If you are interested in nature, science, and history, Smithsonian Channel is for you. But you don’t need a long-term subscription to enjoy this “cable” channel. Read on to learn your options!
In a hurry? These are our three favorite services for getting Smithsonian Channel without cable or satellite:
- Fubo: With 150+ channels, it offers something for everyone. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Provides everything you expect from cable with many options. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
- Philo: Super inexpensive live TV streaming service with 7-day free trial.
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Table Of Contents
The Smithsonian Channel offers an intriguing selection of programming about various topics, ranging from animal-focused shows to historical episodes to the explaining of how things work, such as trains and factories.
Simply put, this is a great channel for those who want to learn about the world. And its shows tend to be a nice balance of being relaxing, engaging, interesting, and thought-provoking.
Fortunately, cord-cutters have several options available for streaming this channel. Read on to learn them all.
Smithsonian Channel Basics
The Smithsonian Channel is an inspiration of the Smithsonian Institute, a Washington-based collection of museums and education and research facilities. The National Zoo is included in its facilities. It is the world’s largest complex of this type.
The Institute got its start in 1846 and was previously known as the United States National Museum. But that moniker was put to rest in 1967.
The channel by that name was launched in 2007. It is owned by Paramount Global and, unsurprisingly, much of its content is also available online at Paramount+ ($4.99/mo).
Note that despite the channel being named for a United States-based institution, its programming includes a significant amount of content that is unrelated to the US.
Programming
The types of programming available on the Smithsonian Channel consist of an interesting mix. Here is a selection of some of the shows that are broadcast on it.
- Aerial America: This series provides a beautiful from-above look at a location in the US, generally a state but sometimes a different specific destination instead. The views are generally from helicopters.
- Air Disasters: The show investigates various in-air tragedies and near-tragedies.
- Big Cat Country: One of the Smithsonian Channel’s favorite animal-focused shows. It features storytelling about lions as they go through their lives’ trials and tribulations.
- Mighty Planes: Aviation lovers regularly tune into this program, which features detailed insights into a specific aircraft or a collection of them.
- Mighty Ships: The Smithsonian Channel also looks at some of the greatest ships of the past and brings their details to your screen. Each episode follows a ship on a journey while doing so.
- Mystic Britain: Those wanting to learn as much as they can about Great Britain’s mystic past and mysterious sites should check out this show. For example, its first episode was named “Witches and Demons.”
- Secrets Unlocked: The world’s past is full of secrets, and this show helps unlock those.
- Wild Castles: If castles interest you, this is a show that is well worth checking out. Unsurprisingly, the series’ focus is outside of the US. Its premiere episode featured Germany’s famous and beautiful Heidelberg Castle.
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Stream Smithsonian Channel
Smithsonian Channel is not available over-the-air (OTA) so the only way to get it is through a streaming service. Thankfully, there are a number of great options.
FuboTV
The Smithsonian Channel is included with the base plan of FuboTV ($79.99/mo) as well. Also in that package are channels such as National Geographic, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, and USA. It also has a great collection of sports channels including almost two dozen that are focused on international soccer.
All Fubo plans come with 1000 hours of cloud DVR and simultaneous streaming on 10 devices. For details, see our FuboTV review.
Philo
Philo is your go-to service for saving money. For $25/mo, you get over 60 channels, a few of them being Smithsonian Channel, AMC, BBC America, BBC World News, IFC, and WE tv. You also get unlimited cloud DVR and you can stream on up to 3 devices.
For everything you need to know, see our Philo review.
DIRECTV STREAM
With the DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) Ultimate plan ($119.99/mo), you get access to the Smithsonian Channel as well as 130+ other channels such as the Weather Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, USA, TNT, TBS, and History.
Alternatively, you can add the Movies Extra Pack ($5/mo) to a lesser plan, such as Entertainment ($79.99/mo). That add-on also includes 8 other channels including Crime & Investigation and Hallmark Drama.
All plans come with unlimited cloud DVR as long as you sign-up online and streaming on unlimited devices at once. Get more information in our DIRECTV STREAM review.
Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV ($76.99/mo) includes the Smithsonian Channel in its base plan. Also included are channels such as History, Travel Channel, TBS, TNT, and ESPN. In addition, note that this subscription includes access to Disney+ and ESPN+.
This plan comes with unlimited cloud DVR, 9 months of storage and allows you to stream on two devices at the same time. See our Hulu + Live TV review for more information.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV ($72.99/mo) is another streaming service that provides access to the Smithsonian Channel. Other networks that you can watch through it include Investigation Discovery, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Nickelodeon, and Bravo.
Other Ways to Watch Smithsonian Channel
The live TV streaming services offer the only ways to live stream Smithsonian Channel. But there are other ways to what Smithsonian Channel content:
- Paramount+: A significant amount of Smithsonian Channel programming may be streamed through this for $4.99/mo. This also includes content from other CBS channels as well as the full Star Trek catalog and UEFA Champions League matches. Try Paramount+ for free! See our Paramount+ review.
- Smithsonian Channel App: Provides numerous videos related to this network, shorter ones generally being available to all and longer ones usually necessitating logging in with your TV provider. However, do note that a relatively small selection of full episodes is available for viewing here as well. You can do the same at SmithsonianChannel.com.
- YouTube: One option for viewing Smithsonian Channel content for free is by visiting the network’s official YouTube channel. Many videos, usually shorter ones, are available there.
- Purchase: Another alternative, which works best if you are simply looking for a specific show or a small selection of shows, is to buy access to episodes, which can be done through online platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Watching Smithsonian Channel on TVs and Other Devices
All major live TV streaming services support most of the popular devices today.
Other than DIRECTV STREAM, all the services we’ve discussed work on smart TVs based on Android TV as well as LG, Samsung, and VIZIO models. They all support Chromecast devices. They allow you to cast video from your phone or browser to your TV. This is an easy and popular way to watch.
All the services support the popular “stick” devices Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku. The same goes for mobile devices based on iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android.
As for gaming consoles, All but DIRECTV STREAM support the Xbox One. Hulu and YouTube support the PlayStation. And Hulu also supports Nintendo Switch.
Check our streaming reviews for complete lists of supported devices because we’ve only listed the most popular.
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Today’s Smithsonian Schedule
Here is today’s schedule in Eastern Time:
| Air Disasters – Caught on Tape The dashcam of a passing car captures stunning footage of the final moments of a Taiwanese commuter aircraft as it banks steeply, clips an elevated highway and nosedives into the river; investigators find no signs of pre-impact malfunction. | |
| Air Disasters – Seconds to Survive On 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 strays off course and flies into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. | |
| Aerial America – Trailblazers An aerial tour over the places made famous by America's most influential men and women. | |
| Aerial America – Minnesota Glacial landscapes and stories of the pioneers. | |
| Aerial America – Utah An amazing aerial tour over Utah reveals a state full of otherworldly landscapes and landmarks, including a history steeped in Mormonism, pioneering tragedy, and Olympic glory. | |
| Aerial America – The Dakotas A flight over North and South Dakota reveals the shared history and the vast differences of these sibling states. | |
| Aerial America – Best Small Towns A coast-to-coast aerial tour celebrates the best small towns in the United States and tells inspirational stories about the men and women who called them home. | |
| Aerial America – Wyoming An aerial exploration of Wyoming reveals the Cowboy State's controversial history while highlighting its breathtaking canyons and volcanic formations. | |
| Aerial America – Southern California A soaring tour over Southern California explores the stunning beaches, vast deserts, sprawling city and unique culture. | |
| Aerial America – Vermont Northern state's green forests; red-painted barns and sugar maples. | |
| Aerial America – Arkansas Raging rivers; vast wilderness; legends of the Wild West. | |
| Mighty Trains – Frecciarossa 1000 And Italo EVO Go behind the scenes with NTV's two Italo trains - the AGV and the EVO - as they expand to cover more of the Italian railway network, connecting passengers from Turin to Venice, and Naples to Milan, on two of the world's fastest trains. | |
| Mighty Trains – Tren Turistico A trip through Lima details the voyage's breathtaking scenery and engineering challenges. | |
| Mighty Trains – Maharaja's Express Passengers are treated like royalty on Indian Railways' Maharaja's Express. | |
| Mighty Trains – Kiwi Rail Two magnificent journeys with New Zealand's KiwiRail: the TranzAlpine, a five-hour journey across 223 kilometers, and Northern Explorer, an 11-hour trip through five unique regions of the North Island. | |
| Mighty Trains – Tren Crucero Passengers on Ecuador's Tren Crucero experience a dangerous rail journey, which includes tropical jungles, volcanoes and the Devil's Nose. | |
| Mighty Trains – Rocky Mountaineer The Rocky Mountaineer travels across western Canada and over the Rocky Mountains. | |
| Mighty Trains – Rovos Rail South Africa's most luxurious train - Rovos Rail - travel from Pretoria to Cape Town in classic cars pulled by a series of steam, diesel and electric locomotives. | |
| Mighty Trains – Transcantabrico Clasico A trip aboard the luxury tourist train, Transcantábrico Clásico through Northern Spain along a historic 19th century rail line. | |
| Mighty Trains – Seven Stars of Kyushu A trip aboard one of the world's most expensive and sought-after train rides details the journey for both passengers and crew. | |
| Air Disasters – Caution to the Wind On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collides with construction equipment at Chiang Kai Shek airport in Taipei while attempting to take off on the wrong runway in a typhoon, killing 83 of the 179 people on board. | |
| Air Disasters – Survivors From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency. | |
| Air Disasters – Death from Above Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below. | |
| Air Disasters – Under Pressure On July 11, 1991, the crew of Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 unsuccessfully tries to return to the airport after a burst tire creates an in-flight fire which causes 247 Nigerian pilgrims and 14 crew to perish. | |
| Air Disasters – No Clear Options When a commuter turboprop plane crashes at an Irish airport, investigators uncover a startling gap in aviation safety. |
Wrapping Up
Those looking to watch shows such as Big Cat Country, Mighty Ships, and Wild Castles are going to enjoy settling in for an evening of Smithsonian Channel viewing. If you just want to watch the shows, check out Paramount+ ($4.99/mo). If you also want the live channel, we recommend Hulu + Live TV ($76.99/mo).
FAQs
Is the Smithsonian Channel free?
To receive access to most Smithsonian Channel episodes and its live broadcast, a charge is required. You could just pay $4.99/mo for access to Smithsonian Channel programming through Paramount+. Meanwhile, if you are set on free content, your best option is most likely its official YouTube channel. If you want the live channel, your cheapest option is FuboTV for $69.99/mo.
Can I subscribe to the Smithsonian Channel directly?
You cannot subscribe to the Smithsonian Channel directly, but you can watch many of its shows on Paramount+ ($4.99/mo). However, you will need to subscribe to a multi-channel streaming service in order to enjoy this channel’s regular programming as it is being broadcast on television.
What happened to Smithsonian Channel Plus?
Smithsonian Channel Plus had been a streaming service that had offered Smithsonian Channel content directly to its subscribers. However, it was brought under the Paramount+ umbrella, and that content can now be watched there as well as shows from channels such as CBS, BET, MTV, and Comedy Central for $4.99/mo.
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