HLN is one of the standard cable channels — known to hotel guests the world over. It really is a great way to get your bearings on the world. And now it airs true crime throughout the day. Best of all: you don’t need cable to watch it.
In a hurry? The biggest streaming services offer HLN. Here are our top picks:
- DIRECTV STREAM: Makes it easy to switch from cable to streaming with their 75+ channel Entertainment plan and options for much more. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
- Sling TV: The top low-cost streaming service provides a great base channel lineup in both its plans. Save 50% with Sling TV.
- Hulu + Live TV: This total entertainment streaming service provides a great on-demand selection and all the essential live TV channels.
If you can’t watch your favorite movies and shows because of your location, try ExpressVPN to get access to the content you deserve.
Table Of Contents
If you mainly watch morning news and true crime shows, you should find a way to add HLN to your channel lineup today. In addition to its outstanding morning programming, HLN boasts a quality daytime and primetime lineup that will provide maximum value for your streaming dollar.
Let’s take a closer look at its program lineup, which streaming services have this it, and where you can go to find even more news and true crime programming.
What Is HLN?
HLN first made it to the airwaves in 1982, and at the time, it was known as CNN2. This station was also known as “CNN Headline News” and just “Headline News” before adopting the HLN moniker. Throughout the 21st century, the station has cycled through a variety of formats in an effort to obtain greater market share.
In 2013, it attempted to become the cable news source for those who typically use social media. Over the next three years, it produced content that amplified viral videos and other content that was making waves online.
In 2016, the format changed to a combination of news during the day and true crime content during the evenings. However, HLN typically covers stories that are deemed to have the most entertainment value for its audience.
Over the last three years, many of the hard news programs that debuted on the channel were either canceled or moved to CNN.
HLN Shows
There is little doubt that Morning Express with Robin Meade is HLN’s flagship news show. It runs weekdays from through (ET). On Saturday and Sunday, Weekend Express is hosted by Susan Hendricks. It airs from to .
On the true crime side, Forensic Files and Forensic Files II are among the most viewed shows on HLN. If you are interested in historical true crime cases, you’ll want to check out How It Really Happened. Finally, Vengeance: Killer Neighbors and Vengeance: Killer Lovers are shows that you need to watch if you like stories about crimes of rage or passion.
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.
Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.
Stream HLN
Being part of its family, HLN is only available from streaming services that offer Turner channels.
Sling TV
HLN is available through the Sling Blue package. It comes with 40+ channels including CNN, Fox, and NBC. The cost is just $40.00/mo and you have many options for upgrading, including the News Extra for $6/mo, which contains BBC World News, Weather Nation, the Science Channel, and Newsmax.
It comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 3 devices at a time. See our Sling TV review and news overview for more information.
DIRECTV STREAM
HLN is available with the base (Entertainment) DIRECTV STREAM packages. It costs $69.99 per month and comes with roughly 80 channels.
If you subscribe online, you get unlimited cloud DVR. It comes with streaming on 20 devices at once. See our DIRECTV STREAM review for details.
Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV offers HLN as part of its base package of 85+ channels for $69.99. This also includes the Hulu on-demand library as well as ESPN+ and Disney+.
The plan includes unlimited cloud DVR, 9 months of storage, and simultaneous streaming on two devices. Get all the details in our Hulu + Live TV review.
YouTube TV
The YouTube TV base package starts at $64.99 and comes with dozens of channels including HLN and CNN. It includes unlimited cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 3 devices.
CNN Go
CNN Go is the official Turner news app. It allows users to live stream CNN, CNN International, and HLN. You need a TV provider log to use it. Note that Sling TV does not provide this access but the other streaming services do.
Live Stream Devices for HLN
All the services mentioned above let you watch HLN live on these devices:
- Android devices
- iOS devices (iPhones, iPads)
- Chromecast (built-in and external)
- TV devices (Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku)
- Samsung TVs
- Web browsers.
DIRECTV STREAM has its own (optional) device. You can purchase it directly from them.
The other services support a number of additional devices. These include TVs that are Android TV-powered as well as LG and Vizio TVs and Xbox One gaming devices. Hulu supports the Nintendo Switch. And both Hulu and YouTube support the PlayStation.
Other devices are supported. See our streaming reviews for complete details.
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. |
HLN Alternatives
There are various alternatives to HLN but because of its divided content, you may need two channels.
News
- CNN: A sister station of HLN. Its top shows include Anderson Cooper 360 and CNN Tonight. Other popular programming includes Early Start and New Day.
- BNC: As the name suggests, the Black News Channel delivers news focused on the issues and concerns of the African American community. Its top shows include BNC Live and DC Tonight.
- Fox News: Although known for its nighttime opinion shows, its daytime programming is news-focused. You will find shows such as America’s Newsroom and Cavuto’s World.
- MSNBC: Like Fox News in being known for its nighttime opinion shows, it features straight news throughout the day (after the right-of-center Morning Joe). Shows include Andrea Mitchell Reports and Way too Early.
- Network News: ABC, CBS, and NBC have their own live news feeds. ABC and CBS both offer local news as well. You can watch them free of charge on most streaming platforms.
True Crime
- A&E: Known for its reality and true crime programming, its most popular programs include Cold Case Files and I Survived a Serial Killer. If you are interested in how detectives handle cases as they come in, you may also want to check out The First 48.
- Investigation Discovery: Offers a slew of popular shows such as Crime Scene Confidential and Deadly Women. Other interesting shows that air on this channel include I (Almost) Got Away With It and On the Case.
- Oxygen: Has a lineup that is mostly true crime or programs that feature similar content. These shows include An Unexpected Killer and Buried in the Backyard. Other popular programs include Dateline: Secrets Uncovered and Famous Cases Explained.
- TV One: Fffers a mixture of comedy and true crime programming. Its most prominent true crime shows are Fatal Attraction and Sins of the City.
Finally, HBO Max and Netflix have a significant amount of true crime programming that is available on-demand. You can add HBO Max Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, or YouTube TV.
Today’s HLN Schedule
Here is today’s schedule in Eastern Time:
| Forensic Files – Undertaken Three years later, a second autopsy determines who's right when a medical examiner and detectives disagree on the cause of death. | |
| Redrum – The Girl in the Shower When Jayme Austin doesn't show up for work one morning, community members begin a search, but investigators fear the worst as they begin to look into her past, finding many possible motives for murder as well as possible suspects. | |
| Redrum – Families and Foes Reunited with his two sons, Terry King's life seems to be back on track until a fire breaks out at his new Florida home, leaving one person dead and two missing. | |
| Forensic Files – Going for Broke A Russian immigrant is found dead and a strange phone call to his office is the only lead investigators have. | |
| Forensic Files – Just Desserts Physical evidence intially condemns a prime suspect to a double homicide, but DNA from a discarded spoon points to another. | |
| Forensic Files – Sunday's Wake A child's death from flu-like symptoms triggers an investigation that ranges from the United States to Egypt and uncovers murder. | |
| Forensic Files – Shattered Dreams A couple is found dead in a car with broken windows but no shattered glass. | |
| Forensic Files – Dockter Visit Key suspect has a solid alibi in the murder of a war veteran. But police get a lead by finding a new suspect with a sweet tooth. | |
| Forensic Files – Murder She Wrote A woman who appeared to have taken her own life told her sister that, if anything were to happen to her, there was a note in the china cabinet. | |
| Redrum – Murder, Who Wrote? In Kentucky, police officer David Ford receives threatening notes, then he is shot to death in his home weeks later. | |
| Redrum – At the End of His Rope When census worker Bill Sparkman is found dead in the woods with the word FED scrawled on his chest, there are many suspects. | |
| Redrum – Something Borrowed, Someone Blue In Philadelphia, hardworking John Davis' lifeless body is found slumped over the steering wheel of his van in the parking lot at the bridal warehouse where he is employed, baffling friends and police. | |
| Redrum – The Miseducation of Avis Banks New college graduate Avis Banks is five months pregnant and engaged to be married when her lifeless body is found in the home she shares with fiancé Keyon Pittman. | |
| Redrum – A New Man When firefighters respond to a fire at the home of Ari and Denise Squire, they find Ari's charred, lifeless body, then, another man, Justin Newman, is reported missing, and his last known location will flip this case on its head. | |
| Redrum – School House Rocked Math teacher Cheryl Trover emerges from a field at daybreak with a story about escaping from a masked intruder who forced his way into her home and murdered her husband, John. | |
| Redrum – The Girl in the Shower When Jayme Austin doesn't show up for work one morning, community members begin a search, but investigators fear the worst as they begin to look into her past, finding many possible motives for murder as well as possible suspects. | |
| Redrum – Families and Foes Reunited with his two sons, Terry King's life seems to be back on track until a fire breaks out at his new Florida home, leaving one person dead and two missing. | |
| CNN This Morning Stories from across the world and refreshing conversations. | |
| CNN This Morning Stories from across the world and refreshing conversations. | |
| Inside Politics With Manu Raju Melanie Zanona; Catherine Lucey; Isaac Arnsdorf. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – Dancing With the Devil As the cases of a missing cheerleader and a roadside fire converge, police juggle numerous suspects and motives, then a cryptic surveillance video brings the investigation to a shocking conclusion. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – The Missing Mom After a Michigan mother goes missing, her husband's alibi evaporates; a young South Carolina girl is kidnapped and held captive in an underground bunker by a sexual predator. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – Fools for Love An Ohio woman is implicated in a murder and even the prosecutor has his doubts; a girl in Idaho is kidnapped and only the gut instinct of two strangers can save her. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – A Mother's Mission A case is solved two decades after a daughter is sexually assaulted and murdered; a girl is kidnapped. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – On the Killer's Trail An innocent woman is murdered; a California girl is kidnapped and abused. | |
| Deadline: Crime With Tamron Hall – The Heart Knows The death of a young mother devastates her family; prosecutors suspect foul play. An Internet encounter becomes a real world nightmare. | |
| Forensic Files – Dark Waters Hit-and-run boating accident that kills a popular young man causes investigators to search for one boat out of thousands. | |
| Forensic Files – Nice Threads A woman is found dead on her bedroom floor, the only clue is a bloodstained sheet; breakthrough forensics enable police to identify the killer. | |
| Forensic Files – Grave Danger Police are suspicious of a mysterious car crash that kills a young man. | |
| Forensic Files – Internal Affair A woman is found dead, police use blood evidence and computer forensics to convince a jury that the murderer is guilty. | |
| Forensic Files – A Case of the Flue When an elderly woman dies in an apparent robbery-homicide, evidence suggests the suspect broke out of the house rather than breaking in. | |
| Forensic Files – No Safe Place Wealthy man is shot dead while his wife is forced to open their hidden safe, but they couldn't be identified because they were wearing ski masks. | |
| Forensic Files – Live Wire A bomb kills a man and a painstaking search yields tiny clues which precisely identify the killer. | |
| Forensic Files – Van-ished When police doubt a young girl's story about being abused, fibers on her clothes help her case. | |
| Forensic Files – A Novel Idea Police are suspicious of numerous bloodstains when a woman has a fatal fall down the stairs. | |
| Forensic Files – Chief Suspect A decade old case reopens, and a few seconds of a 911 call enable investigators to determine who is responsible for a murder. | |
| Forensic Files – Water Hazard Murderer killed innocent people to get the person he wanted. | |
| Forensic Files – Shell Game A clue no bigger than a thumbtack leads investigators to a trio of killers. | |
| Forensic Files – Ring Him Up The disappearance of a college co-ed goes unsolved for 10 years, until new testing sheds a different light. | |
| Forensic Files – Killer Impression Tipster is found dead after revealing that a woman's death 16 years ago was murder. |
Wrapping Up
If you have an affinity for network news and true crime programming, HLN has you covered all day and night. Available on a variety of streaming platforms, HLN is relatively easy to get without having to pay more than you want or need to for your favorite shows.
We recommend Sling TV for HLN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there no news on HLN?
There is still news during the morning hours on HLN both during the week and on weekends. However, during the day, you will need to watch CNN or one of the other news outlets that we discussed above to get coverage of breaking news and other top stories.
How can I watch other news channel without cable TV?
We have guides on watch most of the important news channels:
- Fox
- Fox Business
- Fox News
- HLN
- MSNBC
- NBC
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