You’ve come to love Hulu for its original series and next-day coverage of network shows. There’s nothing like firing up Reservation Dogs on a lazy Sunday or tuning into “The Bachelor” first thing Tuesday morning, right? But these days Hulu can do more than serve up on-demand content. You can use the platform to totally replace your cable. For under $90, you can use Hulu + Live TV to watch live events, prime-time shows, and your favorite extended cable programs. Don’t miss out on your limited chance to test out the complete Live TV Hulu experience with the freshly released 3-Day free trial.
Plus, all Hulu + Live TV customers get ESPN Plus and Disney Plus at no extra charge. You can even use your Hulu login credentials for these apps, minimizing the number of passwords you need to memorize. Read on to learn more about the channels offered by Hulu + Live TV in 2024, plus other factors you may need to decide if this is the streaming platform for you.
How much does Hulu cost?
The basic Hulu + Live TV plan is $76.99 a month with a promised 95-plus channels. This plan also includes ad-supported, on-demand content from Disney Plus and Hulu, as well as live sports and on-demand content from ESPN Plus. If you don’t like ads, you can upgrade your plan and remove ads from Disney Plus and Hulu on-demand content for $89.99 a month. All live TV and ESPN Plus content will always play with ads.
There is also a Live TV Only plan, which doesn’t include the Disney Bundle. You only save $1 per month and sacrifice access to Disney Plus and ESPN Plus. Add-ons for extra sports, entertainment, and news channels are a great way to customize your service, but they cost extra.
Hulu’s complete channel list
Hulu offers the same list of channels whether you eliminate ads from on-demand content or not. The list of networks is a healthy mix of news, entertainment, sports, and educational content.
| Channel | Hulu + Live TV | Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV |
|---|---|---|
| A&E | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABC | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABC Localish | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABC News Live | ✔ | ✔ |
| ACCN | ✔ | ✔ |
| Adult Swim | ✔ | ✔ |
| BET | ✔ | ✔ |
| Big Ten Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bloomberg Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Bravo | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cartoon Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS News | ✔ | ✔ |
| CBS Sports Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Cheddar News | ✔ | ✔ |
| CMT | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNN | ✔ | ✔ |
| CNN International | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comedy Central | ✔ | ✔ |
| Comedy.tv | ✔ | ✔ |
| COZI TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| The CW | ✔ | ✔ |
| Dabl | ✔ | ✔ |
| Discovery Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney Junior | ✔ | ✔ |
| Disney XD | ✔ | ✔ |
| E! | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPN2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPNEWS | ✔ | ✔ |
| ESPNU | ✔ | ✔ |
| Food Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox Business | ✔ | ✔ |
| Fox News | ✔ | ✔ |
| Freeform | ✔ | ✔ |
| FS1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| FS2 | ✔ | ✔ |
| FX | ✔ | ✔ |
| FXM | ✔ | ✔ |
| FXX | ✔ | ✔ |
| FYI | ✔ | ✔ |
| Game Show Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Get TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Golf Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| The Grio | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hallmark Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | ✔ | ✔ |
| HGTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| HLN | ✔ | ✔ |
| History Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| Investigation Discovery | ✔ | ✔ |
| Justice Central TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| Lifetime | ✔ | ✔ |
| Lifetime Movies | ✔ | ✔ |
| Magnolia Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| MotorTrend | ✔ | ✔ |
| MSNBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| MTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| NASA | ✔ | ✔ |
| National Geographic | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nat Geo Wild | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC LX Home | ✔ | ✔ |
| NBC News Now | ✔ | ✔ |
| NewsNation | ✔ | ✔ |
| NFL Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nickelodeon | ✔ | ✔ |
| Nick Jr. | ✔ | ✔ |
| OWN | ✔ | ✔ |
| Oxygen | ✔ | ✔ |
| Paramount Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| PBS | ✔ | ✔ |
| PBS Kids | ✔ | ✔ |
| Pop | ✔ | ✔ |
| QVC | ✔ | ✔ |
| SEC Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Smithsonian Network | ✔ | ✔ |
| Start TV | ✔ | ✔ |
| SyFy | ✔ | ✔ |
| TBS | ✔ | ✔ |
| Telemundo | ✔ | ✔ |
| TCM | ✔ | ✔ |
| TLC | ✔ | ✔ |
| TNT | ✔ | ✔ |
| Travel Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
| TruTV | ✔ | ✔ |
| TV Land | ✔ | ✔ |
| Universal Kids | ✔ | ✔ |
| USA | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo ‘80s | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo ‘90s | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo Country | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo Hip-Hop | ✔ | ✔ |
| Veho Holiday | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vevo Pop | ✔ | ✔ |
| VH-1 | ✔ | ✔ |
| Vice | ✔ | ✔ |
| Weather Channel | ✔ | ✔ |
What add-on channels does Hulu offer?
You can personalize your Hulu + Live TV experience by paying extra for premium channels or additional channel packages. Sports fans may especially like the available sports add-on, which gives you NFL RedZone and allows you to watch out-of-market touchdowns.
| Add-on Channel or Package Name | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Max | $15.99 |
| Cinemax | $9.99 |
| Paramount Plus with Showtime | $11.99 |
| STARZ | $9.99 |
| Entertainment Add-on | $7.99 |
| Sports Add-on | $9.99 |
| Español Add-on | $4.99 |
Entertainment Add-on
The Entertainment Add-on adds 16 channels to your plan for $7.99 per month, featuring a range of entertainment to suit a variety of viewers.
- American Heroes Channel
- BET Her
- Boomerang Channel
- CNBC World
- Cooking Channel
- Crime and Investigation
- Destination America
- Discovery Family
- Discovery Life
- Hallmark Family
- Military History Channel
- Nicktoons
- MTV2
- MTV Classic
- Science
- TeenNick
Sports Add-on
Fans who want to maximize their sports coverage can opt for the Sports Add-on, which adds eight sports channels to your subscription for $9.99 a month.
- NFL RedZone
- FanDuel TV
- FanDuel Racing
- MAVTV
- Outdoor Channel
- Sportsman Channel
- MLB Strikezone
- Tennis Channel
Español Add-on
The $4.99 Español Add-on expands your Hulu channels lineup to include 10 Spanish-language channels.
- CNN en Español
- Discovery en Español
- Discovery Familia
- ESPN Deportes
- Fox Deportes
- History Channel en Español
- Hogar de HGTV
- Nat Geo Mundo
- NBC Universo
- The Weather Channel en Español
Sports channels on Hulu
If you want to make sure you retain access to collegiate and professional sports action before you cancel cable, you’ll be happy to know that the live Hulu plan has a lot of channels carrying games. For starters, the basic plan has coverage on local affiliates for ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Plus, you’ll get 12 sports channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), TBS, TNT, and NFL Network. Hulu + Live TV also features college sports on ACCN, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, and SEC Network. You’ll even find European soccer on CBS Sports or USA and pro golf on Golf Channel.
There’s even more coverage on ESPN Plus, an over-the-top streamer with extra live coverage. You can use ESPN Plus to watch NFL games, some MLB games, European soccer leagues, mixed martial arts, tennis, and college sports. The app also has documentaries and original shows offering sports commentary.
Local channels on Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV includes local channels in all its plans. In fact, it’s one of the few streaming services to include PBS and The CW on top of the big four of ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Local affiliates for these channels are available in all markets at no additional charge.
Hulu + Live TV’s regional sports networks (RSNs)
Unfortunately, Hulu doesn’t offer most regional sports networks in its plan. If you want to watch Bally Sports, you’ll have to turn to Fubo or DIRECTV STREAM or get an over-the-top Bally Sports subscription in your region. Hulu is also lacking NBC Sports Channels in most markets, though customers in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago can get NBC RSNs in their lineups.
Hulu + Live TV compared to other streaming services
| Service | Monthly Cost | Number of Channels | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hulu + Live TV | $76.99+ | 95+ | Yes |
| Fubo | $79.99+ | 175+ | Yes |
| DIRECTV STREAM | $79.99+ | 75+ | Yes |
| Sling TV | $40+ | 32+ | No |
| YouTube TV | $72.99 | 110+ | Yes |
Is Hulu the best service for sports fans?
Hulu is lacking RSNs in most areas, meaning it’s not the best service for many sports fans. However, you will have a dozen sports networks plus local coverage for in-market games. Given that Hulu offers a sports add-on and ESPN Plus, it’s a decent choice for sports lovers. If you want to catch every game of your local team, however, there might be a better alternative with RSNs.
Is Hulu the best service for kids?
Hulu + Live TV is a good choice for people with kids. The platform has PBS Kids, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and other good family-friendly options. You can also create a kid’s profile in your Hulu account and set parental controls to limit the type of content younger viewers are able to access.
FAQs
What channels are not on Hulu?
Hulu + Live TV is lacking some major networks, including AMC. For sports fans, the lack of NBA TV and MLB TV may also be a dealbreaker.
What are the downsides to Hulu?
Hulu is a good streaming service for people who already have Hulu for its on-demand library, but it may not be the best for every customer. The platform lacks some popular channels, including NBA TV for sports lovers, and it doesn’t have as many add-ons as some competitors to customize your lineup. Other platforms, including DIRECTV STREAM, also offer more channels.
Is Hulu or cable cheaper?
Hulu + Live TV can be cheaper than regular cable, depending on your local provider. At $76.99 per month, Hulu is at least competitive with most local cable providers. And, you won’t have to pay for equipment rentals like receivers that often drive up the cost of cable.
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