Discovery Channel Without Cable: Live Stream Online or Watch With Discovery App

Discovery is one of the iconic cable TV stations. It isn’t most people’s favorite channel, but it’s one that most people want around because of its consistently interesting high-quality content. Thankfully, it isn’t necessary to have cable to include Discovery in your channel lineup.

In a hurry? If you just want to make sure you have Discovery and related channels, these streaming services are great choices:

Debuting in 1985, the Discovery Channel almost immediately became one of the important sources of information for those who enjoyed topics such as history and science. In 1988, the first iteration of Shark Week was seen by viewers in hundreds of thousands of households throughout the United States.

Today, Discovery is available to more than 50 million households. And it is available on a number of streaming platforms. In addition, there are a number of offshoots such as Investigation Discovery, Discovery Family, and Discovery Life.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Discovery Family and Discovery Life

Discovery has two other channels that are usually (but not always) available with it:

• Discovery Family: Cartoons such as Transformers, Pound Puppies, Littlest Pet Shop, Super Monsters, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic reign until evening. Then live-action shows the whole family can watch together take over. These include Too Cute! (puppies), America’s Cutest Cat, and Chopped Junior, a pint-sized cooking competition.
• Discovery Life: Originally a health and fitness channel, now runs mostly TLC shows with a spotlight on emergency room horror stories, addiction, mental illness, sex, pregnancy, and childbirth. Popular series include My Strange Addiction, Untold Stories of the ER, I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, and Sex Sent Me To The ER.

How to Watch Discovery Channel Live Without Cable

Watching content via a streaming service may be ideal for those who want the flexibility to watch television on their terms. Most platforms allow you to cancel service whenever you want or take your plan to a new home or apartment without the need to go through a formal transfer process.

The Discovery Channel is a premium “cable” network, which means that you won’t be able to watch it with an antenna. The same is true of the other channels that fall under the Discovery umbrella of networks.

To watch these channels without a cable or satellite subscription, you will need to subscribe to one of the several streaming platforms that offer it as part of their base or premium packages.

Unblock Your Favorite Movies and Shows With a VPN

If you can’t watch your favorite movies and shows because of your location, a VPN will allow you to get the access you are entitled to, plus extra security and unequalled privacy. Check out our VPN Guide for everything you need to know, including our top pick ExpressVPN.

Get ExpressVPN Today

Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.

Streaming Services with Discovery Channel

Most major streaming platforms provide access to content produced by Discovery and its sister networks. Therefore, it should be relatively easy to find a plan that meets both your needs and your budget.

FuboTV

Discovery is available in the base (Pro) FuboTV plan for $79.99/mo. You can also get Discovery Life and Discovery Family with the Fubo Extra ($7.99/mo) plan that includes 48 total channels. It has 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage and allows streaming up to 10 devices.

If you want to watch this channel in Spanish, you can acquire Discovery Familia, Discovery en Español, and 14 others with the Latino Plus add-on for an extra $19.99 per month.

If you are a sports fan, FuboTV is the way to go. Of its 130+ channel lineup, a third are sports-oriented. It also features what we consider the best interface in the industry.

For all the details, see our FuboTV review.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Philo

Philo comes with Discovery, Discovery Life, and Discovery Family as part of its base 65+ channel lineup. You will pay $25/mo for this service, and you can add various movie and entertainment options for an additional monthly fee.

Philo may be the best option for those who don’t watch sports or don’t want to pay extra for local channels. The absence of these kinds of channels is what keeps its price so low.

But apart from relatively limited channel selection, Philo is a first-class streaming service with a great interface, unlimited DVR, and streaming on up to 3 devices.

See our Philo review for all the details.

Try Philo Free for 7 Days

Sling TV

Discovery Channel is available along with 40+ others with the Sling Blue package for $40.00/mo. You also get Investigation Discovery as well as the local affiliates of Fox and NBC. Unfortunately, there is no way to get Discovery Family and Discovery Life with Sling TV.

But if Discovery Channel is enough, Sling TV is an awesome service with 50 hours of DVR, streaming on 3 simultaneous devices, and a great interface. Save 50% on Sling TV now!

See our Sling TV review for more information.

Save 50% on Sling TV Now

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) offers Discovery Channel and Investigation Discovery with its base Entertainment play with 75+ channels for $79.99/mo. If you upgrade to the Ultimate plan ($119.99/mo), you get 130+ channels including Discovery Family and Discovery Life. Discovery en Español is also available as an add-on.

Read our DIRECTV STREAM review for details.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days

Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV offers Discovery Channel along with 85+ others for $76.99/mo. It also comes with unlimited cloud DVR (9 month storage). This includes a bunch of sports channels and network affiliates in almost every location. You also get Disney+ and ESPN+. Try one month for $76.99.

You can get Discovery Family and Discovery Life through the Entertainment add-on ($7.99/mo), which includes 14 other channels. In addition, Discovery Familia and Discovery en Español can be yours by signing up for the Español add-on ($4.99/mo).

Get all the details in our Hulu + Live TV review.

Try Hulu + Live TV Today!

Vidgo

Like Sling TV, Vidgo offers both the primary Discovery network as well as Investigation Discovery as part of its base package for $69.99/mo for a total of over 100 channels.

For $84.99/mo, you can upgrade to the Vidgo Premium package, which includes Discovery Life and Discovery Family. Discovery Familia and Discovery en Espanol are both available as part of the Vidgo Mas package, which offers 25+ channels for $39.99/mo.

Check out for Vidgo review for more information.

Try Vidgo Today!

Other Ways to Get Discovery Channel

There are other ways to watch Discovery without signing up for a cable or satellite subscription.

• Discovery+: This $4.99/mo plan allows you to stream most Discovery shows. You do not get the live stream, however. But you also get content from the sister channels.
• YouTube TV: Its base plan comes with Discovery and Investigation Discovery along with 100+ other live TV channels for $72.99/mo. None of the other Discovery channels are available.
• Discovery App: You can stream Discovery through its app, but you will need a streaming subscription to log in.

Superpower Your Live TV Streaming With a VPN

You can’t beat a VPN for privacy, security, and access. We have used them for years as an important part of our streaming toolkit and we recommend ExpressVPN. Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.

i	See our VPN Buyer’s Guide for complete information on how to choose the best VPN for your needs.

TVs and Streaming Devices for Discovery Channel

You’ll need a device capable of installing streaming apps to watch Discovery Channel. This should be easy enough because you almost certainly own one or more of them. For example, all the services support the standard “stick” devices:

• Amazon Fire TV
• Apple TV
• Roku.

Mobile devices running Android and iOS (iPhone/iPad) are also supported. And you can use them to cast Discovery to your TV using Chromecast.

All the services (except DIRECTV STREAM) support Android TV-based devices. And, of course, you can use a web browser, which can be connected to a TV.

All the services except Philo and Vidgo support Samsung smart TVs. Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, and Sling TV support LG and Vizio smart TVs. FuboTV supports Hisense TVs. Hulu, Sling, and FuboTV also support the Xbox One gaming console.

There are other devices supported. See our individual reviews for a complete list.

Today’s Discovery Schedule

Here is today’s schedule in Eastern Time:

3:00am	Discovery On Demand
4:00am	Big Little Brawlers – Last Laughs Ivar finds a surprising supporter after a scary injury, making everyone question his dream to get in the ring; Andrew begins training for his big shot at stardom; Pinky and Syko blow up at a sendoff party for the road team.
5:00am	Auction Kings – Iwo Jima Sword; Cathouse Chairs An Oldsmobile 442; two chairs reportedly from a cathouse; a WWII Japanese rifle and sword.
5:30am	Scott Martin Challenge – Team Challenge on Lake Champlain Bass challenge in Ticonderoga, N.Y., for lake champion bragging rights.
6:00am	Discovery On Demand
6:00am	Seasons on the Fly – LA Redfish Catching redfish on the fly on the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
6:30am	George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing – THE GREAT COBIA CHASE: Seaford, Virginia! George joins Zack in Seaford, Va., for a day of pitching live baits to migratory cruising cobia; riding high in the tower, the team scours the bay; once spotted, precise boat positioning and casting are a must, along with a second and third rod.
7:00am	Life on the Water – Ft Myers Beach: Inshore with Ozzie Fischer A trip back to Southwest Florida to chase after Redfish and Snook; special tour of the Costa Custom Boat Factory.
7:30am	Into the Blue – Sailfish Season Captains Scott and Steve take their brand new 36' Invincible out of Plantation Boat Mart to fly the kites for some early-season sailfish.
8:00am	Saltwater Experience – Two Out of Three Ain't Bad Capts. Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor catch two-thirds of a slam when they bring Tom's new 24' Yellowfin Bay to Key Largo for exciting flats fishing.
8:30am	Sportsman's Adventures – South Florida's Urban Jungle Capt. Rick Murphy fishes South Florida's urban canals for snakehead and bass with Hai Truong and Ron Magill.
9:00am	Moonshiners: Double Shot – We're in Tequila Country! Tim treks to the town of Tequila in search of the legendary moonshine of Mexico; he heads south to Oaxaca to uncover centuries-old secrets of making mezcal; Tim gets shocked when Mexican moonshiners make him liquor with meat.
10:00am	Discovery On Demand
11:00am	Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter – Struggles Big and Small In the Amazon, a man with dwarfism strives to prove that he can survive the predators and match up to his partner.
12:00pm	Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter – The Wind and the Rain Two survivalists cope with torrential downpours and brutal windstorms as they try to survive in the Honduran jungle for 21 days.
1:00pm	Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter – Cold Threats In the mountains of Colombia, severe temperature changes, protective pumas and venomous snakes threaten the survival of an Army reservist and an EMT.
2:00pm	Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter – Into the Caves A mountain climber and a nature-loving mother face a cave system with dangerous waters; constant rain, venomous snakes, piranhas and pestering insects test the duo's resolve.
2:00pm	Discovery On Demand
3:00pm	Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter – Deadly Threats In Brazil, wasps, anacondas, poisonous toads and venomous stingrays surround the two survivalists, and just days into their challenge, a confrontation with a poisonous fer-de-lance threatens to end the competition early.
4:00pm	Naked and Afraid – This is Harder Than it Looks A photographer and an engineer believe they have what it takes to survive 14 days in Limpopo, South Africa; after 10 days without food, these fans question their ability to make it to the end.
5:00pm	Naked and Afraid – Death by Crocodile A hunter and a farmer pool their knowledge to survive 21 days in South Africa; when the African wildlife proves too stealthy to hunt, the survivalists take a life-threatening risk for food.
6:00pm	Discovery On Demand
7:00pm	Naked and Afraid – Poison Control Crippled by injuries and toxic frogs, an adrenaline junkie and a self-proclaimed renaissance redneck must dig deep to try to endure 21 days in Colombia.
8:00pm	Naked and Afraid – Naked and Amish A former member of the Amish and an Australian fitness coach attempt to survive 21 days together in the harsh Colombian jungle.
9:07pm	Naked and Afraid – No Safety in Numbers Two pairs of survivalists are surprised when they must take on the deadly jungles of Panama side-by-side; before their 21-day challenge begins, they have to rethink their survival strategies along gender lines.
10:00pm	Discovery On Demand
11:07pm	Naked and Afraid – Amazoned Out Superfans Molly and Nate are dropped deep in the Amazon rainforest, a place that's taken down the best of the best; they lean on lessons learned from their couches to push through torrential rain, relentless bugs, and extreme sleep deprivation.
12:00am	Naked and Afraid – Naked and Amish A former member of the Amish and an Australian fitness coach attempt to survive 21 days together in the harsh Colombian jungle.
1:07am	Naked and Afraid – No Safety in Numbers Two pairs of survivalists are surprised when they must take on the deadly jungles of Panama side-by-side; before their 21-day challenge begins, they have to rethink their survival strategies along gender lines.
2:00am	Discovery On Demand
3:07am	Naked and Afraid – Amazoned Out Superfans Molly and Nate are dropped deep in the Amazon rainforest, a place that's taken down the best of the best; they lean on lessons learned from their couches to push through torrential rain, relentless bugs, and extreme sleep deprivation.
4:00am	Bering Sea Gold – The Last Duel Mr. Gold and Chris McCully battle it out for the top spot on the gold board; the Kellys are at risk of ending the season with no gold; after some dangerous dives, Jane, Vernon and Zeke's crews each make a push to finish the season with a bang.

Wrapping Up

Over the past 35+ years, Discovery has been helping people learn more about the world around them. Whether you want to learn how to cook, renovate your home, or complete other tasks, it is likely a channel that you will enjoy watching.

The same is true if you are a science, history, or general education buff who likes to watch content that is thoughtful and exciting at the same time.

You can get Discovery through most general streaming services. And you can get most of its content by signing up for Discovery+.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

FAQs

How many channels are part of the Discovery brand?

In addition to Discovery, Discovery Life, and Discovery Family, Discovery Inc owns the Science Channel, Food Network, and almost a dozen other channels. Most of the channels are available through your favorite streaming service. They also own the Spanish-language channels Discovery Familia and Discovery en Español

Do I need to adjust my device’s settings to watch content in Spanish?

As a general rule, Discovery channels that broadcast in Spanish will stream just like channels that broadcast content in English. However, it may be possible to watch Spanish content with subtitles if you need help following along for any reason. Alternatively, it may be possible to watch content with Spanish subtitles if that makes it easier to meet your content consumption needs.

How to stream other family and kids channels?

Here are our guides for watching related channels: