You don't need a cable bill to keep watching REELZ. Here's every way to stream it online, and how to do it for free.
Reviewed and updated July 2026 by our cord-cutting team · 5 options
Originally a celebrity coverage channel in the vein of E! or Inside, REELZ has recently pivoted to crime, biopic, and docudrama programming. It still covers famous people, but it skews toward scandal and controversy more than anything. You may know it now for shows like Cops, On Patrol: Live, Celebrity Page, and Most Shocking. If you've been wanting to watch REELZ but don't have an antenna, no sweat: the channel is available on a couple of live TV streaming services we've listed below. Do note that in some cases, like in Sling, you'll have to purchase an add-on to start watching REELZ.
We routinely follow over a hundred live TV and streaming services in the US, closely monitoring their plans, features, and channel lineups. All of that work is on our cord-cutting hub.
Beyond this, we have been reviewing the best on streaming services since 2013, recommending highly-rated but little-known movies and shows: we find the gems that you haven't yet watched, that you will probably like.
Yes, with a free trial. REELZ is on DIRECTV, and you can watch it free for DIRECTV's 5-day free trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
DirecTV Stream might be the priciest way to watch REELZ, but it comes with a host of features that might make it worth it. DirecTV Stream is the closest thing to cable. It has the image quality, the wide channel line-up, and great DVR, but the multiple devices make it the best streamer for large households. If you missed anything on REELZ, it’s likely that the streamer has what you missed on-demand.
The price climbs steeply between tiers, and a regional sports fee gets added on top.
DIRECTV plans
Yes, with a free trial. REELZ is on Frndly TV, and you can watch it free for Frndly TV's 7-day free trial. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing.
Frndly TV is known for their family-friendly entertainment at budget-friendly prices. However, REELZ fans can also enjoy their prices despite the channel’s true crime additions, because it seems that the channel is wholesome enough to be included in the line-up.
It carries only a small set of mostly lifestyle and family channels, with no sports and no major news networks.
Frndly TV plans
No, not free. Peacock carries REELZ but has no free trial, so you pay from day one — at $10.99/mo it's the second-cheapest way to watch REELZ on this list.
Peacock is better known for streaming NBCUniversal’s library on-demand, but the streamer also happens to have some live TV channels. So along with NBC channels and their late night shows, you can catch up with the big names of Hollywood through REELZ.
Most network shows land next-day on demand rather than as a live feed.
Peacock plans
No. Sling TV doesn't carry REELZ.
No. Fubo doesn't carry REELZ.
No. Hulu + Live TV doesn't carry REELZ.
No. Philo doesn't carry REELZ.
No. Paramount+ doesn't carry REELZ.
No. YouTube TV doesn't carry REELZ.
No. Disney+ only streams the Disney family (ABC, FX, Nat Geo, ESPN and the Disney kids channels), and REELZ isn’t part of it. The best way to watch REELZ without cable is Frndly TV above (free-trial).
No. HBO Max only streams the Warner Bros. Discovery family (HBO, Discovery, HGTV, TNT, CNN and the rest), and REELZ isn’t part of it. The best way to watch REELZ without cable is Frndly TV above (free-trial).
No. There’s no Prime Video Channels add-on for REELZ, so Prime can’t stream it on demand or live. The best way to watch REELZ without cable is Frndly TV above (free-trial).
The honest way to watch REELZ 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.
| Service | From | Free trial | Plans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIRECTV |
$94.99/mo | 5 days | 4 | Get it |
| Frndly TV |
$8.99/mo | 7 days | 3 | Get it |
| Peacock |
$10.99/mo | None | 2 | Get it |
REELZ 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 REELZ with: Peacock
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 REELZ with: Peacock
Get Surfshark →Whichever you pick, connect to a US city first, then sign in to REELZ or the service that carries it as normal. Choose a VPN with a money-back window so you can confirm it un-blocks REELZ before you commit.
No. REELZ 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.
Every service that carries REELZ runs on the major streaming platforms, so you can watch on just about any TV, phone, or console. Here's how, device by device:
On Roku, you can watch REELZ through DIRECTV, Frndly TV, and Peacock. To set it up, add the channel from the Roku Channel Store, sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
On Amazon Fire TV, you can watch REELZ through DIRECTV and Frndly TV. The gap: Peacock doesn't offer a Amazon Fire TV app. To set it up, download the app from the Amazon Appstore, sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
On Apple TV, you can watch REELZ through DIRECTV, Frndly TV, and Peacock. To set it up, install the app from the App Store, sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
On Android TV & Google TV, you can watch REELZ through DIRECTV, Frndly TV, and Peacock. To set it up, grab the app from the Google Play Store, sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
On Chromecast, you can watch REELZ through Frndly TV. The gap: DIRECTV and Peacock don't offer a Chromecast app. To set it up, cast it from your phone or use the built-in Google TV app, sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
On Samsung & LG smart TVs, you can watch REELZ through DIRECTV, Frndly TV, and Peacock. To set it up, install the app from your TV's own store (Tizen or webOS), sign in, and open REELZ in the live guide.
Cheapest is the question everyone starts with, and it's the wrong place to stop. A $35 plan that drops REELZ the month after you sign up hasn't saved you anything. So the first number we pay attention to is the real one, what you owe after the introductory month ends, not the figure in the ad. From there it comes down to whether the channels you actually want sit in the base plan or get stranded in an add-on, how the service behaves day to day (a slow app and a useless DVR wear on you faster than you'd expect), and how much of a fight it puts up when you decide to leave.
Whatever lands at the top of a list like this is the service that gets most of that right for the most people. Once in a while that's also the cheapest one. Usually it isn't.
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you sign up through one. That money is part of how we pay writers and keep the site free to read.
The people who test, price-check, and update our cord-cutting coverage.
