How To Watch A&E without Cable TV

Once a channel catering to the arts, A&E has slowly re-branded itself in America’s true-crime network with shows like Accused: Guilty or Innocent, 60 Days In, and The First 48. Those looking to watch A&E can do so without subscribing to an expensive cable TV plan. All you need is a streaming device like a Roku or Amazon Fire TV and a subscription to one of the following streaming services that carry A&E live.

Streaming Services with A&E

The streaming services that carry A&E are Philo, Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, and FuboTV. 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. Unfortunately, A&E is not available through Hulu Live TV.

Best Solution: Sign up for a 1-week free trial to Philo. A&E is included in Philo’s Channel lineup. If you continue Philo after the free trial, the service is only $20 per month. Read on for more information.

Read on for a little more information on each of these streaming services.

Watching A&E without Cable

You can watch A&E live just as if you had cable TV using any of the You can watch A&E live as if you had cable TV using any streaming services below.

Philo is The Best Way To Watch Live A&E

The most affordable way to watch A&E is Philo, which gives you A&E as well as others for $20/month. See our full 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 use your Philo credentials to sign on to the A&E app and watch at least some of the episodes there. Be sure to check out our review of Philo for more information on the service.

A&E on Sling TV

Sling TV provides a live stream of A&E, so you can watch what would be airing on A&E just as if you had cable. 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’s 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. There are currently offers for a 3-day trial and free Amazon fire stick if you sign up for two months.

Sign up for a free trial to Sling TV

Watching A&E on Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV offers A&E for $64.99/month after a 7 day free trial. 

Hulu is another way you can stream A&E. Previously, Hulu was known for its vast on-demand streaming library. They have recently added a Hulu Live TV service for $64.99 a month that offers Live A&E Online Streaming. Hulu Live TV is one of the best live TV streaming services available. It includes the following features:

• The basic package comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. (Upgrades available)
• Watch on 2 screens at once. (Upgrades available)
• Comes with 6 customizable profiles
• Includes entire Hulu streaming library

Many of A&E’s shows are available on-demand on Hulu’s streaming service as well, including “Duck Dynasty,” “Hoarders,” and “Storage Wars”. Check out our full review of Hulu Live TV for more details.

Check out Hulu’s free trial here.

Watching A&E on FuboTV

fuboTV is a good place to go for sports, but it offers many other more general channels, including A&E. A&E is offered and 90+ other channels in its family package for $64.99/month. A subscription to fuboTV includes the following:

• includes A&E, ESPN, FS1, and more are available in fuboTV’s channel lineup
• You can watch on three screens at the same time 
• 250 hours of cloud DVR storage
• The FuboTV app is available on major platforms, including AppleTV, AndroidTV, Roku, and Amazon FireTV. 

You can sign up for a 1-week free trial or check out our review of fuboTV for more details.

Watch A&E for Free

Five of the streaming services that carry A&E offer a free trial. You can take advantage of those and watch free A&E for almost a month or longer if you use different email addresses. Let’s look at the free trials available.

• Sling TV – You can watch A&E free for 3-days with this free trial. However, there is a way you can still get a 7-day trial with Sling.
• Philo – offers a 7-day free trial to Hulu Live TV
• fuboTV – 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. You can cycle the free trials to get nearly a month of A&E free. If you get creative with email addresses and payment methods, you could watch free A&E 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 A&E on Roku

To watch A&E on Roku, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, Vidgo, FuboTV, 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 A&E on Fire TV

To watch A&E on Fire TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, Vidgo, FuboTV, 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 A&E on Apple TV

To watch A&E on Apple TV, follow these instructions.

1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries A&E (Sling TV, Hulu Live TV, Vidgo, FuboTV, 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 A&E App on Roku, FireTV, 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, Vidgo, FuboTV, 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.

How To Watch on Your Device

For our example, let’s assume we have a Philo subscription and a Roku. We can follow the steps below to get the A&E app working on our device. While the steps below use Philo and Roku to watch A&E, most streaming services and devices will have the same process.

1. Go to the channel store or app store on your device. On Roku, it’s called the “Channel Store.”
2. Search for “A&E”
3. Add the A&E app to your device and then open it. 
4. Your Roku device will then show you an activation code and a URL.
5. Using a computer or mobile web browser, you go to the URL.
6. You will then be asked for a TV provider and a username/password. I’m entering the username and password I use for Philo.
7. Once you sign in on A&E’s website, your TV screen will refresh. You should now have access to all the video content the app provides.

Supported Streaming Devices

The A&E app is supported on all of the following streaming devices:

• Android Devices
• iOS Devices
• Apple TV
• Roku
• Amazon Fire TV
• Chromecast
• Android TV
• Samsung TV

For information on watching other TV channels online check out: How To Stream Specific TV Channels

If this article didn't answer your specific question, head over to our Home Page! It will guide you to affordable internet providers, streaming services to meet your needs, information on antennas, and many more tools and resources to help you save money on TV and Internet access.

For tips and tricks on cutting the cord and other tech topics be sure to join our Facebook Page.

Disclosure: Grounded Reason is supported by a small commission for purchases made through some product links on this website. We do not accept compensation from companies attempting to sway our review of products.