8 Best Services to Watch TLC Without Cable on Roku
From “90 Day Fiance” to “1000-Lb. Sisters” to “Little People Big World,” TLC’s reality content offers a slice of life — for the most unique lives out there.
You can watch TLC on Roku without cable and with a free trial on Spectrum TV Choice (for Spectrum internet users), YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, and Fubo, or you can get a subscription to Vidgo, AT&T TV, and Sling Orange + Blue.
If you already have Roku and are looking to cut the cord, there is no reason you should have to get a new device.
Here the best services that cord-cutters use to watch TLC on Roku.
Philo is one of the most interesting ways to cut the cord out there: it offers over 60 channels for as little as $28. If you don’t watch sports or a lot of local TV, but want access to everything else, it’s the perfect Live TV option.
Frndly TV is a streaming platform focused on family-friendly live TV channels, with an attractive price starting at $8.99. There are three plans: Basic, Classic, and Premium, which cost $8.99, $10.99, and $12.99, respectively. The Basic plan only allows for SD streaming, but the other plans allow for HD. The basic plan doesn’t allow for DVR recordings, but the other plans allow for 3 months and 9 months, respectively. Lastly, the basic plan allows for only one simultaneous stream, but the Classic plan allows for two, and the Premium plan allows for four.
The “Hulu + Live TV” plan mixes Hulu’s exclusive offering of Originals with around 90 TV channels (the channels available depend on where you live). If you already have Hulu, getting the Live TV addition is usually cheaper than subscribing to another Live TV service. And if when you want to cancel the Live TV plan, you can click “cancel” on Hulu which will give you the option to keep the On-Demand part while canceling the Live TV.
Youtube TV has quickly grown into one of the best choices for Live TV, offering both local and national channels like ESPN, CNN, Comedy Central, and others. Youtube TV’s marketing claims that by getting the platform, you could save up to $500 a year on cable. One major draw of the platform is unlimited cloud DVR storage that’s included in the $82.99 plan.
It’s also one of the most widely available Live TV streaming services, as you can get it on virtually every device from Fire TV to XBOX to Smart TV brands like LG.
Named the “best all-around streaming service for cord-cutters” by Rolling Stone, DirecTV Stream tries to be all the good things about cable without any of the hassle. It has a big selection of channels, possibly the best stream quality in the market, and great DVR capability. For example, unlike with competitor Youtube TV, your DVR recordings on DirecTV will be the same quality as the live stream (often in 4K). The service also comes with a decent monthly price tag, and Netflix-style practicality that allows you to stream Live TV from anywhere by downloading the app. Within your home, you can stream on up to 20 devices (!), and from outside your home you can stream on up to three devices.
Sling Blue is a live-tv bundle from cord-cutting alternative Sling, which is owned by the telecom provider Dish. It has many of the top 20 most watched national TV channels in the U.S. It costs $45.99/month but for markets with local channels, the streamer charges a mandatory extra $5/month for broadcasting fees.
Spectrum TV Choice is an internet television service that is available only by call-in and only to Charter Spectrum internet customers.
It costs $29.99 per month plus a mandatory “flat tax” for local channels of $23.20. The channels available to you will depend on your location, but usually you can choose 10 more channels to add to your plan. Please be careful that after 30 days, you might not be able to change the list of 10 channels you choose.
Designed as an alternative to cable subscriptions and on-demand streaming platforms, Spectrum TV Choice offers a combination of major cable channels and on-demand content that can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players, and mobile apps. In the channel line-up, our editors chose 15 typical channels available to stream. You can read more in our dedicated explainer here: Spectrum TV Choice Explained: Plans, Pricing, Channels.