Don’t know how to get local channels on Amazon Fire TV Stick? You’re not alone. Most Firestick users aren’t aware of how they can get local TV channels on the device. This prevents them from making the most of their cable TV subscription plan.
In this guide, we’ll provide you with various options using which you can install local channels on your Amazon Firestick. These options include using a digital antenna, subscribing to network-based apps, using a cable TV bundle, and the Amazon News app.
All these options also work on the Fire TV Cube, Firestick 4K, and Firestick Lite. And the best thing about them is that they’re significantly cheaper than live TV. Some of them are completely free, too. You can thus count on them to save you more than a few bucks.
Here are various options using which you can set up local channels on Firestick:
This method requires you to connect a DVR to a digital antenna. The Amazon Fire TV Recast is one such device that retrieves channels through the connected antenna and enables you to not only live stream but record any of your favorite content.
The Fire TV Recast can be integrated with a TV set. It’s also compatible with your smartphone through the Amazon Fire TV app, albeit with limited features. Users can opt for the 500-GB or the 1-TB version of this device at a highly competitive price.
Keep in mind that the Fire TV Recast doesn’t need you to physically connect it to your TV. You just have to connect it to the antenna and your wireless router, before operating it through your Firestick via the Amazon Fire TV app.
A skinny bundle offers the best of both worlds. It’s a streaming service that offers live TV channels. That too at a significantly lower price than a cable network. However, the number of channels on offer on skinny bundles is much smaller than what you get on cable TV.
Here are some of the most popular skinny bundles:
Although categorized among the skinny bundles, AT&T TV offers a selection of channels as extensive as any cable network. These include entertainment, education, sports, and news. Small wonder that its users refer to the AT&T TV as the ultimate cable TV alternative.
Priced higher than its competitors, this service allows users to view regional and local channels. Remember, though, that your zip code will determine the channels you’re getting. It means that an AT&T TV user in one region might miss out on the channels a user in another region is getting.
Sling TV is a highly popular (and inexpensive) live TV service. You can access it from anywhere in the world through a VPN. It offers two different packages. The first is Sling Blue, which offers local channels alongside networks such as Fox News, Discovery, and NBC, among others.
Sling Orange is the second package. It’s more inclined towards entertainment channels such as ESPN and Disney. Either of the services can be purchased separately for 35$ a month. If you want to subscribe for both, you’d have to fork out $50 in the monthly subscription fee.
fuboTV initially began as a platform focused on all things sports. Over the years, it has expanded its collection to include more local networks. It currently offers dedicated sports, entertainment, and national news channels. fuboTV also lets you subscribe to on-demand services.
fuboTV currently offers its services in over 200 cities in the US. Users can access different channels based on the region they’re using this skinny bundle.
Hulu + Live TV is another skinny bundle that allows Firestick users to get local channels on the device. It currently boasts over a million subscribers in the US. This makes it one of the most popular skinny bundles in the US, if not on the entire planet.
Its name makes it clear what ‘Hulu + Live TV’ offers. Users get an extensive collection of live TV and Hulu’s on-demand content. You can thus seamlessly switch from news channels, sports games, and other live entertainment to your favorite TV shows and the latest movies.
YouTube TV offers precisely what its name implies. It lets you stream videos uploaded by users from all over the world. At the same time, you can view your favorite news and sports TV channels, such as NBC, CBS, Fox, and ABC.
It offers various additional features, too. YouTube TV lets you subscribe to premium channel add-ons, including STARZ, HBO, Cinemax, ShowTime, and Shudder. And the best thing about YouTube TV? It covers more than 90% of the US market.
Locast began its operations as a live streaming service in 2018. Back then, it was targeting a select few cities in the US. The next four years saw Locast expand its operations to over 35 cities, a sizeable number that is expected to double in the upcoming years.
Although its coverage area is small, the platform makes up for it in other ways. It facilitates its users with local channels such as FOX, ABC, and even The CW. Just like AT&T TV, Locast offers region-specific channels, meaning you might miss out on some TV stations.
You can install different network applications on your Firestick to watch local channels. But since these apps are affiliated with specific networks, they offer content only from those networks. This means they don’t offer as many channels as the options explored above.
To install network apps on your Firestick, search for any network of your choice from the device’s home screen. Once the installation is complete, launch it from the Firestick’s ‘Apps’ section. Remember that you’d need an account to access the app.
If you can’t go a day without watching the news, the Amazon News app is a perfect fit for you. This app lets you live stream all your favorite TV channels on your Firestick. It offers local, national, and global news channels and requires no subscription.
At the time of writing, the Amazon news app offers local news in 88 local markets. These include major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Atlanta. As well as metro areas including Phoenix, Detroit, and New Orleans.
The Amazon News app is already under your Firestick’s ‘Your Apps & Channels’ section.
NewsOn can best be described as a local news version of the Amazon News app. It offers users instant access to local news channels everywhere in the US. Apart from live news broadcasts, users access video-on-demand content, including old clips of their favorite news pieces.
It offers another amazing feature. NewsOn lets users switch locations to see what the local channels in other regions are broadcasting. This means you don’t have to use a VPN to watch news of the region where you aren’t currently living.
Amazon Firestick users can enjoy the application with the added benefit that it was recently redesigned for various Amazon devices. The newly updated app provides a more simplified interface, letting the users personalize it based on their preferences.
You can download and install the NewsOn app on your Firestick from the Amazon app store.
Not necessarily. While an antenna can be used with the Amazon Firestick device to live stream various local stations, alternatives are also available. These include skinny bundles, network-based apps, and news apps like Amazon news and NewsOn.
You’d need to purchase a subscription if you’re using a digital antenna or network-based apps to view local channels on Firestick. However, you won’t have to pay a penny if you watch the news via the Amazon news app and/or NewsOn.
Some of the major local TV channels in the US include CBS, ABC, NBC, the CW, and FOX. They can be viewed through different streaming platforms, though their availability is dependent on the user’s location.