I’m not a huge fan of the algorithmic approach that most streaming services rely on. I didn’t have to wait for Hulu + Live TV to decide to suggest a menu of horror movies I could navigate to the movies tab myself and drill down to a menu of just horror movies. Unlike some competitors, though, Hulu + Live TV offers simple ways to access menus of TV shows and movies sorted by genre. Hulu’s approach reminded me a bit of Netflix’s and Amazon Prime Video’s: As with those services, I could easily surf its menus and find something to watch, but I couldn’t always predict which options and genres I’d find on the ever-shifting content discovery menus. I found each individual menu pretty straightforward, though I had a few issues with how Hulu choose to organize and connect them within the app. Hulu’s app isn’t quite intuitive, but it’s not too tough to get the hang of. Hulu + Live TV also measures up well against Sling TV and fuboTV. Though the channel count falls a little short of the high bar set by YouTube TV’s channel list, it beats DIRECTV’s base plan (of course, that's not DIRECTV's only plan - for a full accounting of how the two services match up, be sure to check out our comparison piece on Hulu Plus Live TV vs. The aforementioned channel list is very robust and includes all the big networks from just about all of the big media companies, including Viacom-CBS and other giants that are sometimes reluctant to sign carriage deals with live TV streaming services. But Hulu + Live TV’s core offering - the live TV - is on point, too. Of course, you can get that entire on-demand library with Hulu’s regular, non-live TV subscription. Hulu’s on-demand service competes with Max and Netflix in the live TV market, where on-demand content is an afterthought and original series are rare, Hulu’s on-demand library feels like a superstar dropping in on a pickup game. The fact that it also includes all of Hulu’s great on-demand content - including Hulu original series like “The Handmaid's Tale” and Hulu original films like “Prey” - gives Hulu + Live TV a big advantage over the competition. As I’ll talk about in more detail in a moment, Hulu + Live TV would already have been a top live TV streaming contender with just the “live TV” part of the equation alone. That extra content really puts Hulu + Live TV over the top. As the name suggests, you’re really getting Hulu (the on-demand service) plus live TV. That’s because Hulu + Live TV includes everything that you’d get from regular old “Hulu,” the simpler (and much cheaper) on-demand subscription option. Unlike most other live TV streaming services, though, Hulu + Live TV also has a dedicated library of on-demand content that is not culled from TV broadcasts. Like other live TV streaming services, Hulu + Live TV seems to take programs from recent TV broadcasts and make them available on an on-demand basis - albeit still in their edited-for-TV versions. Hulu + Live TV let me watch much of this same content in an on-demand form. A selected live stream (top, blacked out for digital rights reasons) shares space with the channel guide menu in Hulu’s well-designed iOS app Hulu + Live TV also carries some regional sports networks, which are available in the markets they serve (unfortunately, the Bally Sports networks are missing from Hulu + Live TV, much as they are from most other live TV streaming services). So are cable news channels like CNN and Fox News, as well as sports networks like ESPN and FS1. Entertainment networks like Cartoon Network, FX, and TBS are included. The Hulu + Live TV channel lineup is packed with channels that you might recognize from cable and satellite bundles. The “+ Live TV” part of Hulu + Live TV is a selection of more than 85 live TV channels. The big deal here is the option to stream live TV online, which is not included in Hulu’s cheaper subscription package. Hulu + Live TV includes two different types of streaming content: Live TV channels and on-demand videos. Check out our ranking of top streaming devices for more details. How to Watch Hulu + Live TV: You can use Hulu + Live TV on lots of different streaming devices - but which one works best? For ease of use and top-notch performance, our experts recommend Roku devices.
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