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Hulu Live TV: Channels, Features, Downside And More Explained

John Finn Avatar
Hulu Live TV logo

With access to more than 95 channels, Hulu Live TV is a popular live TV streaming service. One of the major advantages of Hulu Live TV over similar services is that subscribers also get access to basic Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ at no additional cost. These additional subscriptions result in a content-rich streaming service.

How much is Hulu Live TV?

The base Hulu Live TV package costs $76.99 a month. At this price, Hulu Live TV is a relatively expensive live TV service, and one that costs more than YouTube TV, Sling TV and Philo.


Hulu logo

$77/mo

  • 95+ channels
  • Basic Hulu
  • Disney+
  • ESPN+

Although Hulu Live TV only offers one base plan, it is possible to sign up to three different versions of the base plan.

Live TV Only$75.99No basic Hulu, Disney+ or ESPN+
Hulu Live TV$76.99Includes Hulu (With Ads), Disney+ (With Ads), ESPN+ (With Ads).
Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV$89.99Includes Hulu (No Ads), Disney+ (No Ads), ESPN+ (With Ads).

While the Live TV Only plan removes the additional basic Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ subscriptions, the price only drops by $1 a month, resulting in a tier that offers significant less value overall.

At the top end of the spectrum, the $89.99 version of the base plan removes ads from most on-demand content available through basic Hulu and Disney+. However, ads are still shown when watching any live TV or ESPN+ content.

Although more expensive than some other services, the inclusion of basic Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ can really add value. Considering the cheapest way to get access to these three streaming services is the $14.99 Disney Bundle Trio Bundle, the cost of the live TV subscription can work out to be as low as $61.99 a month for some homes.

Does Hulu Live TV offer A Free Trial?

Hulu Live TV doesn’t always offer a free trial. However, it is currently possible to sign up and test the service out for three days without paying.

Channels Available Through Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV subscribers get access to more than 95 live TV channels, with the lineup consisting of a mixture of news, entertainment, sports, kids and music channels.

Entertainment: ABC, Adult Swim, A&E, Animal Planet, BET, Bravo, CBS, Charge!, Comedy.TV, Comedy Central, Comet, Cozy TV, Crime Investigation, The CW, Dabl, Discovery, E!, Food Network, Fox, Fox Soul, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, Fyi, Game Show Network, Get, Great American Family, The Grio, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, HGTV, History, HLN, ID, Justice Central, Lifetime, Localish, LMN, Magnolia, Military History, MotorTrend, NASA, Nat Geo, Nat Geo Wild, NBC, NBC LX Home, Oxygen, OWN, Paramount, PBS, Pop, QVC, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, Syfy, TBS, TCM, Telemundo, TLC, TNT, Travel Network, TruTV, TV Land, USA, Vice.

News: ABC News Live, CBS News Live, BTN, Bloomberg, Cheddar, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Fox Business, Fox News, Live Now from Fox, MSNBC, NBC News Now, NewsNation, The Weather Channel.

Sports: ACC Network, CBS SPORTS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN U, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Weather, Golf Network, MLB Network, NFL Network, SEC Network, T2.

Kids: Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, Nickleodeon, Nick Jr., PBS Kids, Universal Kids.

Music: CMT, MTV, Vevo 80s, Vevo 90s, Vevo Country, Vevo Features, Vevo Hip Hop, Vevo Pop, VH1.

Considering the base subscription includes access to local ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC, Hulu Live TV is one of the better options when it comes to streaming local channels. However, it is possible that subscribers in some areas may not have access to their locals.


Apps Hulu Live TV subscribers can access


Hulu Live TV Premium Networks And Add-Ons

As mentioned, one of the big selling points of Hulu Live TV is the base plan comes packaged with Disney+ and ESPN+ at no additional cost. In addition to these two premium add-ons, it is also possible to bundle the following streaming services with the base live TV plan:

  • Cinemax
  • Max
  • Paramount+ with Showtime
  • Starz

Hulu Live TV also offers a small selection of channel packs, all of which add a number of extra channels for an additional monthly fee.

Entertainment

The Entertainment add-on costs an additional $7.99 a month and unlocks access to American Heroes Channel, BET Her, Boomerang Channel, CNBC World, Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, Hallmark Family, Military History Channel, Nicktoons, MTV2, MTV Classic, Science and TeenNick.

Sports

The Sports Add-on costs an additional $9.99 a month and unlocks access to FanDuel TV, FanDuel Racing, MAVTV, NFL RedZone, Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, and the Tennis Channel.

Español

The ​​​​Español Add-on costs an additional $4.99 a month and unlocks access to CNN en Español, Discovery en Español, Discovery Familia, ESPN Deportes, History Channel en Español, Hogar de HGTV, and NBC Universo.

Hulu also offers a $9.99/month ‘Unlimited Screens’ add-on. This feature-based upgrade unlocks access to an unlimited number of simultaneous streams at home. The Unlimited Screens add-on also makes it possible to stream on up to three mobile devices when away from home.

Hulu Live TV Supported Devices

Thanks to wide device support, Hulu Live TV subscribers can access the service on the following platforms and devices.

  • Amazon Echo Show
  • Amazon Fire tablets
  • Amazon Fire TV
  • Android phones, tablets
  • Android TV
  • Apple TV
  • Google TV
  • iPhone, iPad
  • LG smart TVs
  • Microsoft Xbox
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
  • Roku players, TVs
  • Samsung smart TVs
  • Vizio smart TVs
  • Xumo TV

Device support applies to modern models. If using an older device, it is possible that the device has lost support. In cases where a device isn’t supported, it is always possible to access Hulu Live TV through the website.

Hulu Live TV Additional Features

Compared to other live TV streaming services, Hulu is a little limited in terms of premium features, with the most notable ones being an unlimited cloud DVR and the ability to download videos to watch offline.

Unlimited DVR

All Hulu Live TV subscribers get access to an unlimited DVR, making it possible to record as many episodes, movies, and sports events as wanted. All recordings are kept for a maximum of nine months.

Download Videos To Watch Offline

While Hulu Live TV does offer the ability to download videos to watch offline, this feature is reserved for those signed up to the most expensive $89.99 a month plan. Furthermore, this feature only allows downloading of select Hulu and Disney+ titles.

The Downside Of Hulu Live TV

One of the main downsides of Hulu Live TV is the price. At $76.99 a month Hulu Live TV is one of the more expensive live TV streaming services around. What adds to the high price is the inclusion of basic Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.

Although these additional services add to the overall value, and Hulu does offer the option to remove them, the $1 difference in price doesn’t result in a massive saving. Ultimately, the high cost does mean that Hulu Live TV might not be the right live TV service for some homes.

The channel lineup in general is another potential downside, as Hulu Live TV doesn’t offer as many live TV channels as the likes of Fubo or YouTube TV. Even though Hulu offers channel packs that can improve the channel lineup, these also add to the already high price of a subscription.

Is Hulu Live TV worth it?

Hulu Live TV is worth a subscription. However, it won’t be the best live TV service for every home. Homes that want access to Disney+ and ESPN+ are likely to find Hulu Live TV to be the most worthwhile. After deducting the cost of those extra subscriptions, those homes are likely to end up paying a much lower monthly price for live TV.

This also means those less interested in access to these additional services will find Hulu Live TV to be the least worthwhile. For a similar price, some homes may find services like DirecTV, Fubo and YouTube TV offer a channel lineup that better suits their needs.



John Finn

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