Hulu with Live TV Review 2019 | Why Is It Dominating?

Hulu with Live TV gained more than 500K subscribers in 3 months. Meanwhile, DIRECTV NOW lost 267,000 subscribers during the same timeframe. So, what is Hulu’s secret sauce?

----------

See our full HULU reviews here:

----------

We’ll talk about how Hulu is different from all the other streaming providers out there, and that’s a huge advantage for them if you already love the traditional Hulu service.

Hulu is known for incredible on-demand content, specifically with TV shows. But now its added live TV to the mix and just keeps refining its package. There are a few things to be aware of though.

Hulu with Live TV price/cost: $44.99/mo.

Hulu with Live TV Channels:
A&E, Boomerang, Bravo, BTN, Cartoon Network, CBS Sports Network, CNBC, CNN, CNNi, Disney, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPN-U, Food Network, Fox Business, Fox News, FreeForm, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX, Golf, HGTV, HLN, Lifetime, MSNBC, Discovery, TLC, Motor Trend, Animal Planet, ID, National Geographic, Nat GEO Wild, NBCSN, Oxygen, Pop, SEC Espn, Sprout, Syfy, TBS, History, Travel, TNT, TruTV, Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Motor Trend,  Animal Planet, Turner Classic Movies, USA, Viceland.

Hulu local channels:
CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX

Hulu with Live TV DVR:
The standard DVR comes with 50 hours of storage, which is comparable to Sling TV or some other providers. YouTube TV kills it though with unlimited DVR storage for no extra cost. You can upgrade for $10/mo. and get 200 hours of DVR storage with Hulu, but it’s an extra cost. That advanced DVR will also let you fast forward and rewind content. The standard Hulu DVR doesn’t.

Hulu with Live TV simultaneous streams:
For families who want to watch on several devices, this is a huge deal. Hulu with Live TV only allows for 2 simultaneous streams, unless you upgrade your package and pay another $10/mo.

Check out other recent videos we've done.

Live TV Streaming Playlist --

Check out other reviews on our site.

[Trex-zmgh]

I switched from Sling tv to Hulu live. I was already a Hulu user and I am happy with hulu live. The guide could be better but I think for the price it's good. You also get the streaming service along with live. I dropped Netflix, Prime, And Sling tv. As a Roku owner I like using the channel apps. with sling most apps didn't work with Hulu all apps work. As a retiree I am getting back into Baseball (Yankees) and Hulu gives me all the Baseball I can watch. As i am an old fart and I can use the interface the millennials shouldn't have a problem. Good Video

[nation]

I don't want to be nickle and dime. That's why I left direct TV after 17 years.
I'm with YouTube TV.

[ReviewsOrg]

CORRECTION: Thanks to one of our viewers for the heads up. Our original source was wrong, and the add on pricing is actually as follows:
Cloud DVR w/ 200 hrs — $9.99/mo.
Unlimited Streams — $9.99/mo.
Get both — $14.98/mo.
Maximum price (with no commercials) $65

Less egregious, thank goodness! But the broad point still stands.

[jjbailey]

Just switched to Hulu Live about 3 weeks ago after being with AT&T U-Verse for almost 3 years. Love how user friendly it is and sooo much cheaper. Really great lineup of channels and we wanted the live sports capability.

[joeljose]

Out of all the streaming services. Youtube tv was the best choice for us. And Especially teaching senior citizen how to use it. I like how your able to choose your own line up. And how easily it is to navigate. And what sold me was that it had every single local channel in my zip code. 🤘🏽

[YonsonTurbowski]

If Hulu live added the Viacom channels it’d be a game changer

[lobo]

I have YouTube TV and get 6 users with DVR for all 6 logins. IMO it’s the best bang for the buck right now. The guide is great also.

[lewboyd]

I like the visual layout of the channels. I like the keep watching and my channels features and it makes it easy to pickup where I left off.

[misterroberts]

ultimately, these live tv streaming services will cost as much as cable/satellite does and they will require a contract. thats what i see down the road.

[johnlewinski]

I don't know why everyone doesn't DUMP CABLE now.
I have HULU LIVE (without commercials)+HBO+ Magic Jack + Netflix for less than half of what Comcast cost.

The only drawbacks are no AMC but then there's nothing really good on it lately and sometimes the connection will go out. Also the format takes some getting used to, there's no Last Channel option which drives me nuts and you can easily drop out of Hulu if you hit the wrong button and the Exit button is right next to FF.
Still, I don't miss paying $200 a month for cable.

[hunterphfr]

Going to miss my PSVue come February, doing my research.

[BobBridgesbob]

Great review. I had DirecTV for over 20 years and was a very loyal customer. But after the rapidly declining customer service, and the ever increasing prices, I decided to cut the chord. Before doing so, I tested DirecTV Now, You Tube TV and Hulu With Live TV. They all had pros and cons, but I ultimately chose Hulu With Live TV because of that "magic sauce" you mentioned. I was already a Hulu With No Commercials Subscriber and found that I was watching all of my "network" shows via Hulu because of the no commercials plan I had. So it was a no brainer for me. I went ALL IN with Hulu TV and have Hulu with No Commercials, Live TV, Unlimited Screens, plus I added the HBO/Cinemax bundle as well as Showtime. Even after all that, I'm still saving over $150 per month over what I was originally paying for DTV because I had multiple DVRs and boxes throughout the house, all the movie channels, etc. I love Hulu With Live TV because it gives me the best of all worlds.

[davejsv]

I love Hulu live Tv.  The main reason is  their captions are the best.  I tried direct tv now and the captions were awful.  Big, blotchy, and no options for adjustment.  Hulu allows you to set font size, background, color, etc.  I need the captions and this is the main reason I choose Hulu.

[erichanson]

Honestly after watching this review, I'm even happier that I decided to go with youtube tv, and I was already happy with the service to begin with :). To anyone looking to cut the cord I'd highly recommend a Roku ultra with Youtube tv!

[antonioclaudio]

If Netflix does Netflix with live TV it's game over for ever other competitor.

[trinleyhalenstephens]

Love Hulu with Live TV. We have it with 200 hours and unlimited streams. Amazing better than any service. People need to understand all the on demand content your getting too. You wont get it anywhere else.

[koatlga]

I just cut Directv. I had the Choice package which is $90 a month. it came to $140 after all the additional fees were added ($50). I switched to Hulu + Live TV. They have added the Channel guide to their live TV which is what everyone was screaming at them to do. I am very pleased after a week of use and would recommend it for anyone thinking about cutting the cord.

[davidlantz]

$15 gets you both the DVR and unlimited streams now, so your costs are a bit off. All the points you make are still valid but may want to update that.

[buffylife]

I’ve been a cord cutter for a year and a half now. I’ve tried YTTV, Sling, Philo, Fubo and IPTV.

IPTV- Can’t record, buffers and locals aren’t true locals.

Sling- No locals for me. Awesome but no locals. They used to have Fox and NBC now nothing for me.

YTTV- Awesome but missing A&E and Lifetime plus their VOD and Movies on demand are limited and definitely not as large as Hulu...Plus VOD/ Movies have commercials. Excellent DVR but that’s all.

Philo- Awesome for new cord cutters. 30 day DVR free, VOD is available but hard to navigate their interface to find them. No locals, no sports.

FuboTV- Has every channel you need. VOD is not huge. Buffers. For the price I was frustrated with FuboTV due to buffering and being catapulted to the beginning of a VOD/Movie if I tried to FFW. Also you have to click click click in 15 second intervals to FFW and there are no tiles to see where you end up if you record a program. Cancelled 2 days into my free trial.

Hulu Live - All the major networks, Huge VOD/ Movie Library, Hulu Originals, Locals and sports. Awesome HD quality and even watching in 720p it is superb.I currently with Hulu Live and enjoying all the juicy movies and VOD. I have the Hulu Live no ads. Absolutely enjoying their interface. Very easy to surf and find movies or VOD which makes binging easy. Worth every penny!

[raphaeldelaghetto]

The fact that you can't fast forward through commercials with the base DVR plan is a deal breaker. I'll stick with PlayStationVue.