Hulu Plus Live TV guide: Prices, channel lineup, and deals

Hulu is best known for its library of on-demand streaming content, but Hulu live TV options make it one of the more versatile streaming options for cord-cutters who still want to catch the nightly news or major sporting events — or just channel surf like in the good old days. It’s among the best live TV streaming services.

So, what is Hulu Plus Live TV? How much does it cost? What can you watch? Here, we break down how the service works with answers to your questions about the service.

What is Hulu Plus Live TV?

Hulu Plus Live TV is a Disney-owned live-streaming service tied to the company’s existing streamer. It gives members access to traditional broadcast and cable channels without the need for a traditional cable subscription or satellite hookup.

That means that when you sign up, you can watch TV content as it airs using your home internet connection.

How is Hulu’s live TV plan different from plain old Hulu?

Hulu live TV is hard to compare to Hulu because it’s effectively a massive add-on.

When you sign up, you automatically get Hulu. You can choose whether you have a Hulu subscription with or without ads. In that way, it’s exactly the same as a regular Hulu subscription.

But what you get in addition is access to a huge selection of live TV channels. Those channels let you watch shows, movies, news, sports, and other events as they air on TV without needing a cable or satellite subscription. Added to the mix are a Disney Plus and ESPN Plus subscription, giving you the full Disney streaming bundle.

Pricing and add-ons

Hulu Plus Live TV comes in at $69.99 per month. That price includes Hulu (with ads), Disney Plus (with ads), and ESPN Plus (with ads), along with live channels. If you want to upgrade to a live TV subscription that does away with ads on Hulu and Disney Plus, that’ll be $82.99. ESPN Plus will still have ads, as there is no ad-free option there.

Included in both plans is unlimited cloud DVR storage to watch live content after it airs, on-demand. A subscription allows you to create six distinct profiles, but you can only stream on two screens at one time unless you pay for unlimited screens at an additional $9.99 per month.

There are also plenty of add-ons to the standard subscription.

If you want other streaming services bundled with your Hulu subscription, Disney offers a few, available with any Hulu plan. They are listed below:

• HBO Max for $14.99 per month
• Cinemax for $9.99 per month
• Showtime for $10.99 per month
• Starz for $8.99 per month

Below are live channel add-ons available on any Hulu Plus Live TV plan:

• ​​​​Español Add-on for $4.99 per month
• Entertainment Add-on for $7.99 per month
• Sports Add-on for $9.99 per month
• Unlimited Screens Add-on for $9.99 per month

Can I get Hulu Plus Live TV for free?

While you can get a free trial of the classic Hulu service for 30 days, no such deal applies to Hulu Plus Live TV.

With access to so many channels, Disney has likely decided that a free trial would offer too much content from too many third parties to be profitable.

Is Hulu Plus Live TV worth it?

Hulu Plus Live TV is pretty reasonably priced when compared to other live streaming services or plain old cable, and it includes impressive library titles through its inclusion of Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus. In terms of bang for your buck, it’s safe to say that the Hulu live TV option gives you your money’s worth.

Having said that, this is a huge bundle that includes way more than your slim basic cable package, so on a personal level, you’ll want to ask yourself if you actually need all that it offers. If all you want are live channels, then you’re wasting money on the Disney streaming bundle that comes included, for example.

In that case, you may be looking more for a service like YouTube TV or FuboTV, which are slightly cheaper and offer more live channels. What they don’t offer is a huge library of on-demand titles like Hulu’s Disney streaming bundle.

So, Hulu Plus Live TV is a terrific all-around streamer, including a solid roster of live channels and a robust back-catalog of on-demand content and original streaming titles. Whether that makes it worth it is entirely dependent on you and what you want to get for your money.

Hulu Plus Live TV channels

Every Hulu Plus Live TV subscription includes over 85 live and on-demand channels. Below is a full list of channels you’ll get when you sign up:

In November 2022, Hulu started adding new channels to the lineup, starting with the Weather Channel, Comedy.TV, Hallmark Channel, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, with Hallmark Drama also available as a premium add-on offering.

In December, the list will include a suite of channels from music video specialist Vevo, including channels focused on pop, hip-hop, country, 80s, 90s, and holiday music, as well as African-American-focused TheGrio TV, JusticeCentral.TV, and the Weather Channel en Español.

Hulu Plus Live TV also includes local news and sports coverage. You’ll find affiliate stations from CBS, ABC, CW, Fox, NBC, and Telemundo, all keyed into your location. If you sign in while travelling to another city or state, you’ll see those channels change according to your current location at any given time.

Is Hulu a good choice for live TV streaming?

Hulu is a solid choice for live TV streaming, but it’s one of the fully-loaded options, so you need to make sure that’s what you’re looking for before committing to the hefty price tag. It’s not overpriced by any means. You get what you pay for, but what you pay for is a lot.

If you’d be signing up for Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus anyway, then their inclusion is a huge advantage. If you want to record a lot of live programming to watch later, then Hulu Plus Live TV’s unlimited cloud DVR storage will come in handy too. That’s a feature that would cost extra with some of the competition.

But if all you want are a few live channels, maybe a slimmer, cheaper service like Sling TV or FrndlyTV is more your speed.

Or if what you want is a ton of live channels, and you have no need for the included Disney streaming bundle, then you’ll probably want something like YouTube TV or Fubo TV, where you get more channels at a lower price.

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