How to Watch National Geographic Without Cable

National Geographic’s television channel is home to nonfiction shows of all types, from the weird and the wild to the more thoughtful and informative. National Geographic knows how to highlight the things about our world that are truly bizarre, and it does a good enough job that some of its fans are tempted to do something pretty bizarre themselves: pay for cable.

Cable and satellite companies charge top dollar for channel bundles that include National Geographic, but that doesn't mean you have to pay big bucks to see the shows and documentaries you crave. You can watch National Geographic without cable, and we’re going to show you how. Below, we’ll cover the techniques and services you need to secure a National Geographic livestream and ditch your legacy pay-TV contract for good. Here’s how to watch National Geographic without cable.

A few of our favorite ways to stream National Geographic:

	Price	Channels	Free Trial
#1	$5.99 – $85.96	68 – 88	7 or 30 days	See Offer
#2	$35 – $50	30+ – 130+	3 days	See Offer

Thanks to the rise of a new type of streaming service — called, appropriately enough, live TV streaming services — you can now watch National Geographic (and a whole lot of other channels) without cable. We’re talking live TV — not clips or on-demand shows, but a real, actual National Geographic livestream. Let’s get to know the services that matter for your purposes.

Hulu + Live TV is exactly what it sounds like: Hulu, but with live TV added on. As we pointed out in our review of Hulu + Live TV, it includes all the on-demand content you’d get with “regular” Hulu and also offers boatloads of live TV networks, including National Geographic.

Sling TV offers subscribers a choice of two base packages: Sling Orange or Sling Blue. Each of those Sling TV subscription options cost $35, and there's a discount if you sign up for both. Sign up for one or both, and you'll be able to tack on “extras” — small add-on bundles — to create a custom bundle. To get National Geographic, start with Sling Blue, which includes the channel in its base selection. You can read our review of Sling TV to learn more.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is Google’s skinny bundle. It shares the branding of Google’s popular YouTube streaming-video platform, but this is a different service. Instead of user-generated content, you’ll get the live network television you’d expect from a top-flight skinny bundle. Among the channels on offer through YouTube TV is National Geographic. You can check out YouTube TV for free for a week by signing up for the service’s free trial. For more information, check out our YouTube TV review.

National Geographic looks best on the big screen. It's easy to get it there when you sign up for one of the services above, because the major skinny-bundle services work great on streaming platforms such as Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast.

Hulu + Live TV also has an app for PlayStation video-game consoles. Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV all work on modern Xbox systems.

There Are Plenty of Ways to Watch National Geographic Without Cable

There are many streaming options available if you want to watch National Geographic but don’t want to hand a cable company any more money. We hope the guide above helps you choose one so you can get back to watching the National Geographic content you enjoy.

Are you looking for even more National Geographic content? Check out Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic’s sister channel. Nat Geo Wild is available on many of the same streaming services as National Geographic.