YouTube TV vs DIRECTV NOW vs PlayStation Vue vs Philo vs Sling TV vs Fubo TV vs Hulu – Updated May 2018

Smiling family sitting holding remote control


We often get asked what is the best live TV streaming service. The truth is there are no best services out there. Each person has different wants and needs. So we want to give you all the information and let you decided what is right for you. In this guide we looked at Fubo TV, PhiloDIRECTV NOWSling TV, Hulu’s live TV betaYouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue with the hopes that we will make picking the right live TV streaming service easier.

*Note this list is up to date (as best as we can make it) as of May 1st, 2018.

Are you on a mobile device? Struggling to see the chart? Here is a PDF you can download for easier viewing.

Most of the services offer local channels in different markets. You can find out what locals are available in your area by visiting their sites.

First what channels each service offers:

Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
A&E X X X X X
AMC X X X X  X X
American Heroes Channel X X X
Animal Planet X X  X
Audience X
Aspire X
Baby TV X  X  X
BBC America X X X X  X X
BBC World News X  X X  X X
Blaze TV X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
BET X  X X
BET Her  X X
Big Ten Network X X  X X X
Bloomberg Television X  X  X
Boomerang X X  X  X
Bravo X X  X X X X
Campus Insider X
Cartoon Network/Adult Swim X X X  X X
Cheddar  X X X  X
Comet X
BeIN Sports en Espanol X
BeIN Sports  X X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Cinemax X  X X  X
CBS Sports Net  X  X X X  X
CBSN X
CMT X  X X
Comedy TV X
Cowboy Channel X X
CNBC X X X X X X
CNBC World X X X
CNN X X X  X X
CNN International X
 AXS TV  X  X  X
NBC Sportsnet X  X  X  X  X X
Comedy Central X X X
Crime & Investigatin X
Cooking Channel X X X X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV  YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Destination America X X X
Discovery X X X
Discovery Family X X  X
Discovery Life X X  X
Disney Channel X X X X X
Disney Junior X X X X X
Disney XD X X X X X
DIY Network X  X X X
Duck TV X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
E! X X X X X X
EPIX X
EPIX Drive-In X
EPIX Hits X X
EPIX2 X
ESPN X X X X X
ESPN 2 X X X X X
ESPN Bases Loaded X  X
Ride TV X
ESPN Deportes  X X  X
ESPN Goal Line X X
ESPN U X X X X X
ESPN News X X X X  X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
El Rey X X X
 RFDTV  X  X
Eleven Sports  X X
Euronews X
Family Channel X
FM X
Fla Ma X
FobuTV Netowrk X
Food Network X X X X X X
Fox Business X X X X X
Fox College Sports X X
Fox News Channel X X X X  X
Fox Regional Sports Networks X X X  X X X
 Fox Deportes X X
Football Report TV X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV  YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
France 24 X
FreeForm X X X  X  X
FS1 X X X X X X
FS2 X X X X X X
FX X X X X X X
FXM X X X X X
FXX X X X X X X
FYI X X X X X
Fox Soccer Plus X
Fuse  X X
Golf Channel X X X  X  X X
Galavision X X
Great America X
Hallmark & Hallmark Movies X  X X  X
HBO X X X  X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV  YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
 HDNet Movies  X
HGTV X X X X  X X
History X X X X X
Hi-Yah! X
HLN X X X  X X
 Fusion  X  X X  X
 GSN  X X X
IFC X X X X X
Investigation Discovery X X X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DirecTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Lifetime X X X X X
Lifetime Movies X X X X X
Local Now X X X
Logo X X X
Machinima X
 OAN / AWE  X
MGM X
MSG/MSG+  X X
MSNBC X X X  X X X
MTV X X X
MTV 2 X X X
MTV Live X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Nat Geo Wild X X X  X X X
Nat Geo X X X X X X
NESN  X  X X
MLB Network  X X  X
NBC Sports Network X X X X X X
 NBA TV  X X  X  X X
NFL Network/NFL Redzone X X  X
NDTV X
NHL Network X X
News18 X
Newsy X X  X
Nickelodeon X X
Nick Jr. X X X
Nicktoons X X X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
One World Sports X
Outside TV X X
OWN X X X
Ovation X
Oxygen X X X X X X
Pursuit Channel X
Pac-12 X  X
Poker X
 AFRO  X
Pop X  X  X  X  X
Revolt  X X
RT Network X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Science Channel X X X
SEC Network X X X X X
Showtime  X X  X  X  X
Smithsonian X
Sony Movie Channel X
SNY X X X X
Paramount X X X
Sprout X X  X X X
Sundance TV X X X  X X
SyFy X X X  X X X
TBS X X X  X X
TeenNick X X X  X
TLC X X X
TNT X X X  X X
Channel Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV YouTube Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
NOW  TV
Travel Channel X X X X  X X
Tru TV X X X  X X
Turner Classic Movies X X  X  X X
TV Land X X X
Olympic Channel  X X  X  X X
Unimas X X X
Univision X X X
Univision Deportes
UP Family X
USA X X X  X X X
Velocity X X X
VH1 X X X
Tennis Channel  X  X  X
Vibrant X
Viceland X X X X X
WE tv X X  X X X
Weather Channel X X
WeatherNation  X X
YES  X  X  X  X  X X

*YouTube TV also includes access to YouTube Red Originals. (You will still need to buy YouTube Red if you want the ad-free experience.)
*fuboTV & Sling TV include several international packages.
*Hulu also includes access to Hulu’s on-demand service.
*Found an error? Please email us and we will fix it.

Next, you should look at which of these services works on the devices you own:

Streaming Player Sling TV PS Vue DIRECTV NOW YouTube TV Hulu Beta Fubo TV Philo
Roku X X  X  X X X X
Fire TV X X X  X X
Apple TV X X X  X X X
Chromecast X X X X X X
iOS X X X X X X X
Android Phones/Tablet X X X X X X X
Android TV X  X  X  X
Xbox One X  X X
PlayStation 4 X

*Note: Chromecast will work on any Chromecast supported device like Android TV.

Number of Streams

Sling TV will allow you to stream one or three streams at once depending on what package you sign up for. You can also use your Sling TV login for some apps such as WatchESPN.

PlayStation Vue will work on five devices at once inside your house. Outside your house you can use 1 streaming player and up to 4 mobile devices at once. (You can learn more about PS Vue out of home rules HERE.)

YouTube TV allows for 3 streams at once both inside and outside of your home.

fuboTV allows 2 streams at the same time or 3 streams with the Family Share option.

Philo allows 3 streams at once both inside and outside of your home.

Hulu live TV beta starts with 2 streams but you can add more for $14.99 a month.

DIRECTV NOW offers two streams. (DIRECTV NOW has announced they will be increasing that to 3 streams at a later date.)

DVR

DIRECTV NOW has a DVR in closed beta testing and currently offers 20 or 100 hours of storage. According to AT&T DIRECTV NOW will add their DVR in Spring 2018.

Philo includes an unlimited 30-day DVR, plus on-demand programming.

PlayStation Vue offers a 28-day DVR and after 28 days the recording is removed.

Sling TV has a DVR and most of their channels have on-demand versions of the aired shows. Sling TV is offering 50 hours of DVR space with no time limit on how long you can keep a recording for $5 a month.

YouTube TV will keep shows for 9 months but replaces DVR recording with on-demand versions when available.

Fubo TV offers 30 hours of personal cloud DVR storage with no expiration and an Advanced DVR for $9.99/month, which includes 500 hours.

Hulu live TV beta starts with 50 hours of storage. If you want more storage or the ability to fast forward you can pay $14.99 a month to get that ability.

So what service should you pick?

Hopefully, this guide has helped you find the right service. If you are still wondering which is the best for you and your family the best thing to do is to try the free trial for Fubo TVSling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu, PhiloPlayStation Vue, and DIRECTV NOW offer. Our suggestion is to give them a try and see if you like them. Check each service’s site for current prices because they keep changing.

Did you know we now have a FREE app for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire? Click HERE to download our app.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news, tips, and reviews. Need cord cutting tech support? Join our Cord Cutting Tech Support Facebook Group for help.

Disclaimer: To address the growing use of ad blockers we now use affiliate links to sites like http://Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links help sites like Cord Cutters News, stay open. Affiliate links cost you nothing but help me support my family. We do not allow paid reviews on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

* indicates required

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from :

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.