PlayStation Vue vs Sling TV vs YouTube TV vs DIRECTV NOW vs FuboTV vs Philo vs Watch TV vs Hulu – Updated June 2019


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family with little girl sitting on couch watching tv

NOTE: To see a more recent update on this topic from September 2019, click HERE.

May 2019 was a busy month full of changes for several live TV streaming services. So today we take a look at Sling TV, Hulu’s live TVYouTube TV, Watch TV, FuboTV, PhiloDIRECTV NOW, and PlayStation Vue with the hopes that we will make picking the right live TV streaming service easier.

*Note this list is up to date (as best as we can make it) as of June 1st, 2019.

Are you on a mobile device? Struggling to see the chart? Here is a PDF you can download for easier viewing.

First what channels each service offers:

Channel Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
ABC* X X X X
CBS* X X X X X
FOX* X X X X X X
NBC* X X X X X X
CW* X X X X X
AccuWeather X
 AFRO  X
 AXS TV  X  X
A&E X X X X X
AMC X X X  X X X
American Heroes Channel X X X X
Animal Planet X X X  X X
Aspire X
Audience X X
Baby TV X X  X
BBC America X X X  X X X
BBC World News X  X  X X X X
BeIN Sports  X X
BeIN Sports en Espanol X
BET X X X X X
BET Her X X
Big Ten Network X X X  X X
Blaze TV X
Bloomberg Television X  X X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Boomerang X  X X  X X
Bravo X X X  X X X
Campus Insider X
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim X X X X  X X X
CBS Sports Net X  X  X X  X
CBSN X
Cheddar  X X X X X  X
Cheddar Big News X X X X X X
Cinemax X  X  X X
CMT X X X X
CNBC X X X X X X
CNBC World X X X X
CNN X X X X  X X X
CNN International X X
Comedy Central X X X X X
Comedy TV
Comet X X X X
Cooking Channel X X X X
Cowboy Channel X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Cozi TV X X X
Crime & Investigation
Destination America X X X X
Discovery X X X X X X
Discovery Family X X  X
Discovery Life X X  X
Disney Channel X X X X X
Disney Junior X X X X X
Disney XD X X X X X
DIY Network X  X X X
Duck TV X
E! X X X X X X
El Rey
Eleven Sports  X X
EPIX X X
EPIX Drive-In X X
EPIX Hits X X X
EPIX2 X X
ESPN X X X X X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
ESPN 2 X X X X X
ESPN Bases Loaded X  X
ESPN Deportes  X X  X
ESPN Goal Line X X
ESPN News X  X X X X
ESPN U X X X X X
Euronews X
Family Channel X
Fla Ma X
FM
Food Network X X X X X X X
Fox Business X X X X X
Fox College Sports X X
Fox Deportes X X
Fox News Channel X X X X  X
Fox Regional Sports Networks X X X X  X X
Fox Soccer Plus X X
France 24 X
Free Speech X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
FreeForm X  X X X  X
FS1 X X X X X X
FS2 X X X X X X
FuboTV Network X
Fuse X X
Fusion X  X
FX X X X X X X
FXM X X X X X
FXX X X X X X X
FYI X X X X X
Galavision X X
Golf Channel X  X X X  X X
Great America
GSN  X X X
Hallmark, Drama, &  Movies X  X X  X X X
HBO  X X X
HDNet Movies X
HGTV X X X X  X X X
History X X X X X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Hi-Yah! X
HLN X X X X  X X X
IFC X X X X X X
Investigation Discovery X X X X X X
Lifetime X X X X X
Lifetime Movies X X X X X
Local Now X X X
Logo X X X
Machinima X
MTV Classic X X
MLB Network X  X  X
MSG/MSG+ X X
MSNBC X X X X  X X
MTV X X X X X
MTV 2 X X X
MTV Live X X
Nat Geo X X X X X X
Nat Geo Wild X X X X  X X
NBA TV  X X  X X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
NBC Sports Network X X X X X X
NBC Sportsnet X  X  X X  X X
NDTV X
NESN  X X
News18 X
Newsmax X
Newsy X X  X
NFL Network X X  X
NHL Network X
Nick Jr. X X X X
Nickelodeon X X X X
Nicktoons X X X X
OAN / AWE
Olympic Channel  X  X X X X X
Outdoor Channel X X
Outside TV X X X
Ovation X
OWN X X X
Oxygen X X X X X X
Pac-12 X  X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Paramount X X X X
Poker X
Pop  X X  X  X  X
Pursuit Channel
Revolt X  X X X
RFDTV X
Ride TV X
RT Network X
Science Channel X X X X
SEC Network X X X X X
Showtime  X  X X  X X
Start TV X X
Smithsonian X X X X
SNY X X X X X
Sony Movie Channel X X
Sportsman X X
Sprout X X X  X X
Stadium X X X
Sundance TV X X  X X X X
SyFy X X X X  X X
Sling TV Hulu PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Tastemade X X X
TBS X X X X  X X X
TeenNick X X  X
Telemundo X
Tennis Channel X  X
TLC X X X X X X
TNT X X X X  X X X
Travel Channel X X X X X X
Tru TV X X X X  X X X
Turner Classic Movies X X X  X  X X X
TV Land X X X X X
Unimas X X
Universo X X
Univision X
Univision Deportes X
UP Family X X
USA X X X X  X X
Motortrend X X X X X X
VH1 X X X X X
Vibrant X
Viceland X X X X x
VME X
WE tv X X X X X x
Weather Channel X
WeatherNation  X
YES  X  X  X X  X X

Notes:

*Almost all of the services offer locals including ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC but they vary by where you live. Please check the website of services you want to try to see what locals are offered in your area.
*fuboTV, DIRECTV NOW, & Sling TV include several international packages.
*Hulu also includes access to Hulu’s on-demand service.
*Found an error? Please email us and we will fix it.

Note: DIRECTV has launch streaming versions of its satellite packages starting at $93 a month through the DIRECTV NOW app. For this guide, though we will focus on the DIRECTV NOW Plus and DIRECTV NOW Max, the two new DIRECTV NOW packages which have replaced older DIRECTV NOW packages. If you would like to learn more about the streaming version of DIRECTV’s satellite packages starting at $93 a month you can find more info here.

Next, you should look at which of these services works on the devices you own:

Streaming Player Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV Hulu FuboTV Philo Watch TV
Roku X X  X  X X X X
Fire TV X X X *  X X X X
Apple TV X X X  X X X X X
Chromecast X X X X X X
iOS X X X X X X X X
Android Phones/Tablet X X X X X X X X
Android TV X  X  X  X X
Xbox One X  X X
PlayStation 4 X

*DIRECTV Now offers a dedicated DIRECTV NOW box currently in beta powered by Android TV. For now, though no other Android TV device has an official DIRECTV NOW app.
*YouTube TV is coming to the Fire TV but as of today it is not live on the Fire TV.

DVR

DIRECTV NOW comes with 20 hours of DVR storage for free. Later this year DIRECTV NOW will add an option to buy 100 hours of storage.

Philo includes an unlimited 30-day DVR, plus on-demand programming.

PlayStation Vue offers a 28-day DVR and after 28 days the recording is removed.

Sling TV has a DVR and most of their channels have on-demand versions of the aired shows. Sling TV is offering 50 hours of DVR space with no time limit on how long you can keep a recording for $5 a month.

YouTube TV will keep shows for 9 months with no storage space limits.

FuboTV offers 30 hours of personal cloud DVR storage with no expiration and an Advanced DVR for $9.99/month, which includes 500 hours.

Hulu live TV starts with 50 hours of storage. If you want more storage or the ability to fast forward you can pay $14.99 a month to get that ability.

Watch TV has no DVR.

Number of Streams

Sling TV will allow you to stream one or three streams at once depending on what package you sign up for. You can also use your Sling TV login for some apps such as WatchESPN.

PlayStation Vue will work on five devices at once inside your house. Outside your house, you can use 1 streaming player and up to 4 mobile devices at once. (You can learn more about PS Vue out of home rules HERE.)

YouTube TV allows for 3 streams at once both inside and outside of your home.

fuboTV allows 2 streams at the same time or 3 streams with the Family Share option.

Philo allows 3 streams at once both inside and outside of your home.

Hulu live TV  starts with 2 streams but you can add more for $9.99 a month.

DIRECTV NOW offers two streams. (DIRECTV NOW also offers a $5 add-on for a 3rd stream.)

Watch TV is limited to just 1 stream.

So what service should you pick?

Hopefully, this guide has helped you find the right service. If you are still wondering which is the best for you and your family the best thing to do is to try the free trial for FuboTVSling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu, PhiloPlayStation Vue, Watch TV, and DIRECTV NOW offer. Our suggestion is to give them a try and see if you like them. Check each service’s site for current prices because they keep changing.

We updated the story on 2/1/2019 to add some missing channels.

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