| Service | Price/mo | Has CNN? |
|---|---|---|
| Philo | $25.00 | No |
| Sling Blue | $45.99 | Yes |
| Sling Orange | $45.99 | Yes |
| DirecTV Stream | $82.99 | Yes |
| YouTube TV | $82.99 | Yes |
| Fubo | $89.00 | No |
| Hulu + Live TV | $89.99 | Yes |
Prices and lineups as of 2026-07-19. Verify on the provider's own page before you sign up; carriage and pricing change often and can vary by zip code.
Fubo dropped CNN in July 2020 when its carriage deal with WarnerMedia (CNN's parent company at the time, now Warner Bros. Discovery) fell apart. The dispute was never settled. As of 2026-07-19, Fubo is still missing CNN, along with other Warner Bros. Discovery channels like TNT, TBS, and the Discovery-branded networks. If CNN is a must-have channel for your household, cross Fubo off the list before you sign up, not after.
This is a different kind of gap than a base-plan-versus-add-on split. Fubo's plans, at any tier, simply don't have a Warner Bros. Discovery carriage deal right now. There's no upgrade path on Fubo that adds CNN back.
Sling usually splits its lineup hard between Sling Orange (ESPN and Disney-owned channels) and Sling Blue (Fox News, USA Network, and most general-entertainment channels). CNN is one of the channels that sits on both sides of that split, so it doesn't matter which single Sling tier you pick, at the same $45.99/mo price. That makes Sling the cheapest way to get CNN of the five services that carry it.
Our National Geographic page covers a channel that goes the other way, sitting on Sling Blue only. Check both pages before you buy a single Sling tier if your household wants channels split across the two.
A free antenna will never carry CNN, no matter how strong your signal is or how close you live to the broadcast towers. It's a cable-only network with no over-the-air spectrum presence at any price, from any provider, full stop. What an antenna does get you free in most markets: ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and The CW, plus your local news affiliates. That covers local news, not national cable news, so an antenna is a companion to a CNN subscription, not a substitute for one.
See how antennas actually work for the indoor/attic/roof distinction, and the full monthly cost comparison for how a Sling-plus-antenna setup stacks up against a typical cable bill.
CNN also runs its own app and website with a live stream, but that stream requires a TV-provider login (a "TV Everywhere" sign-in) tied to one of the services in the table above, or a cable or satellite account. There's no standalone CNN-only subscription the way there is for some premium channels. Once you've signed up for Sling Orange, Sling Blue, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV, that same login unlocks CNN's app on phones, tablets, and streaming boxes, on top of watching through the service's own app.
This matters if your plan is to watch CNN mostly on a phone or laptop rather than a TV. You still need one of the five carrying services active on your account. There is no cheaper phone-only or app-only route to CNN than the $45.99/mo Sling tiers already listed here.
CNN's carriage list overlaps almost exactly with Fox News: both are on Sling Orange, Sling Blue, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV, and both are missing from Philo. The one difference is Fubo. Fubo carries Fox News but not CNN, a direct result of Fubo's unresolved Warner Bros. Discovery dispute rather than any editorial decision on Fubo's part.
A household that wants both major cable news networks together doesn't need to choose between them on any of the five services that carry CNN. Sling Orange or Sling Blue, at $45.99/mo, is the cheapest plan that carries both CNN and Fox News at once.
Sling Orange or Sling Blue at $45.99/mo is a strong pick if CNN and a handful of other entertainment or news channels cover what your household actually watches, without needing the full local-network lineup. Either tier streams on fewer devices at once than the full-lineup services and skips most local affiliates.
If your household also wants ESPN and Fox News and USA Network together, or wants one plan without tier math, the Sling Orange & Blue combo runs $60.99-$65.99/mo. DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV cover everything at once for $82.99-$89.99/mo, with more local channels than either Sling tier includes. Just remember Philo and Fubo are both off the table for CNN specifically, no matter which other plan you'd otherwise pick. Check the rest of your household's must-have channels against our channel finder before deciding.