If Lifetime is one of your favorite channels you probably got started by watching it on cable. This is no longer the best way to watch it. Read on to find out how you can enjoy Lifetime while leaving your cable subscription behind.
In a hurry? If you’ve already decided to ditch cable but want to make sure Lifetime is still available, these services all provide great plans:
- 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% your first month with Sling TV.
- Philo: This service gives you 70+ live TV channel for just $25/mo!
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
Marketed in the nineties as “Television for Women,” Lifetime is best known for its ubiquitous, overwrought, sensationalistic made-for-tv movies featuring lurid plots — often ripped from the headlines.
While some (okay, many) Lifetime movies do fall into the “guilty pleasures” category, the network received its first of many Emmy nominations in 2006 and continues to receive accolades from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild of America Award, the NAACP, and GLAAD, among others.
Lifetime as a network also makes surprisingly good on their “for women” marketing. Between 1994 and 2016, 73% of Lifetime’s original movies were written or directed by women, and today it’s still known as a Hollywood oasis of female solidarity for women in front of and behind the camera.
Whether you enjoy Lifetime’s cringier movies, or you watch for the genuine gems like the 2012 remake of Steel Magnolias (more Emmys), you can say goodbye forever to your cable company and still not miss the October premiere of Switched at Birth.
How to Watch Lifetime Live Without Cable
Lifetime Entertainment encompasses both the original Lifetime channel and the Lifetime Movie Network (LMN), as well as the all-but abandoned Lifetime Real Women (LRW) channel. Its parent company is A+E Television Networks, which, besides A&E, also own Crime + Investigation (C+I), FYI, History Channel, and Vice TV (Viceland).
Channels marketed to women generally fall into three categories, with some overlap. There’s the “lifestyle” programming (home, beauty, family, with maybe a dash of celebrity dish): Bravo, Dabl, TLC, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and We TV. There’s the tear-jerker drama/romances of the Hallmark channels. And then there are the police/court procedural and true crime networks: Oxygen, C+I, and Start TV.
Lifetime and LMN are cable channels, meaning you can’t pick them up with an antenna over the air (OTA). You need a subscription with a third-party provider. This is the part where, in the past, you’ve had to order a package of way more channels for way more money than you wanted. No more!
These OTT (over the top) streaming services do everything cable does, for less with no contracts or hidden fees! Read on to see which services carry Lifetime.
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.
Streaming Services with Lifetime
As one of the older basic cable channels, Lifetime is considered a staple network in a pay-TV lineup. So it’s not surprising that nearly all of the streaming services carry it and its companion movie network. Notable exceptions are YouTube TV and FuboTV, which ended its contract with A&E in mid-2021.
Read on to see where you can catch the next episode of Little Women: Atlanta.
Philo
Philo is awesome if all you want is to slice your cable bill down to next to nothing. You get over 65 channels for $25/mo. Try Philo free for 7 days. No local channels and no sports. But you do get up to 3 simultaneous streams and unlimited cloud DVR.
Philo’s lineup includes Lifetime and LMN, A&E, C+I, FYI, History, Viceland, Hallmark channels, OWN, TLC, and We TV. It leaves out Bravo, Dabl, Oxygen, and Start TV. For more information, see our Philo review.
Sling TV
Next up, Sling TV. The Sling Blue plan includes Lifetime, A&E, Bravo, History, TLC, and Viceland in all its packages for just $40.00/mo.
You can upgrade this with the Lifestyle Extra add-on for $6/mo more. This gives you Lifetime Movie Network as well as FYI, all 3 Hallmark channels, Oxygen, and We TV. You can also add the Hollywood Extra for $6/mo and this will give you Start TV as well as 9 other channels including favorites FXX, FXM, and TCM.
Note that Crime + Investigation, Dabl, and OWN are not currently available in any of the packages or add-ons.
Sling Blue comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 3 devices at one time. For more details, see our Sling TV review.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) actually does the best on this list of carrying the most channels that, stereotypes aside, are more popular with the ladies. It is a little more expensive though, especially since you will have to aspire to the second-highest tier to get all the channels.
The first tier, the Entertainment package, has over 75 channels for $79.99/mo, including Lifetime, A&E, Bravo, History, Vice, the Hallmark channels, TLC, and We TV.
If you upgrade to Choice ($108.99/mo), you get all those, plus regional sports networks, plus three months free HBO Max, and OWN is now included. For $10/mo more, the Ultimate package gets you Oxygen, Lifetime Movies, and FYI. Crime + Investigation is available as an add-on. The only ones you can’t get at all are Dabl and Start TV.
All packages come with your local stations, unlimited Cloud DVR storage as long as you sign-up online, and streaming on unlimited devices in your home. See our DIRECTV STREAM review.
Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days
Hulu + Live TV
Streaming giant Hulu launched its live-streaming service, Hulu + Live TV, in 2017. Not only do you get over 85 live TV channels, but you also get access to Hulu exclusive series like Castle Rock, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Only Murders in the Building.
You also get unlimited cloud DVR (9 month storage) and you can stream your shows on up to 2 devices at once. They even throw in all your local network affiliates. All for just $76.99/mo.
Besides Lifetime and LMN, they’ve got the rest of the A&E family, TLC, Dabl, and Oxygen. Missing from your girls’ night selection are the channels We TV, OWN, and all three Hallmark channels. But hey, that’s fewer tissues you have to stock up on, right?
Check out our thorough Hulu review for more information.
Try Hulu + Live TV for 3 Days Free!
Vidgo
Let’s start with what Vidgo does have: Lifetime and LMN, plus A&E, FYI, History, Vice, the Hallmark trio, OWN, and TLC, plus over 110 other channels, watchable on up to 3 devices at a time, for $69.99/mo. You also get ABC and Fox depending on your area.
On the downside, Vidgo doesn’t carry Crime + Investigation, Bravo, Dabl, Oxygen, Start TV, or We TV. So, it’s weak on the true-crime/police and court procedural genre, if that’s your thing. Also a bummer: no cloud DVR storage.
But it’s a great price given all the sports, news, and local channels you get.
Read our review for more details.
Other Ways to Stream Lifetime
But the female-centric fun doesn’t stop there! Take a look at these other ways to watch the September premiere of Imperfect High:
- Lifetime App: You can watch BlackLove, Dance Moms, and select episodes of Married at First Sight, The Rap Game, Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition, and Bring It! without even logging in! The same goes for their website. Live Streaming and new episodes require a TV provider account.
- Lifetime Movie Club: Features a curated library of new and classic Lifetime movies to binge commercial-free. You also get some exclusive films. The service is $3.99/mo, with a 7-day free trial. It only has on-demand movies, though, no series, and no live-streaming.
- On-Demand: You can stream some Lifetime programming free with Amazon Prime Video (with Prime account), PlutoTV (free service), or Hoopla (also free, but requires a library card). Some Lifetime series and movies are available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and other digital video sales platforms.
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. |
Watch Lifetime With Popular Streaming Devices and TVs
Over the past few years, most streaming devices and TVs have gained support from major services. So you will likely be able to watch Lifetime on the hardware you already own unless it is really old or unusual.
Android TV-based devices are supported by all services (except DIRECTV STREAM). This includes a lot of smart TVs. Casting to TVs from smartphones or web browsers is very popular and it is possible to do this with Chromecast — both built-in to TVs and as an external device. All the services support this.
All of the streaming services (except Philo and Vidgo) support Samsung model smart TVs. And Sling TV and Hulu support LG and Vizio smart TVs.
The popular TV stick devices Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku are universally supported. So are phones and tablets based on iOS and Android.
Sling TV and Hulu support the Xbox One gaming console. Hulu also supports the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. And Sling TV supports the Oculus VR system.
There are more supported devices than these. Check our service reviews for Sling TV and Hulu or their websites if you don’t see your device listed here.
Today’s Lifetime Schedule
Here is today’s schedule in Eastern Time:
| Grey's Anatomy – Head Over High Heels Meredith debates how to handle an unexpected situation in her personal life; Richard has an untimely reunion with an old friend; Jo has a hard time at work; Owen tries therapy. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – What I Did For Love Maggie treats someone from Station 19; Jo learns a hard lesson; when working with a family that is seeking asylum, Meredith makes a call that could jeopardize her career. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – Drawn to the Blood Alex tries desperately to save his patient while he waits for a severely agoraphobic blood donor to arrive from London; Jo reveals to Meredith why she's been so down. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – Jump Into the Fog As fog begins to cover Seattle, the doctors must navigate through personal complications; Meredith and Alex attempt to save Gus; Levi talks some sense into a struggling Nico. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – Head Over High Heels Meredith debates how to handle an unexpected situation in her personal life; Richard has an untimely reunion with an old friend; Jo has a hard time at work; Owen tries therapy. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – What I Did For Love Maggie treats someone from Station 19; Jo learns a hard lesson; when working with a family that is seeking asylum, Meredith makes a call that could jeopardize her career. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – Drawn to the Blood Alex tries desperately to save his patient while he waits for a severely agoraphobic blood donor to arrive from London; Jo reveals to Meredith why she's been so down. |
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| Grey's Anatomy – Jump Into the Fog As fog begins to cover Seattle, the doctors must navigate through personal complications; Meredith and Alex attempt to save Gus; Levi talks some sense into a struggling Nico. |
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| Pain Relief TV Matt's pain from his 20 year old lost limb is solved. |
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| Relief from Inflammation Connie Craig-Carrol & Founder Ken Meares investigates Omega XL, the ultimate all-natural solution for joint pain from inflammation. |
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| Joseph Prince Joseph Prince is a leading voice in proclaiming the gospel around the world through his ministry. |
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| David Jeremiah Dr. David Jeremiah's goal is to deliver the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world. |
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| Creflo Dollar Dr. Creflo Dollar ministers to people from all backgrounds with hopes for change; Creflo helps viewers find ways to renew their faith, mind, and spirit; Creflo and his wife Taffi share their vision for everyone to understand God's love and promises. |
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| Life Today With James Robison James Robison is a former preacher who changed directions in his life several years ago and began hosting this television show alongside his wife, Betty, in order to reach out to help more people. |
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| Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life Author and Bible teacher Joyce Meyer shares encouragement to help people enjoy daily life. |
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| The Balancing Act – Genetic Cancer Screening & Strength Training How genetics can play a role in predicting our chances of SCC or squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common skin cancer; strength training can add improve our overall health journey and insurance tips. |
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| The Closer – Last Word When a street hustler witnesses a woman being buried in Griffith Park, an investigation begins; Brenda's obsession with Philip Stroh threatens her career and her life. |
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| The Closer – Pilot A female police officer moves to Los Angeles to head up a division to investigate high-profile crimes. |
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| The Closer – About Face Brenda investigates the puzzling murder of a movie star's wife. |
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| Major Crimes – Targets of Opportunity An officer-involved shooting leaves two policemen dead; the unit must work with Fritz Howard; Rusty tries to secretly gather information on the Alice case. |
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| Major Crimes – Hostage to Fortune New information prompts the re-opening of an old kidnapping investigation; Rusty has a major breakthrough in his investigation on Alice Herrera. |
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| Major Crimes – Wish You Were Here A video of a bloodied, half-naked man walking down the street with a gun goes viral and the team must decide if the victim was targeted or a potential suicide. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – The Best Laid Plans The team investigates the murder of a wealthy woman with terminal cancer; Maura meets a man while teaching a class. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – Knockout While Maura is away at a convention, Jane needs Susie's help to solve a murder; Korsak is forced to deal with painful unfinished business. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – Boston Keltic Jane and Maura are brought into the world of Keltic writings by the murder of a rare bookseller; Maura prepares Jane to meet her new man; Angela's relationship with Cavanaugh changes. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – Lost & Found The team tries to find a witness to the contract killing of a woman outside of a nightclub; Jane puts herself in the line of fire. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – It Takes a Village The team's skills are tested when the mummified remains of a woman are found; Jane tries to recover from a devastating loss. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – Phoenix Rising The team helps Korsak investigate a cold case; Jane refuses to believe that she is not ready to go back on duty. |
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| Rizzoli & Isles – If You Can't Stand the Heat Jane and Maura find a man who died in a bathtub full of ice; while trying to stay cool during a heatwave, Angela discovers a spicy tea that brings unexpected romantic consequences. |
Wrapping Up
If you’ve been holding on to your cable company because you are hooked on Lifetime movies and you gotta watch Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace for the tenth time — honey, it’s time!
Get set up with one of the streaming services above and wave goodbye to cable, and hello to Do You Trust Your Boyfriend?
Ditch “Big Cable” Now – 3 Simple Steps to Cut the Cord
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That’s it — you’ll save money, take back control, and enjoy TV more!
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