How to Watch The First 48

The First 48 airs new episodes on Thursdays, at 9:00 p.m. ET on A&E. This documentary series gives an inside look at the work of homicide investigators across the United States. While often following investigations to their conclusion, it primarily focuses on the first 48 hours and looks at witness interviews, forensic evidence, and other techniques investigators use. While the show airs on A&E, you don’t need cable to watch. This article will show you how to watch this season of The First 48 even if you don’t have cable, and how you can watch past seasons of this hit A&E show.

• When Do New Episodes of The First 48 air: Every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET
• Network: A&E
• Best Way to Watch New Episodes of The First 48: A&E is available on Philo (1-week free trial) and Frndly TV (1-week trial.) You can read more about both of these live TV streaming services below.
• Watch The First 48 On-Demand: Philo also has all past 21 seasons on-demand (1-week free trial) through the A&E channel

Where to Watch The First 48

You can watch The First 48 on any streaming services that carry the A&E channel, such as Philo, Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, and DIRECTV STREAM. With them, you can watch A&E, just as if you had cable. Information on those services and how to sign up for each is listed below.

Origins of Hip Hop on Frndly TV

Frndly TV is the most affordable way to watch The First 48 on A&E live and other channels like Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, QVC, and The Weather Channel. A subscription to Frndly TV starts at $6.99 per month. However, we find their $8.99 per month “Classic Plan” is the best value as it includes the following:

• Over 20 of Channels Live TV & On-Demand
• HD Video Quality
• Watch on 2 Screens at a Time
• Unlimited DVR recordings. You can keep recordings for 3 Months
• Supported on Apple TV, Roku, Roku TVs, Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android and iOS mobile devices, and most major web browsers

You can try their service with no commitment using this 1-week trial or reading our review of Frndly TV.

Philo

Another affordable way to watch A&E is Philo, which gives you access to The First 48 and many other A&E shows for $25/month. See our complete list of channels on Philo. You can check out a free trial to Philo and see if the service will meet your needs. Philo also includes a cloud DVR for you to record shows to watch later. 

Sign Up For A Free Trial To Philo

Philo is supported on Apple iPhone and iPad (running iOS 9 or newer), Android phones and tablets (running 5.0 or newer), Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.

You can also sign in to the A&E app with your Philo credentials to watch episodes. Be sure to check out our review of Philo for more information on the service.

Watch Past Seasons of The First 48

Philo also carries all the past seasons of The First 48 in its A&E library, meaning you get access to past seasons of the investigative series.

Watch The First 48 on Sling TV

Sling TV provides a live stream of A&E, so you can watch The First 48 just as if you had cable. The channel is available on both of Sling’s core packages (Blue or Orange), each costing $40 per month. In addition, Sling includes a cloud DVR so that you can record shows for later. Sling TV is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and more, so it is not a problem to enjoy A&E on a TV, tablet, computer, or other smart devices.

There are more channels available on Sling TV than what I’ve mentioned here. To find out more about what Sling TV offers and more information about Sling TV device compatibility, check out this detailed review of Sling TV.

The review includes information on a Sling TV free trial and ways to get discounted (and free) streaming devices, so be sure to check it out.

Sign up for Sling TV

Watch The First 48 on Hulu Live TV

Hulu is another way to stream The First 48 on A&E. Previously, Hulu was known for its vast on-demand streaming library. They have recently added a Hulu Live TV service for $69.99 a month after a 7 day free trial, which includes offers Live A&E Online Streaming. Hulu Live TV is one of the best live TV streaming services available. It includes the following features:

• 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

Many of AA&E’sshows are available on-demand on HHulu’sstreaming service as well, including Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars. Check out our full review of Hulu Live TV for more details.

Watch The First 48 on DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM is another way to watch The First 48 on A&E. Channel packages with A&E start at $74.99 per month. A subscription to DIRECTV STREAM includes the following:

• watch 20 streams simultaneously per subscription 
• a cloud-based DVR
• channels like A&E and more
• supported on Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more

You can check out this streaming service through this online offer or read about it in our DIRECTV STREAM review.

Check out HHulu’sfree trial here.

Watch The First 48 for Free

Some of the streaming services that carry A&E offer a free trial. You can take advantage of those and watch free A&E. LLet’slook at the free trials available.

• Philo – offers a 1-week free trial
• Hulu + Live TV – offers a 1-week free trial

As long as you cancel before the free trial expires, you won’t be charged. If you get creative with email addresses and payment methods, you could watch free The First 48 even longer. Doing this would also let you test out the various live TV streaming services to see which one you like the best.

Watch The First 48 on Roku

To watch The First 48 with A&E on Roku, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, or Philo)
2. On your Roku Menu, navigate to “Search” and press “OK” on your remote
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
5. Select “Add Channel” press “OK” on your remote. If the channel is already installed, “Go To Channel” will be an option.
6. The App is now installed on your Roku. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. A&E will be a channel available through the apps live TV guide.

Watch The First 48 on Fire TV

T watch The First 48 with A&E on Fire TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, or Philo)
2. On your Fire TV Home screen, click on the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service and press “OK.”
5. Select “Download,” and the channel will install
6. The App is now installed on your Fire TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. A&E will be a channel available through the apps live TV guide.

Watch The First 48 on Apple TV

To watch The First 48 with A&E on Apple TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, or Philo)
2. Scroll right to the search icon in the upper-left corner of the screen
3. Enter the name of the streaming service you subscribe to in the search bar
4. Select the streaming service click the cloud icon, and the channel will install
5. The App is now installed on your Apple TV. Open the app, and log in with the credentials you used to subscribe to the service. A&E will be a channel available through the apps live TV guide.

Watch The First 48 with The A&E App on Roku, Fire TV, and More

While all the streaming services mentioned above are supported on Roku and Amazon Fire TV Stick, you may want to watch A&E on the A&E app. Not to worry, the A&E app is available on several streaming devices, and you can use your login credentials from Hulu Live TV or Philo to unlock all the content available on the A&E app. This will allow you to watch A&E live through the app.