How To Watch VH1 Without Cable

You don’t need cable to watch VH1. You can watch VH1 through any of the following streaming services: Philo, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, fuboTV, YouTube TV, Vidgo, and DIRECTV STREAM. These streaming services allow you to watch VH1 on streaming devices, mobile devices, and online. These streaming services provide 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 VH1 shows, just as if you had cable.

Streaming Services With VH1

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

Philo

The most affordable way to stream VH1 is through Philo. Philo is a streaming service that offers VH1 and many other top TV networks typically found on cable TV for just $25 per month.

You can watch VH1 and other channels through Philo on up to three devices at the same time. They even include a cloud DVR so you can record your favorite VH1 TV shows.

Sign Up For A Free Trial to Philo

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. You can sign up for the free trial to Philo HERE. 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

Previously Hulu was known for its vast on-demand streaming library. However, they also offer Hulu Live TV service, which includes live VH1 Streaming and most top channels typically found on cable. Hulu Live TV starts at $69.99 and includes the following features:

• Over 60+ other channels including VH1 and local network channels.
• The 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.

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 has two channel plans starting at $35 per month. While VH1 doesn’t come standard in those packages, it can be added through their “Lifestyle Extras” add-on package for $6 per month. 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 channels
• no contract is required, so you can cancel any time
• Sling TV also offers on-demand when available from a network
• includes 50 hours of cloud DVR storage (upgradeable)
• 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 is a newer streaming service that offers fairly competitive pricing over other Live streaming services. The only catch is they do not currently offer a DVR. Their service offers VH1 in their Core package along with over 60 other channels. New customers can sign up for the Core Plan for $59.95 per month. (They offer discounted promo pricing for your first 3 months.)

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

FuboTV is a streaming service that provides access to quite a few pay-TV channels. You can watch channels like VH1 live as they air on cable TV and record programs on their cloud DVR. They stream VH1 online as well as over 80 other channels as part of their base package.

FuboTV is an excellent place to go for sports, but it offers many other more general channels as well, including fuboTV. Over 90 channels are offered in its Pro Plan for $69.99.

Here are some of fuboTV’s features:

• VH1, MTV, 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 Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, Apple TV, and more.

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

YouTube TV

YouTube TV also offers VH1 streaming live, as well as limitless storage space for recording your shows. Your library of recorded shows can be streamed anywhere. VH1 is included in the base package for $64.99 a month.

YouTube TV provides:

• access to VH1, Local Network Channels, and over 70 other channels
• unlimited cloud DVR storage
• stream on three devices at once
• 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. 
• Includes YouTube TV on-demand
• offers a 1-week free trial.

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

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM is another way to watch VH1 online. At $69.99 per month,  you get VH1 and many other channels found on cable TV.  Here is a rundown of DIRECTV STREAM’s important features:

• 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

Most 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.

• Philo – offers a 1-week free trial.
• FuboTV – offers a 1-week free trial.
• YouTube 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 VH1 free. If you get creative with email addresses and payment methods, you could watch free VH1 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 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. Here is a quick rundown of the Pluto TV VH1 channels available.

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.

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

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