Watching HLN Online without Cable

How we watch news keeps on evolving. Gone are the days of Walter Cronkite speaking to us all every evening on our TVs. Today, news comes a mile a minute from every source imaginable. On social media, news sites, and in news programming, every source has a different spin.

Among them is HLN, aka CNN’s Headline News. HLN has taken different forms since its initial debut as CNN2 back in 1982. Today with the insatiable appeal for sensationalized programming, HLN splits the difference. During the day, you get news shows with a “fast-paced, approachable tone”, according to the web site, often led by an “expert-led, personality-driven” host, like in “Morning Express with Robin Meade.” At nighttime, however, a vampire-like transformation occurs and the network airs true-crime mysteries and investigative stories. Here is where the network has really grown lately, more than doubling its original series in 2019 with the addition of “Dead Wives Club,” “Unmasking a Killer,” “Vengeance: Killer Lovers,” “Vengeance: Killer Neighbors,” “An American Mystery” and “Very Scary People.”

In this way, it seems HLN can have its cake and eat it too – be a news network but also capitalize on our desire to gawk at the dark side of life. Fortunately, whether you are a news watcher by day or a nocturnal viewer of crimes, you can take in HLN without cable.

How to Watch HLN without Cable

As with most content on cable today, there are alternate ways to enjoy the channels and shows you want without forking over mountains of cash to a cable TV provider. Here are a few of the cable-subscription free ways you can stream HLN online in order of cost.

Watching HLN on Hulu Live TV

Hulu Live TV offers HLN for $44.99/month after 7-day free trial. 

Hulu is another way you can stream HLN. Previously Hulu was known for their vast on-demand streaming library. Recently, they have added a Hulu Live TV service for $44.99 a month that offers Live HLN 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 HLN’s shows are available on-demand on Hulu’s streaming service, including “Vengeance: Killer Lovers,” and “Forensic Files”. Others like “Something’s Killing Me” require a subscription to Hulu Live TV. The streaming service starts at $7.99/month, plus $4/month for no commercials.

Check out our full review of Hulu Live TV for more details.

Check out Hulu’s free trial here.

HLN on Sling

While Hulu is the best option for streaming HLN, a more affordable way to stream live HLN  is with Sling TV. Subscribers will need to sign up for Sling TV’s Blue Package for $25 per month, and then get the $5 per month “News Extra” add-on. This will add HLN to your line up. You can try a 7-day free trial and see if this solution will work for you. For details on Slings service offerings and the difference between them, check out my review of Sling TV.

HLN on PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue is a great way to get a ton of TV channels without needing a cable provider. Vue’s entry package, Access, costs $49.99 per month and delivers over 50 channels over the internet. These are channels you would typically see as part of a cable package like Freeform, TBS, and of course HLN. 

While you may assume that Vue is only available on PlayStation, that isn’t the case. Vue is also available on Amazon Fire TV and other streaming devices. See our review of PlayStation Vue for more details on what channels are available and device support.

HLN on YouTubeTV

YouTubeTV also offers HLN streaming live, as well as limitless storage space for recording your shows. Your library of recorded shows can be streamed anywhere. YouTubeTV costs $49.99 a month. For details on YouTube TV, check out our review of YouTube TV.

HLN on AT&T Watch TV

The cheapest option is AT&T Watch TV, which for just $15/month after 7-day free trial gives you 35 channels including HLN. Through this service, you can stream the channel live as it if were being broadcast, however it does not include a cloud DVR or other way to record shows for later. It also does not work with Roku. However, if you want to use it with Apple TV, iOS, Android, Amazon Firestick, Amazon Fire TV, or Google Chrome, this might work for you.

HLN Streaming on Direct TV Now

AT&T’s DirecTV Now service is one way you can watch HLN. It is offered as part of their most affordable “Plus” package. At $50 per month, you get more than 40 channels including HBO, while at the highest level of $135 a month you get over 125. You can check out everything this service offers by reading our DirecTV Now review.

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