Season 21 of American Idol airs on Sundays and Mondays on ABC. The singing competition has become an international phenomenon and shaped reality competitions. The show’s current judges are Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie, with Ryan Seacrest serving as host. This article will explain how you can watch American Idol live every week even if you don’t have cable.
- When Does Season 21 Premiere: Season 21 of American Idol premieres on Sunday, February 19.
- When American Idol airs: American Idol airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET
- TV Network: American Idol airs on ABC.
- Best Way to Stream Live: You can stream American Idol live on DIRECTV STREAM. The streaming service provides live ABC and has a 5-day free trial. FuboTV (Free Trial) and YouTube TV(Free Trial) both offer access to ABC live streaming.
Watch American Idol Live Without Cable
Several live TV services offer local ABC stations in nearly all U.S. markets, many with a free trial, so you can watch American Idol for free. All the ways you can stream American Idol‘s 20th season are listed below. All free trials auto-renew when they expire, but you will not be billed if you cancel before the trial ends.
Watch American Idol on DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM offers live ABC streaming in many markets. ABC is available through its “Entertainment” package for $79.99 a month, along with a ton of cable TV and other broadcast networks. DIRECTV STREAM offers ABC in over half the markets in the US.
All DIRECTV STREAM plans include:
- the ability to watch on 20 devices at the same time
- a cloud-based DVR
- channels like ESPN, AMC, HGTV, Discovery, and more
- supported on Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more
You can try DIRECTV STREAM by signing up for this 5-day free trial. There is no contract and you can cancel at any time.
How Much: $79.99 per month through the “Entertainment” package. For more information, check out our review of DIRECTV STREAM.
Watch American Idol on Hulu
Hulu offers live ABC in nearly all US markets along with cable TV and broadcast networks. Therefore, you can watch American Idol every week as it airs on ABC. To see if live ABC is available in your area, you can use this tool: Hulu Live TV Channels by Zip code.
Hulu Live TV costs $76.99 per month. Hulu Live TV includes the following features:
- Discovery and 60+ other channels including local network channels.
- Price includes a subscription to ESPN+ and Disney+
- Unlimited cloud DVR storage. (Recordings save for 9 months)
- Watch on 2 screens at once. (Upgrades available)
- Comes with 6 customizable profiles
- Includes entire Hulu streaming library
- Supports iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and more.
How Much: Hulu + Live TV costs $76.99 per month.
Watch American Idol Season 21 On-Demand
If you can wait a day, Hulu’s more affordable on-demand service has new episodes of this season available on-demand. You have to wait a day, but the on-demand service starts at only $7.99 per month and offers a 30-day free trial.
How Much: The base package for live TV starts at $76.99 per month. Hulu on-demand starts at $7.99 per month with ads. You can go ad-free for $17.99 per month.
Watch American Idol on YouTube TV
YouTube TV is another great option to watch American Idol live. YouTube TV offers live ABC with its streaming service in nearly ALL markets in the US. The only market where YouTube TV doesn’t offer ABC is the Rochester-Mason City-Austin market, which covers parts of Minnesota and Iowa. (YouTube TV does offer ABC in Rochester, NY and Austin, TX.)
YouTube TV supports Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and more. The YouTube TV app has also returned to Roku devices after settling a dispute between the two companies. Be sure to check out our review of YouTube TV for more information. You can sign up for their free trial.
How Much: $72.99 per month.
Watch American Idol on fuboTV
FuboTV recently added ABC in the following major markets:
- Chicago, IL
- Fresno-Visalia, CA
- Houston, TX
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
- Raleigh-Durham, NC (Fayetteville)
- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
You can check out FuboTV here. Fubo TV supports the following streaming devices:
- Android smartphones
- Android tablets
- iPhone
- iPad
- Apple TV (4th Generation only)
- Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Roku
- Chromecast
For more information on FuboTV features, please see our Fubo TV review.
How Much: FuboTV costs $74.99.