Cutting cable sounds simple until you hit the one thing that trips up almost everyone: local channels. Nobody misses Netflix’s recommendations. People miss their local ABC affiliate on Sunday night, or CBS during football season, or the 11 o’clock news they’ve watched for twenty years. That’s why picking the right live TV streaming services with local channels matters a lot more than just grabbing whatever’s cheapest.
Most major streaming services do carry local channels now, which is genuinely good news compared to five years ago. But “carries local channels” covers a wide range of outcomes. Two services can both list ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox on their marketing page and still feel completely different once you factor in DVR limits, simultaneous streams, regional sports coverage, and whether your specific zip code actually gets what the homepage promises. Here’s what each option delivers right now, not what it claimed to deliver a year ago.
The Live TV Streaming Services With Local Channels Worth Considering
YouTube TV
YouTube TV runs about $83 a month for 100+ channels, and it includes unlimited cloud DVR storage kept for up to nine months — no add-on fee, no storage cap to worry about. Three people can stream at once. Local coverage is the strongest part of the package: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, and The CW show up in most markets, with Telemundo included in some areas too.
There’s one real gap. YouTube TV doesn’t carry any regional sports networks, so if you follow a local MLB, NBA, or NHL team through an RSN, you’ll need something else for that. Everything else about it holds up well — the app is clean, the DVR doesn’t punish you for recording too much, and coverage stays consistent across most of the country. That consistency is honestly rare among these services.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV lands close to YouTube TV on price, usually somewhere in the high $80s to low $90s depending on current promotions. It bundles the same five core locals — ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS — in nearly every market, and it throws in ad-supported Disney+, regular Hulu, and ESPN content for free. If you already pay for those apps separately, that bundling alone can make Hulu + Live TV the better financial move.
Call of Duty Black Ops 6: Zombies mode done rightThe interface is where it loses points. Hulu built live TV as an add-on to its existing streaming app instead of designing it from scratch, so basic things like a one-tap record button feel clunkier than they should. You’re also limited to two simultaneous streams on the base plan — one fewer than most competitors give you, which matters if more than two people in the house watch at the same time.
DIRECTV
DIRECTV, formerly branded DIRECTV Stream, sits at the top of the price range. The Entertainment tier starts around $90 a month and climbs past $100 once you move up to bigger packages. What you get for that: every major local network, unlimited DVR, unlimited simultaneous streams on your home network, and the deepest regional sports network coverage of any streaming service on this list.
It’s basically cable rebuilt as an app, cable-style fees and all. That’s not necessarily a knock — some households genuinely need the RSN coverage Fubo can’t offer, and for them, the extra cost buys real peace of mind. For everyone else, it’s hard to justify paying this much just for local channels alone.
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Fubo costs around $74 to $80 a month for the Pro plan, scaling up past $90 for Elite. It carries ABC, CBS, Fox, and The CW in most markets, and its regional sports coverage is genuinely strong — sports is really the whole reason Fubo exists.
NBC is the wildcard right now. Fubo has been in and out of carriage disputes with NBCUniversal through 2026, and NBC affiliates have dropped out of the lineup more than once as a result. If NBC content is the reason you’re considering Fubo, check current availability in your specific market before signing up — this has been a moving target, not a settled situation. Fubo also skips PBS entirely, and most of its streams cap at 720p rather than full 1080p, which is worth knowing if picture quality matters to you.
Sling TV
Sling TV wins on price, no contest. Orange and Blue plans start around $46 a month each, or about $61 combined. But the savings come with a real trade-off on local coverage. Sling doesn’t carry CBS in any market, period. ABC, NBC, and Fox availability depends heavily on where you live, and even where they’re available, locals only come bundled with Blue or the combined plan — not with Orange by itself.
iOS 13 Dark Mode: Is it Bad for Your Eyes?Sling makes sense as a cheap add-on or a companion to an antenna. It’s a rougher fit if getting all four major networks reliably is your actual goal, since there’s a real chance you won’t get them.
Philo
Philo costs roughly $33 a month for 70+ entertainment and lifestyle channels — HGTV, Food Network, Comedy Central, Lifetime, that kind of lineup. It carries zero local broadcast channels and no live sports, full stop.
That’s not a flaw exactly, just a different product. Philo is a genuinely good deal for what it actually offers. Pair it with an antenna if you want cheap entertainment channels plus free locals, rather than expecting Philo alone to replace cable news and network TV.
20 Useful Mac Apps For DesignersQuick Comparison Table
| Service | Starting Price | ABC/CBS/NBC/Fox | DVR | Simultaneous Streams | RSNs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | ~$83/mo | Yes, most markets | Unlimited | 3 | No |
| Hulu + Live TV | ~$90/mo | Yes, most markets | Unlimited | 2 | No |
| DIRECTV | ~$90/mo | Yes | Unlimited | Unlimited (home) | Yes |
| Fubo | ~$74/mo | ABC/CBS/Fox (NBC inconsistent) | Unlimited | 10 (home) | Yes, varies |
| Sling TV | ~$46/mo | Varies, no CBS anywhere | 50 hrs (or +$5/mo) | 1-4, plan-dependent | No |
| Philo | ~$33/mo | None | Unlimited | 3 | No |
Prices and channel lineups shift often because of carriage negotiations between providers and broadcasters. Treat this table as a current snapshot, and confirm exact numbers on the provider’s official site before you commit to anything.
Why Your Zip Code Changes the Answer
Local broadcast rights don’t get sold nationally the way cable channels do. Every ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox affiliate negotiates its own separate deal with each streaming provider, station by station, market by market. Two neighbors three states apart can sign up for the exact same service and end up with completely different local lineups — and two people in the same city, on the same service, will almost always match.
Run your zip code through each provider’s channel lookup page before you subscribe to anything. It takes about two minutes, and it’s the only way to know for certain what you’ll get at your address, instead of trusting what the national marketing page implies.
When an Antenna Still Makes Sense
Consider a digital antenna if local channels are genuinely the only thing you’re after — no cable news, no ESPN, nothing else. A single antenna purchase gets you free, uncompressed ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and PBS broadcasts, often with a sharper picture than a compressed live stream delivers. Reception depends entirely on your distance from local broadcast towers and what’s physically between you and them, so pull up a signal-strength map for your address before spending anything.
Pair an antenna with Philo and you get cheap entertainment channels plus free locals, frequently for less than any single full-featured streaming service charges on its own.
Choosing the Right Live TV Streaming Service With Local Channels
Go with YouTube TV or Hulu + Live TV if you want the simplest, most reliable path to a full local lineup without drama — both hold broad, consistent coverage, and neither is currently caught in a carriage dispute. Sports fans should look harder at Fubo or DIRECTV, keeping in mind that Fubo’s NBC situation is still unresolved as of mid-2026. Budget-focused viewers who can live without CBS or tolerate patchy coverage will find Sling the cheapest way in, as long as they confirm their market’s actual lineup first. Saving fifteen dollars a month on a plan that’s missing the one channel you actually wanted isn’t really saving anything.
There’s no single correct answer here — just the option that matches what you watch, where you live, and what you’re willing to pay to close the gaps. If you’re setting up new hardware alongside any of these services, check our guide to the best streaming devices or our antenna buying guide for the over-the-air route.
Quick Answers
Which streaming service has the most local channels? YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV currently offer the broadest, most consistent local coverage nationwide.
Does Sling TV carry CBS? No. Sling doesn’t carry CBS in any market — it’s one of the service’s most consistent limitations.
Does Fubo have NBC? Coverage has stayed inconsistent through 2026 because of an ongoing carriage dispute with NBCUniversal. Check your specific market before subscribing just for NBC.
Does Philo have local channels? No. Philo carries no local broadcast networks and no live sports.
Is an antenna still worth it in 2026? Yes, if local channels are your main priority and you have decent signal range to nearby broadcast towers. It’s still the cheapest option by a wide margin.
