Best free option
Fubo
Fubo hands you a full week of MTV free, the longest no-cost run of any service that carries it.
Start free trial →
You don't need a cable bill to keep watching MTV. Here's every way to stream it online, and how to do it for free.
Reviewed and updated October 2026 by our cord-cutting team · 7 options
You can stream MTV live without cable on Fubo, DIRECTV, Philo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV + Entertainment Extra, YouTube TV, Spectrum TV Stream, Youtube TV Entertainment Plan , YouTube TV Sports + News + Entertainment Plan, or Youtube TV News + Entertainment + Family Plan .
The fastest ways to watch MTV without cable, at a glance
Fubo hands you a full week of MTV free, the longest no-cost run of any service that carries it.
Start free trial →
Philo is the cheapest live MTV, and it comes with Comedy Central and CMT, the rest of the Paramount block MTV sits in.
Get Philo →
YouTube TV carries MTV inside the widest lineup here, which is only worth it if the VMAs and the locals are part of the same habit.
Get YouTube TV →
DIRECTV carries MTV live.
Start free trial →
Hulu + Live TV carries MTV live.
Start free trial →
Sling TV gets you MTV through its Entertainment Extra pack.
Get Sling TV →
Spectrum TV Stream carries MTV live.
Get Spectrum TV Stream →| Service | From | Free trial |
|---|---|---|
 Fubo |
$79.99/mo | 7 days |
 Philo |
$25/mo | 7 days |
 DIRECTV |
$89.99/mo | 5 days |
 Hulu + Live TV |
$89.99/mo | 3 days |
 YouTube TV |
$82.99/mo | 7 days |
 Sling TV + Entertainment Extra |
$51.99/mo incl. $6 pack |
None |
 Spectrum TV Stream |
$45/mo | None |
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Fubo is known as a sports-forward live TV streaming service, but it also airs a good number of entertainment channels, including MTV. Unfortunately, it had to let go of Discovery and A&E channels because of a carriage dispute, but it’s still home to plenty of specialty sports channels like Willow TV and Golf Channel. You can also add Paramount+ as an add-on if you want to watch even more MTV shows.
Fubo plans
Philo is currently the most affordable way to watch MTV and plenty of other entertainment channels. The live TV plan only costs $28/month, and it already comes equipped with cloud DVR, on-the-go viewing, and simultaneous streams. It’s able to offer all these and more because it doesn’t come with local channels or live sporting events, so if those are dealbreakers for you, you can either pair Philo with an antenna or consider more comprehensive live TV services, like Sling or DirecTV Stream.
Philo plans
DirecTV Stream is expensive, but with that price tag comes everything good about cable, minus the hassle. It has a consistently crisp streaming quality, unlimited DVR, on-the-go viewing, and more than a hundred live channels, including MTV, local news, and more regional sports networks than any other service. Unlike DirecTV cable, DirecTV Stream is contract-free, which means you can cancel it anytime you wish. Just be ready for a potential price hike, considering DirecTV Stream has gone through a couple in the past few years alone.
DIRECTV plans
Hulu with Live TV combines 90 live channels with countless on-demand titles, as provided by Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. Hulu’s Live TV plan is already packed with content, but if you want more, it gives you the option to add Paramount+ with Showtime, which is where you’ll find MTV classic hits and present shows.
Hulu + Live TV plans
Our breakdown of Hulu + Live TV →
YouTube TV is a comprehensive cable alternative that gives you access to more than a hundred live channels, including MTV, MTV2, and MTV Classic. The great thing about YouTube TV is that you can record as many shows as you want using its easy-to-use cloud DVR. And apart from a free trial, it also offers new customers an introductory discount (it varies, but right now, it’s half price for two months). That said, it notoriously doesn’t have the best picture quality, and it doesn’t carry A&E channels. Like Sling and Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV offers Paramount+ as an add-on, in case you want to watch MTV on demand.
YouTube TV plans
Yes, but it costs extra. MTV isn't in Sling TV's base lineup, so a plan on its own won't get you it. You need the Entertainment Extra pack, $6/mo on top of any Sling base plan, which puts the real cost at $51.99/mo once you add it to the cheapest $45.99 plan. That's still the third-cheapest way to watch MTV on this list.
MTV isn’t included in any of Sling TV’s base plans, which start at $46/month. But if you add $6/month, you get nine extra channels, including MTV. For your base plan, you can either select Sling Orange, which has Disney and ESPN, or Sling Blue, which has Bravo, FS1, and in select markets, local affiliates of ABC, NBC, and FOX. If you do get local channels, you have to pay an extra $5/month for broadcast fees. Either way, the Entertainment Extra gives you access to MTV, plus channels like Paramount Network (home to Yellowstone) and CMT (home to country music’s finest).
Sling TV plans
The pack isn't just MTV. Entertainment Extra also unlocks CMT, MTV2, Paramount Network, TV Land, so it's better value if you'd watch a few of those too. See every Sling Extra explained.
Spectrum users don’t need to look too far for cable alternatives. Spectrum TV Stream, available to anyone on the provider’s internet plan, lets you watch more than 80 live channels, including MTV, VH1, and CMT, among many other music channels. Unlike Spectrum’s cable plans, you can cancel TV Stream anytime without having to worry about fees. TV Stream costs $40/month, but your total will depend on what internet plan you’re on. At the moment, TV Stream doesn’t offer local and sports channels.
Spectrum TV Stream plans
Our breakdown of Spectrum TV Stream →
The honest way to watch MTV for free is a free trial, and the trick is not to spend them one at a time. Start one, then start the next when it ends, and you can string together a few weeks of free live TV back to back, usually enough to cover a tournament or a playoff run without paying for a month.
MTV and the US services that carry it are geo-locked to the United States, so your login stops working the moment you leave the country. A VPN fixes that: connect to a US server and the service sees a US address again. The catch is that streaming platforms actively block most VPN traffic, so the VPN you pick matters far more than the service does. These three reliably get back in:
A huge US server network (thousands of IPs across 15-plus cities) with SmartPlay DNS baked into every server, so streaming just works without extra setup. The best value of the top tier on a two-year plan.
Best for streaming MTV with: Hulu + Live TV, Philo
Get NordVPN →The budget pick, and the one to get if the whole household travels: it allows unlimited simultaneous devices on one account, plus a Smart DNS for TVs. Reliable with the on-demand and lifestyle services.
Best for streaming MTV with: Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Philo
Get Surfshark →Whichever you pick, connect to a US city first, then sign in to MTV or the service that carries it as normal. Choose a VPN with a money-back window so you can confirm it un-blocks MTV before you commit.
No. MTV is a cable channel and doesn't broadcast over the air, so an antenna can't pick it up. An antenna only gets the free broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, The CW), which pair nicely with one of the services above; check which of those reach your address here.
MTV has been on a steady decline since it replaced music with reality shows. It only seems to be airing Ridiculousness, the show where hosts react to viral videos, intercut with Big Bang Theory reruns and old Paramount films. Sometimes, it will go back to its music roots and air an episode of Love & Hip Hop or Unplugged. But for the most part, it looks like Paramount is steering viewers away from cable and into streaming—MTV’s entire catalog, past and present, can be found on Paramount+.
If you want to watch MTV live, the cheapest way to do so is by subscribing to Philo. At just $28/month, you get MTV as well as MTV2, MTV Classic, and a host of other channels.
However, if you’re fine watching MTV on-demand, then Paramount+ is the way to go. For $7.99/month, you can access MTV originals like RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jersey Shore, and Teen Mom anytime you want. Classics like Daria and The Real World are all here too.
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Four criteria, each scored out of 10. The overall score is their weighted average: content 50%, value 20%, apps 20%, streaming quality 10%.
Value for money
0The most expensive service of its kind.
10The cheapest service of its kind, with full content.
Content quality
0None of the 20 most-watched cable channels, or nothing from our recommended list.
10All 20 channels, or the deepest catalog of titles we recommend.
Apps and devices
0A one-star app that runs on none of the 12 major devices.
10Five-star apps on all 12 major devices.
Streaming quality
0Below 720p.
104K on the plan we price.