How to watch free live TV on a Roku or pay for live TV services
- The Roku Channel has free live TV options and is accessed via the Channel Store.
- There are also free channels available in the Channel Store that allow you to stream live TV.
- You may also be able to use an existing subscription that includes live TV to stream it on Roku.
Moving away from traditional TV packages can be a great way to save money. But if you feel like it's going to limit your options by cutting out live television — and potentially cutting you off from a show that's still airing — it can be a tough call to make.
For those who have a Roku device, however, you still have options to access live TV. For example, you can watch some live TV channels for free via the Roku Channel, or other free channels. You can also watch live TV with a subscription to services like Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV.
Here's what you need to know to start watching live TV on your Roku device.
Is the Roku live TV channel free?
Roku does offer over 200 free live TV channels via the Roku Channel. That includes content options like live news, weather, sports, food, sci-fi, true crime, children's entertainment, reality TV, and Spanish language content, among others.
You can use the Live TV Channel Guide to find the content you're looking for on the Roku channel.
How to watch free live TV on the Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is an app that comes pre-installed on nearly all Roku devices, and lets you stream hundreds of movies and TV shows for free, along with some live TV channels. Just open the app and select Live TV Channel Guide to see them all.
If for whatever reason you don't have the Roku Channel installed, you can search for it from your Roku's homepage and install it from there.
Quick tip: You can watch the Roku Channel on a Roku device, via the Roku mobile app, or on the website therokuchannel.com. It's also available on Fire TVs and Samsung Smart TVs.
Other Roku channels with live TV
Beyond the Roku Channel itself, you have two other options for watching live TV on your Roku device: free live TV channels and subscription-based live TV services.
Free live TV
Here are some of the free live TV channels that you can watch on Roku:
- AccuWeather Now
- CBC
- FilmRise Kids
- Haunt TV
- IGN
- NewsON
- RCN Más
- Real Madrid TV
- TLC Go
- Tribeca Channel
Subscription-based live TV
If you have subscriptions to the following channels, you can watch them on a Roku device:
- Hulu + Live TV
- YouTube TV
- Philo
- Sling TV
- YouTube TV
- Fubo TV
- DirecTV Stream
Each of these options will give you access to different live TV channels. You'll have to look into the individual costs, as well as what you get for that money, to decide which option is right for you.