How to watch truTV without cable in 2026

Over the past few years, truTV has grown into a fun source of comedy, reality and live sports (especially March Madness). Being a part of the TBS family, you'll usually also get access to all its quality sister channels. We typically recommend getting truTV via the following streamers: Sling, DIRECTV and Hulu. Let's dig into all the details...

Table of Contents

[-]

• truTV on Sling TV
• truTV on DIRECTV
• truTV on Hulu
• Providers with truTV
• Mobile apps
• Live Sports

Note: For all sections below, a checkmark next to a plan means that it's our favorite way of getting truTV.

truTV on Sling TV - our recommended service

• Channels: 50
• Best price: $23
• 7-day free trial

Visit Sling

Sling is a popular provider of flexible and compact plans. No fluff, just a variety of themed plans that tend to fit a lot of needs. They have two main plans and also offer a bunch of add-on packs. Of the two plans (Blue and Orange), truTV is only available in Blue. So, be sure to choose that one if you want a bunch of TBS channels.

Speaking of TBS, other sister channels in Blue include: TLC, USA Network, TBS, CNN, A&E, E!, History and more. The Blue plan has 43 channels for $23/mo, so truTV and the rest of the TBS channels make up a good chunk of the plan.

Speaking of price, with the current offer, you get the first month half-off. With all their packages, you can, of course, cancel whenever you like. They also offer subscription options of a few days or weeks. Super convenient if you only need truTV for short-term sporting events like March Madness.

If you're primarily looking for truTV and not a ton of other channels, Sling is a great option. It's even more attractive if you want to catch the big game on truTV over just a few days/weeks - ends up saving you a fair amount in the long-term.

If you want more programming options than the Blue plan, consider Blue + Orange or adding any number of themed add-on packs. Overall, although Sling won't get you all your locals or regional sports networks, you'll likely dig the freedom to customize a lineup to your exact needs.

truTV on DIRECTV

• Channels: 160
• Best price: $49.99
• 5-day free trial

Visit DIRECTV

Compared to Sling, DIRECTV has more complete plans (akin to cable) and includes a full suite of local channels and regional sports. You'll get roughly twice the channels for about double the price. Fair enough, just make sure you need the extra channels before you commit.

To help you decide, let's break down their plans. DIRECTV offers found primary options and truTV is available in the second (Choice) and higher. So, Choice is the cheapest way to get truTV and goes for $54.99/mo with 125 channels. Pretty solid value overall, especially if you're a sports fan. DIRECTV is one of the best ways to get access to all major pro and college sports... and Choice is the first plan that includes nearly all of 'em.

With respect to truTV, you'll also get a bunch of similar channels in Choice (including TBS sister channels): TNT, TLC, History, E!, Food Network, Lifetime, Oxygen, Paramount, etc. Check out the plan details below:

When you need a more complete lineup than Sling, DIRECTV wins out for a lot of folks. Their two main advantages over Sling are access to all your locals and a bunch of sports channels (regional sports networks, etc). So, if you don't watch sports and could care less about the local nightly news, you're probably better off with Sling. Otherwise, there's a lot to like about DIRECTV. Their tech and apps all work well together and are a pleasure to use.

As with Sling, DIRECTV lets you try things out with a 5-day free trial. It's totally unrestricted and you won't be charged a dime. Just be sure to set yourself a reminder before the trial ends (unexpected charges are the worst).

truTV on Hulu Live

• Channels: 95
• Best price: $89.99
• Free Disney+

Visit Hulu

For years, Hulu and TBS have had a solid content partnership. As a result, just about about all the TBS sister channels can be found on Hulu Live, including truTV. Those and other similar channels include: TNT, History, E!, Lifetime, USA Network, CW, OWN, etc.

Hulu + Live TV keeps the plans simple with just two options: ad-supported and ad-free. They both include 95 channels with the ad-supported one going for $89.99/mo. To get rid of those ads, you'll need to pay a bit more ($99.99/mo). Hulu's ads aren't really repetitive or intrusive so we don't mind the ads but everyone's pain threshold with ads is different.

Finally, either plan gets you full access to their giant library of original movies and series -- a big win for a lot of folks. Here's a bit more on both...

In addition to the streaming library, one of the bigger perks with Hulu Live is getting access to Disney+ and ESPN+ totally free. No strings attached and you get both for the life of your subscription. Valued at about $25/mo, it's especially solid for households with kids and/or sports fans.

With respect to tech, Hulu offers access to their content via all popular ways: phone, tablet, laptop and TV. Apps are solid and generally glitch-free. We prefer the iOS app the most but you can't really go wrong with any part of Hulu's ecosystem.

Streaming services with and without truTV

For the most part, truTV is only available with the streamers discussed above. YouTubeTV is another option but smaller providers like Philo and Frndly TV don't carry any of the TBS channels. Check out all the details below...

Mobile apps (iOS and Android)

truTV App

Being a relatively smaller channel, it's cool that truTV has its own dedicated iOS and Android apps. Both are free to download and just require a provider login (DIRECTV, etc) for access.

We've tested both apps and while things may be better now, the Android version was quite buggy. It was tough to link a provider and it randomly crashed. A Google Play rating of just 2.5 out of 5 (9K reviews) sort of backs that up.

On the flip side, the iOS version was much better. All major features worked flawlessly and it was generally a pleasure to use. Smart layout and functionality. An app store rating 4.5/5 corroborates our experience.

So, broad strokes, if you live in the Android ecosystem, you may want to skip the app. iOS users will most likely prefer watching live and on demand programs via the app.

Live Sports on truTV

Over the past few years, TBS sports has made a concerted effort to expand their sports coverage to include truTV. It started with March Madness and has continued with the NHL and others. Expect a growing number of simulcasts and exclusive events to be broadcast on truTV...