Amazon's Fire TV is one of our favorite streaming platforms, and like all great streaming platforms, it makes cutting out cable a whole lot easier. That's because Fire TV can act as a hub for all kinds of streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, and more. But on-demand content alone isn't enough to replace cable — after all, cable is all about live TV. Can your Fire TV be a path to the same kind of live network channels that the legacy pay TV giants? Well, we wouldn't be writing this article if it couldn't. Here are the best ways to watch live television on your Fire TV (you can check out our similar piece on Roku here).
| Price | Channels | Free Trial | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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#1
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$69.99 - $159.99 | 140+ | 5 days | Watch Now |
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#2
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$74.99 - $94.99 | 220+ | 7 days | Watch Now |
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#3
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$40 - $60 | 30+ - 130+ | 3 days | Watch Now |
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#4
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$25 | 60+ | 7 days | Watch Now |
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#5
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$4.99 - $99.99 | N/A | 7 days | Watch Now |
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#6
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$6.99 - $13.99 | N/A | None | Watch Now |
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#7
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$69.99 - $82.99 | 85+ | none | Watch Now |
How to Watch Live TV on Fire TV
The best replacement for live cable TV is live streaming TV. And when we say “live streaming TV,” we're talking, for the most part, about skinny bundles.
Skinny bundles offer the same live network channels that you're used to watching on cable but at lower prices because they cut out unnecessary programming, allowing you to pay only for the channels you want, and delivering your content “over the top” instead of through cable. Once a fairly small part of the cord-cutting economy, skinny bundles are everywhere now.
Below are the best ways to watch live TV on Fire TV today:
What Else Can You Watch on Fire TV?
We’ve just skimmed the service of the things you can do when you have a Fire TV. To get a fuller picture of the landscape, you may want to start with our Fire TV review. It tells you the things we like and dislike about Fire TV.
What if you want to try Fire TV but don’t know if you should go with Fire TV or a Fire TV Stick? We’ve got a full Fire TV Stick review for you to read as you consider your options.
I’m new to Roku. I’m still learning about all the devices out there. Is Amazon better than Roku? Which is the best device? I am happy with Roku, however, I’m curious about the other devices.
Michael,
I’m already an Amazon Prime member, so I had not problem picking up a few Fire TV boxes (not stick) and enjoy the content that comes with the membership. The frame rate is noticeably different when watching PS Vue, and the response time switching between menus is faster. If you’re not an Amazon Prime member and it does not interest you, then Roku is certainly a great alternative, but given “my” situation I like Amazon over Roku. To be fair I’m comparing the stick, not the new box Roku just released. Hope this helps.
I use PlayStation Vue. My non-techie wife loves it. It allows five devices while the others are more limited, and that’s a big deal with kids in the house.
The Fire Stick doesn’t seem to work with Time Warner Spectrum.
You are correct and I was told it was by one of the “Chat” personnel.
I have Time Warner Spectrum and a Fire Stick. It works perfectly!
Can I use any of these devices in Canada?
Can you use the Amazon Fire TV Stick in Australia?
Don’t like cc that can not be disabled. Why would they make a format like this? Makes no sense to not be able to turn this feature off. Will cancel service of CBS All Access soon.
Tried both PS Vue and DirecTV Now. The clear winner is PS Vue. No buffering on PS Vue during prime time hours. DirecTV Now buffered every night while watching NBA games on TNT, ESPN and NBA TV. I had both subscriptions active and would go back and forth between Vue and DTVN just to see if Vue had the buffering issues. It did not. Until DTVN gets their servers upgraded, go with Vue. Plus Vue has cloud DVR.
I have TiVo for recording shows. How does Amazon Fire and DirecTV Now work with TiVo?
It doesn’t.
I LOVE NEWS!!! I would have never purchased or installed a Fire Stick if I would have known that I would have NO NEWS! To me, that’s just crazy! I don’t want to READ news, even online. I want to SEE news — all networks plus CNN, Headline News, Fox News, etc., etc. I want to be able to tune in to real-time news sources from different perspectives at ANY time.
PLUS, as a medical professional, I enjoy watching network medical dramas, especially “The Good Doctor.” I will now have to PAY for each episode with the Amazon Fire Stick!!! Is there any solution? Does anyone have a remedy?
You need to get Hulu. Episodes of most prime-time shows, including the medical shows, are on Hulu the day after they air on live TV.
This guy has no idea what he is talking about. He says there is not way to connect an antenna to the Fire TV when you absolutely can hook up an antenna, Amazon even sells the Fire TV and antenna bundle for people to set it all up easily. So yes you can get live news feeds via the Fire stick or box and antenna. Also, there are several “free” news channel apps that you can download or sideload.
Ron,
According to Amazon’s description: “Just connect the AmazonBasics HD Antenna directly to your TV.” So, yes, you can connect the antenna to your TV, but not to your Fire TV.
Stremeo, a free app, I installed on Fire Stick and get every show on TV.
Does using the Fire Stick cost monthly fees even if you have Prime?
No, the Fire Stick has no monthly fees. You don’t even have to have Prime to use it. Prime is just nice for streaming the TV and movies that are offered to its subscribers. You can still download other apps like Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, etc.
We have a Fire TV box and absolutely love it. You have to get use to it. I also have the Amazon Fire tablet, which I can use w/Fire TV as a remote, and Alexa also comes with the tablet. We have an outdoor antenna which came with a box to hook up to the Fire TV box, and a remote to turn the antenna. We get 24 HD channels and local TV. We had to purchase a cord to go from the antenna to the Fire TV box. We have Sling TV for 20.00 a month and Netflix. We have Amazon Prime also. We paid a one time fee of $79.99 for the Fire TV box. We have been using it for a year now and will never go back to $160.00 a month cable bill.
Hi,
I don’t understand a lot of all this. I got an Amazon Fire Stick, and I want to watch cable channels, but I don’t know how. I have a smart TV. We plugged the stick, we already subscribe to Netflix, but I looked for a movie that is free on Netflix, and here we had to pay if we wanted to watch it. I wonder if with the stick you do not have to pay monthly fees for Netflix or Hulu, etc.? Does the stick make a non-smart TV smart? I was told I could watch everything. If I have to pay, what’s the point? Sorry but can someone explain me easily?
The Fire TV Stick makes a non-smart TV smart, and makes a smart TV smart in a different way. So, you have Netflix, and you need to sign onto Netflix to use it. Your Fire Stick does not know you have Netflix until you tell it you have Netflix. You will need to download the Netflix app in the apps section (unless it is already downloaded under the “your apps” section). Open up that app. Program your Netflix account information into that app on the Fire Stick. Then enter that Netflix app and watch Netflix. You will need to open the Netflix app each time you want to watch Netflix on your Fire Stick (you don’t have to enter your account info anymore, just the first time). You will need to do the same thing for any “non-Amazon” app you download, ie., Hulu, CBS All Access, or any subscription service (like Netflix) you download. All of the stuff you see when you fist turn on the Fire Stick, is the Amazon stuff (hence “Amazon” Fire Stick), and Amazon has some stuff that is free (if you pay for Amazon Prime, $99.00 a year) and some stuff that you need to pay for (just like the “pay on demand” with cable companies, for newer movies that you rent through “pay on demand”). It sounds like you turned on the Fire Stick and went to the movie you wanted to watch (under Amazons selections), and did not go to the Netflix app first and turn on Netflix, and then look up that movie while in Netflix. That movie was not free under Amazon, but was under Netflix. Amazon also has movies that are free, that Netflix does not have. That is why they are competing companies. You can “access” Netflix through the Fire Stick (and Hulu and all the other subscription services), just like you can “access” Netflix and Amazon Prime through a Roku stick, but you need to sign in to those features first. Hope that kind of helps.
You can pay for monthly subscriptions and many other services but there are ways around all of that. Go to YouTube and lookup how to install Titanium on your fire stick. I have it and can literally watch whatever I want.
For those stating that they are not sure how a Fire Stick works; to put it simply, it’s a way to connect your TV to the internet. I suggest you watch a few YouTube videos to find out how to download apps that will allow to watch TV and movies for free. There are also services that are less expensive then cable that have live TV you may stream. We subscribe to Sling TV and use apps like Terrarium TV and several of the major network apps. We still pay but much, much less then we used to and we get a lot more options.
Why is there no mention of the fact that Sling service does not provide 100% of the content on a channel offering, like TCM for example. Sling will not stream to you 100% of TCMs content. But they don’t bother to warn you of this fact when you subscribe, nor warn you in advance of its eminent occurrence. They will just block a movie. And you’re SOL. Nice customer service. Includes no refunds.
Sling is the worst.
I have Apple TV via which I get Netflix, movies and TV channels. The last two need to pay for per item. I use the Clearview antenna which in Oakville gets me PBS clearly, City occasionally and National. How can I access sports channels for tennis, golf, hockey and cricket?
Where do you find the 6 digit code that EPIX wants to activate the Fire Stick?
Can I get live tv with my Fire Stick? What about local stations?
Absolutely! You can pick one of the services listed above. They work on the Fire TV as well as the Fire TV Stick.
Not for free.
The only way to get free live TV is with an antenna.
Great summary.
HD Homerun is another great way to access OTA channels. It’s the way I use it and it works really well. When paired with Plex it is even better.
Also, Amazon Recast will change the landscape for the OTA dramatically if they can deliver on promises. We’ll see.
Sebastian
I can’t get anything on my firestick and I got a Amazon account help
Retired and desperately want to cut cord. Have a Smart TV and Netflix and Prime, which is all I watch, along with national and local news. Also have PBS. So I’m fine. But spouse loves sports, tennis especially including The Australian, French, and US Opens and Wimbledon plus the regionals and Davis Cup. He also loves the big golfing tournaments, and the NCAA programs. Where do we go to get these live if we cut cord? Also not very familiar with how all these cord-cutting options interface with my Samsung TV
Many of these same live TV streaming services will work on your Samsung!
Why is there no mention of YouTube TV? It seems to be the best deal out there.