7 Best Free Streaming Services for News

cord-cutting › best free streaming services for news • May 2, 2024 • The Staff

One of the best parts about cord-cutting, apart from the massive slash in costs, is that you can customize your plan and pare it down to your needs. If you're looking for the best streaming services for news, you can visit our list here. But if you want to know which of these services are absolutely free, then we've rounded up your choices below.

Pluto TV Live, which has CNN and Bloomberg, and Xumo TV, which has ABC News Live and NBC News Now, is a noteworthy alternatives for network news, while Local Now is your best bet when it comes to local reportage.

Read on to learn more about the best news streaming services you can watch for free.

Our recommended five best free streaming services for news:

Mozi

Mozi is a new entirely free streaming service that brands itself as the "home of free TV". It's understated and simple to use, with navigation between channels as easy as a scroll. Plus, it's well-rounded: from news programs like CBS News to kids programming with Nick Jr, documentaries with National Geographic, and the weather with Fox Weather.

The service, a curated collection of live streams from Youtube, is a great resource for those looking to watch TV for free, especially news. And unlike other free streamers like Pluto and Xumo, the emphasis here is on quality, not quantity: there are no made-up channels.

Go to Mozi

Price: free for 24 channels available

Device availability: Website

Channel lineup: ABC News, Aljazeera, Arirang TV, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNBC Marathon, Disney Jr, Disney XD, DW, ESA, Euronews, Fox Weather, France 24, NASA, National Geographic, NBC News, NHK World Japan, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, PBS Newshour, QVC, Sky News, Today, Wion

The Roku Channel

The Roku Channel can't replace Netflix or a cord-cutting service like Sling, but it's a nice added bonus if you already have a Roku device. The selection of live channels is limited, but there's something for everyone, including news, sports, and entertainment.

Go to The Roku Channel

Price: free for 1 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV, Website

Channel lineup: ABC News Live, Architectural Digest, Bein Sports XTRA, Bloomberg Quicktake, Bon Appétit, Cheddar News, Euronews, Fox Live Now, Fox Weather, Funny or Die, Just for Laughs Gags, NBC News Now, Newsy Live, Polly Pocket, Reuters, The Comedy Shop, The Comedy Store, WeatherNation, Wild West TV

Pluto TV Live

Pluto TV is a modern take on traditional cable: it has hundreds of channels streaming live, a huge library of on demand content, and it’s supported by ads. But the key difference from the competition? It’s totally free.

Go to Pluto TV Live

Price: $free/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Roku, Virgin Media, Vizio SmartCast, webOS, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Channel lineup: BBC Food, BBC Home, Bein Sports XTRA, Bloomberg Television, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, Check with Pluto TV for the full channel lineup, Cheddar News, CNN, ET Live, Food TV, Fox Sports, Hallmark En Espanol, Hip Hop Family, Hip Hop Family VH1, Love & Hip-Hop VH1, Major League Soccer, MLB, MotorTrend FAST TV, NBC News Now, Newsmax, NFL Channel, NFL Super Bowl Classics, Nosey, People TV, PGA Tour, Pluto Channels, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Sky News, Smithsonian Channel, Stories AMC, TBN, Today, TV Land Drama, WeatherNation, WPT

NewsOn

NewsOn is a free streaming service that lets you access live TV newscasts from over 200 local stations around the United States. According to the platform, it has partnered with ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX and their respective local affiliates to cover up to 91% of the country (a full list of their local channels can be seen here).

You can also watch previous news, sports, and weather reports on NewsOn from up to 48 hours ago and select your favorite stations so that they appear first on the homepage. No registration is required, and it allows you to watch local channels wherever in the country you may be.

Go to NewsOn

Price: free for 3 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Website

Channel lineup: CBS local channels, Local news channels, NBC local channels

Local Now

Local Now is a free streaming service from The Weather Channel that offers up localized content geared to where you're using it from. That means you can get local news, weather updates, and even restaurant reviews that are specific to where you, the user, are from. Aside from the convenience of getting local coverage, Local Now also provides thousands of movies and live TV channels to choose from, perfect for when you're relaxing or on the go.

Go to Local Now

Price: free for 1 channels available

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Fubo TV, iOS, Roku, Sling TV

Channel lineup: Local news channels

KlowdTV

Similar to Xumo or Pluto TV, KlowdTV is a streaming service that offers users a free way to watch Live TV. And as with both, the selection is limited to news channels like France24 and right-wing channels.

Go to KlowdTV

Price: free for channels available

Device availability: Roku, Website

Haystack TV

Haystack TV is an independently-run streaming service that delivers live and on-demand news, 24/7. It's ad-supported so it's somewhat free, but if you want to get rid of the commercials and dive straight into the latest news, you can subscribe to Haystack Premium for $4.99/month or try it for free for 30 days.

The convenient thing about Haystack is that it allows you to navigate not just by channels but by topics as well. It also picks up news from more than a hundred TV stations around the US (check if they cover your area here) which saves you the trouble of switching services when looking for local news.

Go to Haystack TV

Price: free for 12 channels available

Free Trial: 30 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku, Roku TV, Website

Channel lineup: ABC News, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Quicktake, CBS News, Cheddar, Deutsche Welle, Euronews, Local news channels, Newsmax, Newsy, Yahoo! Finance

Mozi 24 channels included	free	Watch

The Roku Channel 1 channel included	free	Watch

Pluto TV Live 33 channels included	free	Watch

Local Now 1 channel included	free	Watch

Haystack TV 12 channels included	free	Watch