OTT & CTV – Skinny Bundles

Meet the Skinny Bundles

What is a skinny bundle? Well, now you know – but you don’t know which services are skinny bundles. Here are a few of the largest and most trusted skinny bundles on the market right now. Each of these services offers a free trial, so checking out one or two would be a good way to familiarize yourself with the world of skinny bundles.

DIRECTV NOW

AT&T’s version of the skinny bundle offers a selection of bundles that range from the smallest, “Live a Little” ($35 per month) on up to much less skinny options. You can read our review of DIRECTV NOW here, or you can check it out for yourself by taking a look at its week-long free trial offer – the link is below.

Try DIRECTV NOW for free

fuboTV

fuboTV started life as a soccer-specific streaming service before rebooting and re-launching as a more general-interest skinny bundle. Fans of some sports will still find that fuboTV has some advantages for them, but there’s something for everyone in the service now. Read our review of fuboTV here, or check out the free trial below.

Try fuboTV for free

Hulu with Live TV

Streaming video on demand (SVOD) service Hulu also has a skinny bundle option. The appropriately named Hulu With Live TV costs $39.99 per month for its only skinny bundle option. You can learn more about Hulu with Live TV by reading our review here.

Try Hulu with Live TV for free

Philo

Philo’s goal is to be the cheapest of the skinny bundles, and it’s doing a pretty good job of it. Philo keeps the prices on its twin bundles down to just $16 per month and $20 per month, respectively. That’s possible in part because of what Philo doesn’t have: sports and local channels. By skipping those costly bits of skinny bundle fare, Philo is able to offer everything else at crazy competitive prices. If you don’t need sports or local channels, Philo is a fantastic option.

Try Philo for free

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue is available for all sorts of different platforms, including Roku and Fire TV devices, so don’t let the name scare you off just because you’re not a PlayStation owner. PlayStation Vue offers subscribers a choice of bundles that range from the $39.99 per month “Access” bundle up to much larger ones. PlayStation Vue offers a five-day free trial.

Try PlayStation Vue for free

Sling TV

Sling TV got some attention in this article, because it was the first service to being to define live TV streaming services and answer that question in our title: what is a skinny bundle? In Sling TV’s view, it’s an a la carte bundle that you build yourself by starting with a base package (the $20-per-month Sling Orange or the $25-per-month Sling Blue) and then adding add-on bundles for $5 or more a pop. You can check out Sling TV for free for a week.

Try Sling TV for free

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is Google’s version of the skinny bundle. As of this writing, YouTube TV is still in the midst of a region-by-region rollout. But it’s available in many areas already, and it’s a very strong service that earned good marks in our YouTube TV review. YouTube TV costs $40 per month and includes a lot of great channels. You can check it out for free for a week by signing up for its free trial offer.

Try YouTube TV for free

PHILO VS. SLING TV VS. DIRECTV NOW VS. YOUTUBE TV VS. HULU VS. PLAYSTATION VUE VS. FUBO TV: TOP 100 CHANNELS COMPARED

Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($40)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
Total channels:	32	23	34	59	54	52	46	43

ABC	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CBS	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NBC	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

A&E	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
AMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Animal Planet	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
BBC America	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
BBC World News	Yes	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	$
BET	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Big Ten Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Bloomberg TV	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Boomerang	No	$	$	$	No	Yes	$	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
Bravo	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cartoon Network/ Adult Swim	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
CBS Sports Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Cheddar	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Cinemax	No	$	$	$	No	$	$	No
CMT	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
CNBC	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
CNN	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Comedy Central	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Cooking Channel	$	$	$	$	No	No	$	$
CSPAN	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
CW	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Destination America	$	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
Discovery Channel	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Discovery Family	$	No	No	$	No	No	$	No
Discovery Life	$	No	No	$	No	No	$	No
Disney Channel	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Disney Junior	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Disney XD	No	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
DIY	Yes	$	$	$	No	No	$	$
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
E!	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EPIX	No	$	$	No	No	No	$	No
ESPN	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ESPN 2	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
ESPN 3	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
ESPNEWS	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
ESPNU	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
Food Network	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Business	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox News	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Sports 1	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fox Sports 2	No	No	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Freeform	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
FX	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FX Movie Channel	No	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
FXX	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Golf Channel	No	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
Hallmark	No	$	$	Yes	No	No	$	Yes
HBO	No	$	$	$	No	$	$	No
HGTV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
History	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
HLN	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
IFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
Investigation Discovery	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Lifetime	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Lifetime Movie Network	Yes	$	$	$	No	Yes	No	Yes
MLB Network	No	No	No	$	Yes	No	$	No
MSNBC	No	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MTV	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
MTV2	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
MyNetworkTV	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Nat Geo Wild	No	No	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	$	Yes
National Geographic	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NBA TV	No	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
NBC Sports Network	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Newsy	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
NFL Network	No	No	Yes	$	No	No	$	Yes
NFL Red Zone	No	No	$	No	No	No	$	No
NHL Network	No	$	$	$	No	No	No	No
Nick Jr.	Yes	$	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Nickelodeon	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Nicktoons	$	$	$	$	No	No	No	No
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)
OWN	Yes	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
Oxygen	No	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Paramount Network	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
PBS	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Science	Yes	No	No	$	No	No	Yes	No
SEC Network	No	$	No	$	Yes	Yes	$	No
Showtime	No	$	$	$	$	$	$	$
Starz	No	$	$	$	$	No	No	No
Sundance TV	Yes	$	$	$	Yes	No	$	Yes
Syfy	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TBS	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Telemundo	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tennis Channel	No	No	No	$	Yes	No	No	No
TLC	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
TNT	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Travel Channel	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
TruTV	No	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Turner Classic Movies	No	$	$	Yes	Yes	Yes	$	No
TV Land	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
Univision	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
USA Network	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
VH1	Yes	$	$	Yes	No	No	No	No
Viceland	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
WE tv	Yes	$	$	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Weather Channel	No	No	No	$	No	No	No	Yes
Channel	Philo ($16)	Sling Orange ($25)	Sling Blue ($25)	DirecTV Now ($35)	YouTube TV ($40)	Hulu with Live TV ($40)	PS Vue ($45)	Fubo TV ($45)