Amazon Fire TV has been quietly experimenting with integrating content from Live TV streaming services into Fire TV content discovery. Initially, Philo and Sling TV subscribers could log into their respective Live TV app on the Fire TV, and live TV shows available through channels on those services would be displayed on the “Live TV Tab” and Channel Guide. Today Amazon has announced that that functionality will be expanding to YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV.
While Sling and Philo have been available, YouTube TV will integrate into live discovery on Thursday, July 9th, 2020. Hulu + Live TV will be available over the next few weeks.
How to Use Fire TV Live TV
Live TV discovery is a part of the Amazon Fire TV software. It will work whether you are using the Amazon Fire TV Cube or Fire TV Stick. To take advantage of Live TV discovery on Fire TV, we need to take the following steps.
- Make sure your Fire TV software is up to date. Here are instructions on updating your Fire TV software.
- Make sure you are logged into the Live TV Streaming Services you subscribe to. First, open the app. If you aren’t logged in already, the app will prompt you to do so. Every Live TV streaming app functions this way, whether Philo, YouTube TV, Sling TV, or Hulu + Live TV
- Now that everything is set up, scroll over to “Live” on your “Fire TV” menu. It’s at the top of the screen from the home menu. You should see the live TV services features and Shows airing on channels available through the services which you subscribe to.
Once you log into your supported live TV services, all the channels available through those services should appear in the Channel Guide, as shown in the image below.
What Live Channels are Available on Amazon Fire TV
Remember, you don’t get access to live TV channels from Fire TV. The Live TV discovery on Fire TV’s software searches supported Live TV Streaming Services you subscribe to and are logged into on your Fire TV. Currently, Amazon’s Live TV discovery supports Sling TV TV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live, Philo, Pluto TV, Red Bull TV, and Twitch. Plus, Prime Video channels like HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, MLB.TV, PGA Tour Live, and NBA League Pass. The live TV discovery is also available if you use an over-the-air (OTA) antenna connected to a Fire TV Edition Smart TVs or Fire TV Recast DVR in the U.S.
If you subscribe to a live TV streaming service that offers channels like AMC, ESPN, NBC or HGTV you can use Alexa Voice Search do say commands like:
- “Alexa, tune to HGTV“
- “Alexa, tune to ESPN“
- “Alexa, search for NOS4A2”
- “Alexa, find the Tonight Show”
If you are curious about the cable and network channels available from various supported streaming services, check out the links below.
- Hulu Live Channel List
- YouTube TV Channel List
- Philo TV Channel List
- Sling TV Channel List
- Pluto TV Channels
This live TV integration is a massive step forward for making cord-cutting a little closer to the cable TV experience many are used too. This feature facilitates couch surfing more naturally than closing and opening various apps. However, this feature also normalizes the Amazon Ecosystem for the TV viewer, making them less likely to step outside the Amazon universe in search of content.
