Grounded Reason

How To Watch VH1 Without Cable

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Black and white logo for VH1 network

VH1 is a popular cable network that covers music, celebrity lifestyles, and particuarly specializes in reality television about said celebrities.

You don’t need cable to watch VH1, you jut need a streaming service that carries the basic cable channel in its package. There are several services that offer VH1: Philo, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, YouTube TV, Vidgo, and DIRECTV STREAM.

All of these cable-alternative services allow you to watch VH1 on streaming devices, mobile devices, and online, providing a live stream of VH1 so that you can watch shows like Black Ink Crew: New York, Love and Hip Hop, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and other hit VH1 shows, just as if you had cable.

Table of Contents

Streaming Services With VH1

The following live TV streaming services all offer VH1 in their channel lineups, and provide live access to the same VH1 feed you would get with a TV provider, so it’s just like watching VH1 through cable TV, only online and more affordable.

Philo

philo

The most affordable way to stream VH1 is through Philo, which offers VH1 and many other top TV networks typically found on cable TV for just $25 per month. You can watch through up to three devices at the same time, and it even includes a cloud DVR so you can record your favorite VH1 TV shows.

Philo is currently supported on Mac and PC on a web browser, Apple iPhone and iPad (running iOS 9 or newer), Android phones and tablets (running 5.0 or later), Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.

The service offers a 1-week free trial to test the service. If you cancel before the trial expires, you won’t be billed. For more details on the streaming service, please check out our review of Philo. 

Watch VH1 on Hulu

Hulu Logo

Known for its vast on-demand streaming library, Hulu begain offering a Live TV option. Hulu + Live TV offers access to over 60 basic cable channels, which includes VH1. Hulu Live TV starts at $76.99 and includes the following features:

  • The price includes a bundled subscription with ESPN+ and Disney+
  • Unlimited cloud DVR storage. (Recordings save for 9 months)
  • Watch on 2 screens at once, with upgrades available
  • Comes with 6 customizable profiles
  • Includes entire Hulu streaming library
  • Supports iOS, Android, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and more.

With Hulu Live TV, you can watch VH1 on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, and more. See our review of Hulu for more information.

Sling TV

Sling TV subscription

Sling TV has two channel plans, Blue and Orange, each starting at $40 per month. While VH1 doesn’t come standard in those packages, it can be added to either one through their “Lifestyle Extras” add-on package for $6 per month additional, and Sling TV also offers special pricing for new subscribers.

Sling also provides the following features:

  • access to VH1, HGTV, A&E, and many more top cable channels
  • Sling TV also offers on-demand when available from a network
  • includes 50 hours of cloud DVR storage, with upgrades available
  • supports Windows and Mac PCs and laptops, Android and iOS devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Nexus player, Xbox One, 4th Generation Apple TV, Chromecast, and more.

For more information on the service, please check out our Sling TV review.

Vidgo

vidgo live tv streaming service

Vidgo is a newer streaming service that offers fairly competitive pricing over other live streaming services, starting at just $69.99 per month for their base Plus plan (formerly the Core package). This plan also comes with a DVR for 90 days, although you need to upgrade to the “Ultimate” plan to keep the DVR past 90 days. The service offers VH1 in its Plus package along with over 60 other channels.

Vidgo doesn’t force you into a contract so you can cancel any time. They do offer special pricing for new subscribers, and you can cancel at any time at no charge. Vidgo is supported on available on Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV. You can also stream the service on up to 3 devices at the same time.  We have the full details in our guide to Vidgo’s live streaming service.

FuboTV

Socer on FuboTV

FuboTV is an excellent place to go for sports, but it offers many other more general channels as well, including VH1. The service starts with a base package priced at $74.99 a month, which includes access to over 80 pay-TV channels, so you can watch as they air on cable TV. In addition, you can record programs on their cloud DVR.

Here are some of fuboTV’s features:

You can sign up for fuboTV or check out our review of FuboTV for more details.

YouTube TV

youtube tv

YouTube TV also offers VH1 streaming live, as well as limitless storage space for recording your shows, in the base package for $72.99 a month. Your library of recorded shows can be streamed anywhere. YouTube TV provides:

Check our review of YouTube TV for more details. They also offer a 1-week free trial.

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM is another way to watch VH1 online. At $79.99 per month,  you get VH1 and many other channels found on cable TV, and such features as:

  • watch 20 streams simultaneously per subscription 
  • a cloud-based DVR
  • channels like VH1, AMC, HGTV, Discovery, and more
  • supported on Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, and more

You can check out everything this service offers by taking a look at their promo page or reading our DIRECTV STREAM review.

Watch VH1 for Free

A few of the streaming services that carry VH1 offer a free trial. You can take advantage of those and watch free VH1 for almost a month or longer if you use different email addresses. Let’s look at the free trials available.

As long as you cancel before the free trial expires, you won’t be charged.

Watch VH1 on Roku

To watch VH1 on Roku, follow these instructions.

  1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries VH1 (Philo, Sling TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, etc.)
  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. VH1 will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

Watch VH1 on Fire TV

To watch VH1 on Fire TV, follow these instructions.

  1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries VH1 (Philo, Sling TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, etc.)
  2. On your Fire TV Home screen, click on the search icon in the screen’s upper-left corner.
  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. VH1 will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

Watch VH1 on Apple TV

To watch VH1 on Apple TV, follow these instructions.

  1. Subscribe to a streaming service that carries VH1 (Philo, Sling TV, YouTube TV, FuboTV, etc)
  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. VH1 will be a channel available through the app’s live TV guide.

Is There an VH1 Subscription

No. There isn’t a way to directly subscribe to VH1. However, you can watch VH1 live and on-demand through the website or the VH1 app. Your login credentials from FuboTV, Philo, YouTube TV, Vidgo, and DIRECTV STREAM will work to unlock all the content available through the VH1 app.

Using The VH1 App

If you subscribe to Philo, Vidgo, YouTube TV, FuboTV, or DIRECTV STREAM, you can watch VH1 by simply downloading the app for that streaming service. However, these streaming services are a valid TV provider to unlock all the content available on the VH1 App.

New episodes of shows on VH1 become available the day after they air on TV. You can also catch up on full seasons and watch hours of stand-up specials, classic shows, and more on the app. Without a TV provider account you can watch VH1 free through the VH1 app for 24 hours.

How To Activate the VH1 App

The best way to explain this is through an example. Let’s assume we have a Philo subscription and a Roku. We can follow the steps below to get the VH1 app working on our device. While the steps below use Philo and Roku to watch VH1, 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 “VH1”
  3. Add the VH1 app to your device and then open it. 
  4. Your Roku device will then show you an activation code and a URL to activate the VH1 app.
  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 VH1’s website, your TV screen will refresh. You should now have access to all the video content the app provides.

Supported Streaming Devices

The VH1 app is supported on all of the following streaming devices:

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

VH1 On Pluto TV

While Pluto TV doesn’t offer a live feed of VH1 online, they do have curated VH1 channels for free, including:

VH1 I love Reality: This channel continually airs a curated collection of reality shows that have aired o VH1.

VH1 Love and Hip Hop: Past Episodes of the hit VH1 show Love and Hip Hop.

VH1 RuPaul’s Drag Race: Past episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

However, there is no DVR, so there is no way to record an episode if you miss it. Pluto TV runs on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iOS, and Roku. Check out our review of Pluto TV for more details.

About The Author

Dennis Restauro

Dennis started Grounded Reason in 2014 to share his expertise in streaming devices, streaming services, local networking, and cutting the cord on cable TV. His expertise has been leveraged by The Washington Post, Forbes, Kiplinger, The Fiscal Times, podcasts, and other media. Dennis has spent over 25 years working in technology for the public and the private sector as a systems administrator and enterprise systems architect. Dennis is a graduate of Towson University with a degree in Computer Science. See Dennis on LinkedIn.

View all posts by Dennis Restauro

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

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