If you're the type of person who's always looking for something new to learn, you'll know how valuable PBS can be. The public channel has local stations all over the country and broadcasts educational (and often entertaining!) shows with topics ranging from art, history, science, nature, and music. A lot of people watch the channel via an antenna, but PBS is actually just as easy to watch if you're on a budget or want to cut the cord. For the former, we recommend taking a look at the standalone PBS app, which gives you access to your local station's live stream for free. For the latter, live TV streaming services are a great way to watch your favorite PBS shows along with a couple of other channels. You can read more about them in the list below.
3 Best Services to watch PBS Live Without Cable in 2025
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Includes local channels and most major national networks. No commitment, cancel anytime.
Price: $86.99/month
Free trial: 5 days
Devices: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Smart TVs and web browsers
Go to DirecTV Stream |
After confusing beginnings that included many names: AT&T TV Now, DirecTV Now, and AT&T WatchTV, AT&T TV, this service, now called DirecTV Stream, is the final Live TV offering from the telecom operator.
Price: $86.99/month
Free Trial: 5 days
Channel lineup: ABC, ACC Digital Network, AccuWeather, Alien Nation, AMC, Anger Management, Animal Planet, Are We There Yet?, Ax Men, AXS TV, Baby First, BBC America, BET, Big 12, Bloomberg TV, Bob Ross, Boomerang, Bravo, BUZZR, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS local channels, Cheddar News, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, CNN, CNN en Espanol, CNN International, Comedy Central, Comedy Dynamics, Court TV, Crime 360, Curiosity Now, CW, Daystar HD, Declassified, Discovery Channel, Duck Dynasty, E! Entertainment, EarthxTV, Ebony TV, El Rey Rebel, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FMC, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports 1, Fox Weather, Freeform, FUEL TV, Fuse Music, FX, FXX, Galavision, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, HerSphere, HGTV, HLN, Home Shopping Network, HSN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, ION, ion Television, Jewelry Television, MeatEater TV, MotorTrend, MovieSphere, MSNBC, MTV, MTV2, NBA TV, NBC, NBC local channels, News Nation, Newsmax, Nick Jr., One America News, Ovation, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount Network, PBS, PBS Kids, PBS local channels, Poker GO, Pursuit Channel, QVC, QVC2, QVC3, Racing America, REELZ, REVOLT, RFD-TV, RSNs, Scientology Network, Scripps News, Shop LC, Somos Novelas, SportsGrid, Start TV, SundanceTV, SYFY, Tastemade Home, Tastemade Travel, TBS, TCM, TeenNick, Telemundo local channels, The First, theGrio, TLC, TNA, TNT, truTV, TV Land, TV One, Univision, Up TV, USA Network, VH1, Waypoint TV, WE tv, Women’s Sports Network, Yahoo! Finance
Device compatibility: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Samsung TV
Youtube TV launched in some areas in the U.S.in mid-2017, first with a limited offering but quickly signing deals with providers like Turner Warner, Warnermedia, and Viacom CBS. This allowed it to carry channels as varried as the BBC and HBO.
Price: $82.99/month
Free Trial: 7 days
Channel lineup: ABC, ABC News, ACCN, Adult Swim, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, Big Ten Network, Bounce, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS local channels, CBS Sports Network, Charge!, Cheddar, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Comet, Court TV, Cozi TV, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Docurama, Dove Channel, E!, ESPN, ESPN U, ESPN2, ESPNews, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business, Fox News, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Weather, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, Galavision, Game Show Network, Get TV, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Mystery, HGTV, HLN, HSN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, ION, Justice Central TV, LAFC Channel, Law & Crime, Live Now, Local Now, Localish, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Classic, My TV, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBA TV, NBC, NBC local channels, NBC News Now, NBC Universo, NBCLX, NBCSN, NECN, Neon, News Nation, Newsmax, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Orlando City Channel, OWN, Oxygen, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount, PBS, PBS Kids, PBS local channels, PC Mag, Pop, QVC, Recipe.TV, Scripps News, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, SNY, Start TV, Sundance TV, SYFY, Tastemade, TBD, TBS, Teen Nick, TeleHit, Telemundo local channels, Tennis 2, The CW, The Great Courses, The Walking Dead Universe, The Weather Channel, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, Tru TV, Turner Classic Movies, TV Land, TYT, Unimas, Unimas local channels, Universal Kids, Univision, Univision local channels, USA Network, VH1, WE tv, YouTube Originals, Zen channel
Device compatibility: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
Tablo TV is a free live TV streaming service that lets you watch local channels like ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS, as well as 70 fast channels, including HSN, ION, Grit, MeTV, and CourtTV. It's exclusively available to those with a Tablo device—the latest already comes with a built-in indoor antenna—which itself requires a one-time payment of about $70 to $130, depending on what version you get. It's free in the sense that you don't have to pay a monthly subscription fee, as you would on usual live TV streaming services since it streams channels that are already airing for free via broadcast towers near you. A Tablo device lets you watch Tablo TV on up to 4 devices connected to your home Wi-fi and record shows while watching a different channel. If you're on the go, you can also control the DVR via the Tablo TV app. You can download the app on all major smart TVs and mobile devices.
Price: $129.95 /month
Channel lineup: ABC, Alien Nation, All Reality, All Weddings, AllBlk Gems, Almost Friday, AMC en Espanol, AMC Thrillers, ANIME x HIDIVE, Bike, Bloomberg Originals, Bloomberg TV, Bounce, Bounce XL, Buzzfeed Unsolved, CBS, Circle, Comedy Dynamics, Country Network, Court TV, Court TV Legendary, Craftsy, CW, Dove, Draft Kings TV, Entrepreneur, Estrella Games, Estrella News, Estrella TV, Fawsome, Forbes, FOX, Free Movies +, Fubo Sports, GRIT, Grit Xtra, Gusto, Gusto Español, History Time, Homeful, HSN, IFC Film Picks, iFood, ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, LAFF More, Love Nature, Maximum Effort Channel, MeTV, MSG Sports Zone, Mytime Movie Network, NBC, Nosey, Nosey Judge, Outside TV, Overtime, Pac-12 Insider, PBS, Portlandia, Powder, QVC, Racing America, RetroCrush, Scripps News, Skateboarding, Slightly Off IFC, Snowboarder, So Real, Sports News Highlights, Stories by AMC, Surfer, Tastemade, Tastemade Home, Tastemade Travel, Team USA, The Big Dish, The Design Network, The Washington Post, Time, Total Crime, Univision, Walking Dead Universe, Women’s Sports Network
Device compatibility: Amazon Fire TV, Android Phones, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung
If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by a commission when you make a purchase.