10. Watching News and Sports via Streaming Video
In this chapter, you learn the best ways to watch live news, weather, and sports on your Smart TV or streaming media player.
There is a plethora of informative content available via streaming video. Virtually every major news organization has a streaming presence, and most of these channels are free. Several free weather services stream online, as well. And when it comes to sports—well, there’s a lot of streaming online, but it’s not all free.
Watching Live News
News makes the world go round. Whether you like your news from the major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC), from relatively unbiased sources (Cheddar, CNN), or from more right- or left-leaning networks (FOX News and MSNBC), it’s all streaming to your living room—including local news broadcasts from your local TV stations.
Watch National and International News
Every major national and international news organization has some kind of streaming presence. Some are available on live streaming video services, some on free streaming video services, and some via their own streaming apps. In other words, it’s not that hard to get the news you need.
Streaming Services
Learn more about free streaming services in Chapter 7, “Watching Free Streaming Video Services.” Learn more about live streaming services in Chapter 8, “Watching Live Streaming Video Services.”
In most cases, you watch streaming news live, as it happens. Some streaming news apps let you revisit individual stories or programs on demand, as well.
Watching CNN on Pluto TV
Table 10.1 details the news offerings for the major live streaming and free streaming video services.
Table 10.1 Streaming Availability for Major News Sources
News Source |
AT&T TV |
fuboTV |
Hulu + Live TV |
Philo |
Pluto TV |
Roku Channel |
Sling TV |
Xumo |
YouTube TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC News Live |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
BBC World News |
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
BlazeTV |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Bloomberg Television |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
BNC |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
CBC News |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
CBSN |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
Cheddar |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
CNBC |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
CNBC World |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
CNN |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
CNN International |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The First |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
FOX Business Network |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
FOX News Channel |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
MSNBC |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
NBC News Now |
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
NewsMax TV |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Newsy |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
OANN |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
RT America |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
Sky News |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
TYT Network |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
AT&T TV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV are probably the best for watching traditional cable news networks such as CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC. Pluto TV has the largest number of news channels, but a lot of them are fringe or foreign networks. Cheddar, a relatively new network, is the only one available on all major streaming services.
Watching Cheddar on fuboTV
Lesser-Known News Channels
When it comes to news, you’re no doubt familiar with the newscasts from the major broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, and NBC. You’ve probably heard of CNN, and maybe even FOX News Network and MSNBC. But there are a lot of other news options in the world of streaming video that you may not be familiar with. These channels include
BBC World News (www.bbc.com/news/world), respected international news from the UK’s BBC
BlazeTV (get.blazetv.com), conservative news and commentary from Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Candace Owens, and more
Bloomberg Television (www.bloomberg.com/live), financial news for businesspeople
BNC (www.blacknewschannel.com), also known as the Black News Channel, an independent, minority-owned and operated news network with programming “by people of color for people of color”
CBC News (www.cbc.ca/news), Canadian news from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Cheddar (www.cheddar.com), financial and business news for millennials
CNBC (www.cnbc.com), financial and business news
CNN International (www.cnn.com/world), international news from CNN
The First (www.thefirsttv.com), conservative news and commentary from Dana Loesch, Bill O’Reilly, Mike Slater, and more
FOX Business Network (www.foxbusiness.com), financial and business news
NewsMax TV (www.newsmaxtv.com), conservative news and talk
Newsy (www.newsy.com), news and documentaries
OANN (www.oann.com), One America News Network, conservative news
RT America (www.rt.com), conservative news and talk, operated by the Moscow-based Russia Today network
Sky News (news.sky.com), British news by the UK Sky Network
TYT Network (www.tyt.com), The Young Turks Network, progressive news and talk
These news channels cover the political spectrum from right to left. Many of these channels are available on one streaming video service or another. Most have their own apps for watching on Smart TVs and streaming media players.
Watch Local News
If you subscribe to a live streaming video service, such as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV, chances are that service offers your local TV stations for live viewing. If that is the case, that’s the easiest way to watch local news, weather, and sports—just tune into your local newscast at the appointed time and watch it live.
Watching a local newscast from Minneapolis channel KMSP on YouTube TV.
That’s not the only way to stream local newscasts, however. Many local TV stations have streaming apps that you can add to your streaming media player or Smart TV. These local apps typically are news-focused; they might not provide any local programming except for local newscasts. Some stream live newscasts in real time; most offer an archive of recent newscasts and individual stories. Go to your streaming device’s app or channel store and search for your local stations’ call letters to see what’s available.
Browsing local news from KSTP in Minneapolis in the 5 Eyewitness News app.
The Local Now and Stirr apps also offer local news coverage in addition to their other content. When you first launch each app, you configure it for your current location, and the app then offers news from one of your local stations. (Local Now also offers local weather from The Weather Channel.)
Browsing local news in the Local Now app.
There also are a handful of streaming apps that consolidate local newscasts from hundreds of stations around the country. You can use these apps to view the most recent newscasts from your local stations or from local stations in other cities. The most popular of these apps are Haystack TV and NewsON; look for them in your streaming device’s app or channel store.
Local news options from Minneapolis station WCCO in the Haystack TV app.
Local News When You’re Away from Home
Using a streaming news app like Haystack TV and NewsOn is a great way to keep up with your hometown news if you’re snowbirding elsewhere for the winter or traveling. You can watch news from tons of stations across the country, no matter where you’re currently located.
Watching Live Weather
Although weather is a part of many newscasts, surprisingly few dedicated weather sources are available for streaming. You might think that The Weather Channel, for example, would have a major streaming presence, but it doesn’t—and neither do any of its competitors.
Watch the Weather Channel (and Local Now)
As of summer 2020, The Weather Channel is available as a separate channel on only three streaming services—AT&T TV, Frndly TV, and fuboTV. It is not available on Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.
Watching The Weather Channel on fuboTV.
The Weather Channel does have a streaming app that’s available for Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku, but to use it you need a subscription to a paid TV provider, such as your local cable service. You can’t watch the streaming channel if you don’t have the other subscription.
Content from The Weather Channel—including local weather “on the 8s”—is available on the Local Now streaming service, however. Local Now is available on fuboTV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV or as its own streaming app.
Watching weather from The Weather Channel on the Local Now app.
Watch Other Streaming Weather
WeatherNation is the other big weather service in the streaming world. It offers content similar to The Weather Channel, including local and regional forecasts. You can find WeatherNation on Roku and Sling TV or as its own streaming app.
Watching a weathercast on the WeatherNation app.
If you search your streaming media device’s app or channel store, you’ll find other lesser-known weather apps you might want to try out. On Roku devices, The Weather Network and Weather4Us are both somewhat popular, although they’re not as full-featured as the WeatherNation app.
Watching Live Sports
If you’re a sports fan, one of the great things about cable or satellite television is all the live sports available. Chances are you already subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket or a similar package for your favorite sport.
Watching live sporting events without cable or satellite is slightly more challenging. You can watch sports from the major broadcast networks over the air, of course, but that leaves out ESPN and tons of other national and regional sports networks. Streaming sports over the Internet isn’t much better because all the major sports channels and leagues require some sort of paid television subscription to access their streaming content. That means either keeping your cable/satellite subscription or subscribing to a live streaming TV service. Either option lets you access most channels’ and leagues’ main channels, as well as special streaming apps, on your Smart TV or streaming media player.
Watching Sports on Live Streaming Services
If you don’t have cable or satellite, the best way to watch sports on your Smart TV or streaming media player is by subscribing to a live streaming service. These services offer a mix of local channels (with broadcast network sports), dedicated sports channels, and, in some cases, special sports packages.
AT&T TV, being a close cousin to DirecTV (also owned by AT&T), has similarly strong sports offerings for its subscribers. The service offers the ACC Network, Big 10 Network, CBS Sports Network, five different ESPN channels, Fox Sports 1 and 2, regional Fox Sports networks, the Golf Channel, the Longhorn Network, MLB Network, MSG, NBA TV, various NBC Sports networks, the NHL Network, SEC Network, and the Tennis Channel. It also offers NBA League Pass.
fuboTV’s strength is its variety of sports programming from all around the world. The service offers global sports programming from multiple beIN Sports and TUDN channels, which makes fuboTV the go-to streaming service for fans of international football (soccer) and other sports popular outside the United States. It also offers a variety of ESPN channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3, ESPN Deportes, ESPNews, and ESPNU, and the ACC and SEC Networks. All of this makes fuboTV the service of choice for serious sports fans around the world.
Watching beIN Sports on fuboTV.
Hulu + Live TV is a good choice for someone who’s a casual sports fan. You get all broadcast and cable/satellite sports channels but no league-specific channels. (That means no MLB, NBA, NFL, or NHL, other than those games broadcast on ESPN or the broadcast networks.)
The same goes for Sling TV. It doesn’t offer many local channels, so that cuts out a large number of pro games. It does have ESPN and Fox regional sports, along with the major league sports services, so there’s that. There’s also a Sports Extra add-on package that includes beIN Sports, Golf Channel, NBA TV, NFL RedZone, NHL Network, Motorsport TV, Olympic Channel, Outside Television, Pac-12 Network, and Stadium.
Finally, there’s YouTube TV, which has a decent selection of sports-related content. You’ll find a bevy of ESPN, Fox, and NBC sports channels in the basic plan, and the Fox Soccer Plus and NBA League Pass channels are available in add-on packages.
Watching ESPN on YouTube TV.
Table 10.2 compares the sports offerings on the major live streaming video services.
Table 10.2 Sports Programming on Live Streaming Video Services
Sports Channel |
AT&T TV |
fuboTV |
Hulu + Live TV |
Pluto TV |
Sling TV |
Xumo |
YouTube TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ACC Network |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Adventure Sports Network |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
beIN Sports |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Big Sky Conference |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Big Ten Network |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
CBS Sports Network |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
CombatGO |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
COPA90 |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Cycle World |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
EDGE Sport |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
ESPN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
ESPN2 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
ESPN3 |
|
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
ESPNews |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
ESPNU |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
ESPN Bases Loaded |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
ESPN College Extra |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
ESPN Deportes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
ESPN Goal Line |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Field & Stream |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Fight |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Football Daily |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Fox Deportes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Fox Sports 1 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
Yes |
Fox Sports 2 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
Fox Sports regional networks |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
FTF TV |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
fubo Sports Network |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
GLORY Kickboxing |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Golf Channel |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
GOLTV |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hard Knocks |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Impact! Wrestling |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Longhorn Network |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
MLB Network |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
MLS |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
MMA Junkie |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
MotorTrend |
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
MSG |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NBA League Pass |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NBA TV |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
NBCSN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
NBCSN regional networks |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
NFL Network |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
|
|
NHL Network |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
Nitro Circus |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Olympic Channel |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
Outdoor America |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Outside TV+ |
|
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
|
Pac-12 Networks |
|
Yes |
|
|
Yes |
|
|
PGA Tour |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Pluto Sports |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Red Bull TV |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
SEC Network |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
Spectrum SportsNet |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sports Illustrated |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
SportsGrid |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Sportsman Channel |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SportsNet New York |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SportsTime Ohio |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stadium |
|
|
|
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Surf |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
|
|
Tennis Channel |
Yes |
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Yes |
TUDN |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
TVG Network |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
USA Today SportsWire |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
USGA |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
Waypoint TV |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
World Poker Tour |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
World Surf League |
|
|
|
|
|
Yes |
|
YES Network |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
|
|
>>>Go Further
Where To Watch Golf
Whatever your handicap, there’s a lot of televised golf to watch these days. In fact, there’s an entire channel devoted to the game, NBC’s Golf Channel. The Golf Channel carries live coverage of major tournaments as well as historical and instructional programming, all in glorious high definition. (The greens and fairways look especially vivid in HD!)
The Golf Channel is carried by almost all cable and satellite systems. It’s also part of the packages offered by most of the live streaming services. You can watch Golf Channel programming from the NBC Sports streaming app available for most Smart TVs, streaming media players, and mobile devices.
In addition, much of the PGA Tour is carried live on broadcast television. CBS and NBC each carry a handful of PGA tournaments, free with an OTA (over-the-air) antenna or part of most cable, satellite, or live streaming video packages.
Lesser-Known Sports Channels
If you’re a fan of sports on TV, you’re probably already familiar with the various ESPN channels, as well as the offerings from the CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports, and NBC Sports. While perusing the sports offerings on the various live streaming services, however, you’re bound to encounter a channel or two (or three or four) with which you are less familiar. These channels include
beIN Sports (www.beinsports.com), a network of global sports channels operated by Al Jazeera Media Network. Covers French, German, Spanish, and South American football (soccer), as well as major motorcycle road races, professional handball, the Women’s Tennis Association, and a variety of U.S. college sports
Big Ten Network (www.btn.com), featuring collegiate sports in the Big Ten Conference
Copa90 (www.copa90.com), which covers football (soccer) from around the world
GLORY Kickboxing (www.glorykickboxing.com), featuring events from the world’s premier kickboxing league
GOLTV (www.goltv.tv.), all about football (soccer) from Mexico, Portugal, Uruguay, Venezuela, and other South American countries.
Stadium (www.watchstadium.com), offering college sports from the ACC, Big 12, Conference USA, Mountain West Conference, the Patriot League, and the West Coast Conference
Watching college sports on the Stadium app.
TUDN (www.tudn.com), formerly known as Univision Deportes Network, focuses on football (soccer) in the Americas, as well as a smattering of martial arts, motorsports, and professional wrestling
TVG Network (www.tvg.com), which covers horse and greyhound racing
As you can see, the world of streaming sports is more than just broadcast games and ESPN. If you’re into college sports, soccer, and more, you’ll find more options available online than you will from cable or satellite.
Watching Specific Sports Apps
In addition to the major sports networks available on the various live streaming services, a number of individual sports-related services offer even more live games and analysis. These services are available as apps or channels for most Smart TVs and streaming media players.
The only catch to most of these services is that you must subscribe to some sort of paid TV plan to use them. They’re not freestanding; they’re available only if you subscribe to a cable, satellite, or live streaming media service. When you first install and use one of these apps, you’re prompted to enter the name of your television provider, username, and password. If you don’t subscribe to a package with the necessary channels, you won’t be able to view streaming programming in the app.
Some of the more popular streaming sports apps include the following:
BTN+ offers live streaming of non-televised Big Ten games and on-demand playback of previous games.
CBS Sports offers sports highlights, news, scores, and analysis for MLB, MLS, NCAA, NFL, NHL, PGA, and WNBA games, as well as live streaming from CBS Sports HQ.
ESPN offers 24/7 streaming coverage of live games and shows from a variety of ESPN networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, ACC Network Extra, Longhorn Network, SEC Network, and SEC Network+; subscribers also can watch Monday Night Football, NBA regular season and playoff games, Major League Baseball games, the Masters, college basketball and football, Wimbledon and other tennis matches, and thousands of other live sporting events.
ESPN+
The free ESPN app is for viewers with an existing TV subscription. If you don’t have a cable, satellite, or live streaming subscription, you can subscribe to the similar ESPN+ app for $5.99 per month.
Fox Sports, with live-streaming from the Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox College Sports, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Deportes, and Fox regional sports networks—including coverage of MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NHL, UEFA Champions League soccer, UFC, and college football and basketball games.
MLB provides subscription live access to out-of-market regular season games (or after the game via on-demand).
NBA provides game highlights, live score updates, and current stats and standings.
NBC Sports is one the of most robust streaming apps/channels available, with live streaming of thousands of sporting events from NBC, NBCSN, the Golf Channel, and NBC’s various regional channels—including NFL Sunday Night Football, regular season and playoff NHL games, the PGA Tour, Premier League soccer, the French Open, the Triple Crown, and select NBA and MLB games.
Watching the NBC Sports app.
NFL includes around-the-clock news and analysis of NFL games and teams, along with game highlights; with an optional NFL Game Pass subscription, you can watch replays (but not live streaming) of every league game throughout the regular season. (If you want to watch live out-of-market games, go with the NFL Sunday Ticket app and accompanying subscription.)
NHL provides subscription access to live streaming of every out-of-market regular-season hockey game from across the league.
Check the channel or app store for your Smart TV or streaming media player to see which apps or channels are available for your platform.
>>>Go Further
Live Sports in Canada and the UK
You won’t find ESPN or Fox Sports on Canadian TV; they’re U.S. networks, not Canadian ones. Instead, there are several Canadian sports networks, all available for streaming on your Smart TV or streaming media player. The two biggest sports networks in Canada are Sportsnet and TSN, both with multiple channels available on streaming devices, cable, and satellite.
It’s the same thing in the UK: no ESPN or Fox Sports. There are plenty of football games available on the BBC channels, but for even more in-depth coverage, you’re going to want both BT Sport and Sky Sports. (The BT Sport pack includes ESPN content.)