: https://www.sling.com/
Sling TV supports many channels and offers a lot of customization. The price is also favourable considering the value you will get. For example, the Orange package is available at $15 per month and offers 31 channels with a good mixture of news, sports, and entertainment channels. On the other hand, the Blue package is $15 per month and has 45 channels. Also, you can combine both packages for $25.
The Sling TV platform is region-locked for US users only, so you cannot access the content if you travel abroad for work or a holiday outside the US. Nevertheless, you can easily bypass these restrictions through a VPN and access Sling TV from anywhere.
4. DAZN
- Price: Freemium
- Website URL: https://www.dazn.com/
This is a popular subscription-based streaming service that offers live and on-demand content. It is available in Germany, Austria, Japan, Switzerland, the US, Italy, Brazil, Spain, and Canada. In addition, DAZN has digital rights to broadcast major sports events in Japan, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada. Also, you can enjoy FIFA World Cup, UEFA, LA Liga, Premier League, etc.
The service provides a 1-month free trial and allows you to cancel anytime. In addition, it is compatible with multiple devices, including smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, gaming consoles, etc.
5. Hulu
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://www.hulu.com/
Hulu is a famous streaming service with a hybrid of live TV and on-demand content. However, the presentation and content of the app will depend on the cost. For example, cheaper packages have ads, while premium ones are ad-free. Nonetheless, most of the content is in high definition.
At the moment, Hulu is only available in the United States. You can access all of Hulu’s amazing content outside the USA by connecting to a US VPN server.
6. Pluto TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://static-homepage-en.pluto.tv/welcome
Pluto TV offers more than 100 live TV channels and numerous TV shows and movies. However, the site makes money with advertisements, so you will be bombarded with ads, which is frustrating when watching content online. Fortunately, providers directly license the site, so you will not get into problems streaming its content.
Like some other sites on this list, the service is geo-restricted. Due to copyright rules, it serves US users the best. Apart from the USA, Pluto TV is available in Australia, the UK, Canada, and Europe. There is, however, a limitation on what you can access in these countries unless you connect with a US address.
7. Now TV
- Price: Paid
- Website URL: https://www.nowtv.com/
Now TV is a subscription-based streaming service available in Ireland, the UK, and Italy. It hosts all the TV channels, movies, live sports, and programs owned by Sky Network and also titles from other networks. You can stream your favorite content on any device you want, including smart TVs and gaming consoles. Luckily, the service comes with a 14-day free trial.
8. Disney+Hotstar
- Price: $9.99 per month
- Website URL: https://www.hotstar.com/
This is one of the best streaming services for Indian content, with a massive library of Soap Operas, dramas, TV shows, movies, sports, etc. Since it also offers international content, the site is available in Canada and the US.
Hotstar was previously accessible worldwide, even though it was only available in India officially. However, the company has become stricter and no longer provides services outside of India, Canada, and the United States. Luckily, a VPN can solve this problem easily. Connecting to an Indian VPN server will make Hotstar believe you’re actually in India and won’t block you. In this way, you can access Hotstar from anywhere in the world.
9. 123TV Now
- Price: Free
- Website URL: http://123tv.live/
This site is famous because it doesn’t require registration, no intrusive ads, and annoying pop-ups. You only need to select the channel you want to watch and click the play button. It has a sleek video player that looks like YouTube to play your chosen channel. The site also has a roaster of running and upcoming content. It hosts channels mainly from the UK and the US with content ranging from sports, kids, entertainment, movies, TV shows, etc.
10. Xumo TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://www.xumo.tv/
Xumo is a comprehensive media streaming service with hundreds of live channels that supports ads. Also, it has thousands of free movies, documentaries, TV series, and more. The service is available on most platforms, including Amazon Fire Stick.
Notably, you need a VPN to watch Xumo TV outside the US since it’s geo-blocked to US viewers only.
11. OK Live TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: http://oklivetv.com/
OK Live TV is a streaming service that contains multiple live-streaming links. Thankfully, it is a free site, so you won’t have to pay any subscription to get started. Just click on the channel you want to watch and do. Also, the video player has a user-friendly interface with minimal lags.
12. TVPlayer
- Price: Paid, offers 7-day free trial
- Website URL: https://tvplayer.com/
TV Player gives you access to several live TV channels via your web browser or mobile app. The free version allows you to watch 60+ channels, while the premium option supports more channels. Unfortunately, the site is currently only available in the UK, but the team is working on expanding to other regions like Canada, the US, and other European countries. Nonetheless, you can evade geographic restrictions with a reliable VPN like ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
Pro tip:
The website is in French originally. If you want to see in English, use Google Chrome and the browser will automatically ask you to translate as soon as you land on the site.
13. USTVGO
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://ustvgo.tv/
USTVGO offers live TV programming exclusively from the US. The site has a clean interface with fewer or no ads, which is excellent for streaming. It hosts many premium live TV channels like Cartoon Network, Fox Sports, ESPN, Discovery, History, ABC, Showtime, NBC, Science, Disney, CMT, WWE Network, HBO, Fox, etc. Fortunately, the video player loads quickly with zero buffering if you have fast internet.
14. UStream
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://www.ustream.to/index.html
UStream is a great free live TV streaming with over 200 premium channels for movies, sports, entertainment, and more. Unfortunately, while the site has decent channels with quality streams, it displays pop-ups and ads, which is annoying.
15. DirecTV Now
- Price:
- Website URL: https://www.directv.com/
DirectTV is owned by AT&T and offers over 150 live TV channels. What’s more, it has a mammoth collection of on-demand content with a powerful blend of music, entertainment, news, and sports. However, it isn’t cheap as the monthly package is around $69.99, but it also includes over 40,000 on-demand titles.
16. Yupp TV
- Price: Freemium
- Website URL: https://www.yupptv.com/
Yupp TV is a great streaming source for Indian content, from live TV, movies and TV shows. The service is available in many countries, including the USA, Australia, Malaysia, the UK, Canada, the Middle East, and Singapore. Some popular channels it hosts include Star Plus, Colors, Set Max, Zee Cinema, Colors TV, etc.
17. Squid TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://www.squidtv.net/
Squid TV makes it easy to watch live TV online. It collects streams worldwide and classifies them according to genre, country, and language. Most streams are available everywhere, but you may need a VPN to bypass the geo-blocks of some streams. Thankfully, the site makes finding the content you want to watch easy with a simple-to-use search bar.
18. Time4TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: http://time4tv.stream/
Time4TV is an online streaming platform that allows you to watch TV channels from around the globe. It has over 60+ sports channels, including Sky Network, Sony Network, BT Sports, Star Network, MLB Network, NBA TV, WWE Network, and more. However, you must bear with the aggressive, intrusive ads and pop-ups.
19. MX Player
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://www.mxplayer.in/browse/live-tv
MX Player is a popular Android media player app with movies, TV series, MX exclusives, and Live TV, but it supports advertisements. Thankfully, the user interface is clean and allows free access to the content.
20. FreeTV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://freeetv.com/
Free TV is an online streaming platform that combines free Live TV channels worldwide under one roof. It hosts free live-streaming channels on YouTube and other third-party sources with a wide range of genres from music, movies, kids, sports, entertainment, and more. However, you won’t get any premium channels.
21. Airy TV
- Price: Free
- Website URL: https://airy.tv/
Airy TV has various live channels in multiple categories like TV shows, classic kids, Comedy, reality, thriller, music, documentaries, sports, and more. It is a great way to keep in touch with current news and sporting events.
Risks of sites offering free live TV
There has been a spirited effort to crack down on sites offering free content without copyright holders licensing. In fact, downloading or streaming such content is deemed illegal in most countries, and you may face the wrath of the judicial system. The litigations vary in different countries, but authorities usually go for the developers of the illegal sites and not consumers.
Another major issue with free live TV streaming services is security. Most of them are potentially harmful and malicious as they may try to inject malware into your device. Others may even compromise your privacy by collecting sensitive data from your device. That is why a virtual private network (VPN) may be necessary (more on this later).
Can I save the streaming videos for offline viewing?
Nowadays, many streaming services offer offline viewing options. For example, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube allow customers to download videos and movies to view offline when they don’t have access to an internet connection.
But all those are paid services, and free live TV streaming websites rarely offer such an option. In such cases, you can use video processing software to save videos for offline viewing.
One fine example is VideoProc Converter, which lets you record or download streaming videos for offline viewing. Make sure you respect fair use all the time, though.
What is a VideoProc Converter?
VideoProc Converter is a video toolkit with a downloader, converter, recorder, compressor, and editor. It will help you to save live streaming video effortlessly to watch offline, even in 1080p quality. The best part is that you can also download audio, subtitles, playlists, M3U8, and channels.
Here is how to save a live video for offline viewing
- Go to the VideoProc Converter website https://www.videoproc.com/
- Download and configure the software on your device
- Copy the link of the streaming video you want to download
- It will start to download immediately
What to do if the live TV streaming site stops working?
You can use a VPN to load the content if the free TV streaming online site is restricted or stops working. It will bypass any present network limitations or geo-restriction from allowing you to access the site from anywhere.
What is a VPN?
A VPN is an essential tool that safeguards your data with advanced encryption and reroutes your traffic through secure servers. As a result, third parties such as your internet service provider (ISP) and hackers cannot intercept your connections or see your online activities. Also, it will help you to access geo-restricted content in whichever country you like.
Our recommended VPNs for free TV streaming online
As you can see above, there are many advantages of adopting a VPN when using free live TV streaming sites. However, picking the right streaming VPN is challenging due to the sheer number of providers in the market. Therefore, we have gathered the best three VPN services to watch free live TV online.
1. ExpressVPN
The most reliable VPN service for accessing live TV streaming services worldwide.
Network of more than 3,000 VPN servers scattered across 94 countries
Utilizes TrustedServer technology
Secures internet traffic with AES-256 bit encryption
No data retention
A split tunneling functionality that works
Boasts network Lock (kill switch) feature
Supports Tor on all servers
Provides P2P (torrent) support on most of the servers
Each account allows five simultaneous connections
There is a 30-day pay-back guarantee
Pros
- Easy-to-use apps
- Reliable customer support
- Consistently fast-speeds
Cons
- Pricier than competitors
ExpressVPN is our top recommended VPN to access free TV streaming websites live from any region worldwide. First, it has a massive network of over 3,000 blazing-fast servers across 94 countries. Connecting to any server will give you an IP address of the country where the server is based. Also, the VPN is compatible with all the major operating systems and allows you to connect up to five simultaneous connections.
As mentioned earlier, accessing free streaming sites is risky. Fortunately, ExpressVPN has top-notch privacy and security features, including perfect forward secrecy, AES 256-bit encryption, DNS leak protection, a kill switch, and TrustedServer technology. This will prevent third parties from intercepting or accessing your traffic or data.
2. NordVPN
Top-notch VPN provider if you are willing to unblock and use any live TV site safely anywhere in the world.
More than 5,500 secure VPN servers across 59 countries
Threat Protection (web tracking, malware, and ad blocker)
Government-grade standard AES-256-bit encryption
Kill switch with high effectiveness
Boasts split tunneling feature
Multi-hop VPN for double encryption
Numerous servers support P2P traffic
Provides Onion over VPN functionality
Obfuscates VPN servers
Observes strict no-logs rules
Single subscription allows connecting up to six devices at once
Comes with a refund guarantee of 30 days
Pros
- Fasts-speed servers
- Unblocks free and paid live TV platforms
- Employs adequate security features
Cons
- Hasn’t labelled the servers correctly
NordVPN is another trustworthy VPN to watch free live TV online. It has intuitive apps for almost all devices, so even beginners will enjoy getting started. Also, it supports up to six simultaneous devices, regardless of the subscription package you choose.
The VPN has an infrastructure of more than 5,643 fast-speed servers in 59 countries. This will help you access blocked content in other regions. An extensive server network is advantageous because you can switch to another server if your free live TV site stops working.
NordVPN uses multiple advanced features to keep you safe. They include military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, DNS leak protection, kill switch, split tunneling, double VPN (multihop servers), cybersec ad blocker, and perfect forward secrecy.
3. Private Internet Access (PIA)
An affordable VPN with an extensive server network that has dependable unblocking capabilities.
A global VPN network with more than 28,000 servers
Most servers support P2P (torrenting) traffic
Encryption with AES 128-bits and 256-bits
Its MACE offers protection against malware and adware
Enforces a policy of no logs
Effective split tunneling
A kill switch with impressive functionality
Prevents internet traffic data leaks
Each account allows 10 simultaneous connections
Refund policy of 30 days
Pros
- Affordable subscription packages
- Top-notch security and privacy
- Reliable live chat
Cons
- Connection issues on some servers
Our last recommended premium VPN to access free live TV online. It has the most impressive network of more than 28,000 servers in 84 countries, spoiling you for choices. In addition, most of the servers are pretty fast, enabling you to stream high-quality content.
The VPN works well with major platforms like Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, Firefox, and iOS. All the apps are effortless to configure and use. In addition, you will get value for money as the VPN allows you to have ten simultaneous connections.
PIA does not disappoint in terms of security. Depending on your connection, it lets you choose between AES 128 or 256-bit encryption. Additional features include a kill switch, DNS leak protection, perfect forward secrecy, MACE ad blocker, and split tunnelling.
Conclusion
Streaming live TV is a convenient way to consume online content. However, some of the top websites for online live TV streams are unavailable everywhere. Also, hackers and other malicious actors exploit free streaming sources to steal users’ data or install malware. So, you should always use a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions, protect your data and safeguard your device.
FAQs
It is difficult to determine the legitimacy of live TV streaming sites. However, the general thumb rule is that sites that offer free content are probably broadcasting copyrighted content, which is illegal in most countries.
Yes, we recommend a VPN when using these live TV streaming sites. A reliable VPN service like ExpressVPN will mask your streaming activities and protect you from your ISP, hackers, or website operators.
You face legal consequences if caught using live TV streaming sites to watch copyrighted content. The repercussions differ from country to country. However, authorities usually target the streaming site developers and not the consumers.
Live TV streaming is where a program gets broadcasted almost instantaneously, like on cable or satellite TV. On the other hand, with on-demand streaming, you choose the content you want to watch. For example, you can open Netflix and stream your favorite TV show or movie.
Yes, you can. Some live TV streaming websites don’t require registering an account to start. They include 123TV, USTVGO, Xumo TV, Pluto TV, Airy TV, Stream2Watch, DistroTV, Squid TV, and Ustream.
